Recently, CAAL was asked to address the Connecticut SBIR and Global Trade conference on the subjects of leadership and innovation. In the process of preparing our remarks I reviewed the 2012 IBM CEO Survey. Titled “Leading Through Connections”, IBM identifies a number of business imperatives that are upper most of CEOs’ business concerns (IBM, 2012). Prominently on the list are: connections, engagement, collaboration, analytical competencies, partnerships, and tolerance for change. All of these subjects are [...]

Many people comment on the lack of leadership abilities in most managers, complaining that many managers do not set good examples, do not empower employees to play a role in decision-making, do not listen to those that work for them, and do not give their employees credit when credit is due. I searched for some statistics to determine how typical this experience is. Do most employees think their managers are less than effective? As I [...]

Anyone who has read Walter Isaacson‘s biography of Steve Jobs has to be taken aback by his portrayal of the personality of the late Apple founder. Certainly there is much to dislike when it comes to the way Jobs treated his associates and subordinates, not to mention his professional rivals. He was at times domineering, arrogant, crass and demeaning… and yet, after reading the book and monitoring the phenomenal performance of Apple products and the [...]

There are number of exceptional organizations that support aviation and aerospace manufacturers. Many come to mind quickly, the Aerospace Industries Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers are but a few. There are regional and local ones as well, including the public-private Manufacturing Extension Partnership. All of these organizations are generally well know. However, there is one that is a gem of a national resource for aviation and aerospace that [...]