Wednesday, April 9, 2008

On my way to San Jose


Posted by Courtney E. Howard

Face-to-face interaction is invaluable in virtually any industry, but building strong relationships is particularly important in the mil-aero market. Privacy, discretion, and trust are part and parcel of many industry dealings -- in which the who, what, when, why, and how of many contract wins must be kept under lock and key for a time.

With a recession looming and belts being tightened in anticipation of a continued economic downturn, business travel is likely to decrease significantly for a majority of businesses and organizations. Travel budgets are among the first to be cut, in my experience, so I labor over where to spend my travel time (and money) and how best to spend my time at an event. (I have also opted to visit local technology companies, military bases, and more, as I mentioned in a previous blog entry.
Thank you to all who wrote me and extended invitations.)

I have not hit the road since The Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum (http://mtc08.events.pennnet.com/fl/index.cfm)
in San Diego last month; but, I am happy to report, I will be in San Jose next week at the Embedded Systems Conference. I will be making the most of my time, covering the conferences and expo, and maybe a tear-down or two (they are disassembling a Russian space suit!). If you will be attending ESC, stop by the Military & Aerospace Electronics booth #3041; and, if in that booth you see a redhead who resembles the caricature in the upper right-hand corner of this page, be certain to say hi!

If you will not be at the event, stay tuned! Military & Aerospace Electronics? editors will soon launch a Community Web page
at http://www.milaero.com? an online forum of sorts in which everyone in the industry can connect and share their ideas, opinions, innovations, experiences, and more.

See you soon!

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