Aviation lecture and week ahead

This morning I attended a fascinating lecture on the state of the aviation industry and what its prospects are in light of the upcoming US elections. To be absolutely honest, I think that the lecture contained a significant amount of propaganda. It was at the France-America Chamber of Commerce, and the speaker was Marion Blakey, the President and CEO of AIA and former administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. She was clearly massively knowledgeable and it was certainly encouraging to see a woman in what is a very male dominated industry. And yet I find it hard to believe that Boeing strikes, cancelled orders and delayed deliveries - not to mention the catastrophic state of airlines, the strain of oil prices and impending competition from China, Japan and Russia - are not going to have a negative effect on orders and revenues. Still, interesting, and I wish that I had the business knowledge to back up my doubts.

I also realised today that I am not very network-minded. The networking thing isn't in my blood, but I realised today that I would have to get better at it. Today everyone had business cards and went round the tables. I am in a different position, being on sceondment. My law firm has provided me with business cards, but I was at the lecture in the capacity of a secondee so I'm not sure it would have been correct to hand them out. And yet, excuses aside, it hadn't even crossed my mind that I might need them. Business school will be an eye opener in so many ways!