But it is not until you meet her in person that you realize how passionate she really is about the impact social media is about to have on our industry. Because she pioneered the use of blogging and twittering as an integral part of her daily job as a journalist, she has witnessed the full impact of the shift from “publishing” to “interacting”. It is that shift, she says, that could profoundly change the way we do business.

Benet can entertain you with many stories about the way social media is changing the landscape. From the success of her (initially clandestine) blog, to her efforts to crowd source for article ideas and guest bloggers, and to incredible stories of worldwide collaboration. She sees all of these signs as an indication that business as usual is no longer acceptable. A new generation of leaders is arriving in the industry and things are going to change quickly.

She sees our industry evolving into wired community where leaders will consume information in a very different manner, and make decisions based on group thinking rather isolated expert opinions. The results are unpredictable but judging from the amazing gains made by other sectors such as government, the new formula will definitely translate to major innovations for Aerospace & Defense as well. And to the current leaders, fearing or dismissing this trend, she offers the following recommendations, in her own words: