Technology Leaders of the Delaware Valley: Taking stock
A fantastic third-Thursday session with fellow tech leaders, reflecting on what 2025 has taught us so far, and how those lessons are shaping 2026 strategies.
What stood out most? Alignment. Despite different businesses, our biggest takeaways were strikingly consistent – and interconnected:
1️⃣ CEO-led sales: Nothing builds customer trust and credibility more than direct engagement. When the top leader leads the conversation (in person), customers feel true commitment, and that drives momentum. Christopher Samaras said it best: “No one will sell with the same conviction and passion as the founder.”
2️⃣ Customer intimacy: Growth starts with proximity. It’s not just about selling, it’s about seeing through the customer’s lens to uncover where you can deliver the most value. This goes beyond the product or service transaction to explore and eliminate assumptions about what you think customers already know or have in place. That understanding is creating competitive advantage.
3️⃣🤖 AI at scale: The speed of AI innovation is staggering, with each quarter feeling like a new world. Customers are looking for clear guidance, not just on tools, but on organizational readiness: new skills, new structures, new mindsets.
4️⃣ Simplification: With this pace of change and macro uncertainty, complexity is the silent killer of progress. Everyone talked about simplifying processes, communications, and strategies to stay agile and scalable – to hear the signals above the noise.
These insights sound obvious, but what matters is how they’re applied. We’ll follow these pillars into 2026 to share execution.
Thanks to Anthony Mongeluzo for great facilitation in the rare absence of Steven A. Kantor (a well-earned vacation conflict) and for everyone’s participation in the most impactful discussion of the year!
