Local Matters

Over the last two weeks we’ve had the opportunity to attend two important events - the Native Hawaiian Owned (NHO) Summit and the ISOA IndoPacific Summit - both held here in Honolulu. Both of these provided a great opportunity to connect with the business community and government leaders. Some key takeaways from a “doing business” perspective - local matters, relationships count, transactional based approaches won’t work. You’ll hear a phrase in Hawaii - talk story - that’s critical to the success of any relationship here.

From a “business to be done” perspective the takeaways are many. More and more key business decisions are being made here in Hawaii. There are real and pressing mission challenges here that need responsive, adaptive solutions. 2024 and 2025 are going to be key years in establishing key strategic initiatives in defense of our nation and our allies across the Pacific. Companies that are leaning into these challenges and working now to connect their capabilities that exist elsewhere to the emerging needs in Hawaii will be successful.