How to Network at the 2025 LCI Congress
We gathered top tips on how to network at the 27th LCI conference for Lean design and construction from Chris Dierks, Healthy Teams & Lean Leader, DPR Construction. Chris is also active on the LCI Congress Abstract Review Team and a 2025 LCI Congress Champion. He has been very involved in other aspects of Congress, including serving on the 2015 LCI Congress Planning Committee in Boston, and is a long-time Congress attendee.
Enjoy these insightful recommendations on building connections at the Lean event of the year, and get ready to join your Lean community at the 2025 LCI Congress, October 20-24, in Arlington, Texas! Register today for the best available rates.
Chris looks forward to networking at LCI Congress every year.
Chris noted this is his 20th LCI Congress, and it’s always easy to reinforce past connections and build new ones. He shared, “I’m very excited to go to Congress this year, and this one may hit record numbers. At my first Congress, I don’t think we had more than 85 people. We’ve evolved and grown, and it’s been fantastic to be part of it.”
Networking goes hand in hand with gaining knowledge at Congress. Chris continued, “I always look forward to networking at Congress. Time flies and our lives get super fast because you get engulfed in projects and work. It’s great to get back and see old friends and meet new ones who are there to learn more about Lean and share their knowledge and experiences.”
Tip #1: The Congress App is a great tool for networking and planning your time at Congress.
Chris noted that the Congress app is very helpful for finding out who you can meet, learning more about sessions, and understanding all the different events, including Learning Days, social events, Gemba Day, and more.
Chris offered, “I go out of my way to catch up with new people and ones I haven’t seen in a while. The App is always helpful in making that happen.”
For each session, he noted that “with the app, you can see the presenters, the Congress Champion, and the session’s description to figure out which to choose. There’s also a section showing the attendees. Usually, several sessions are happening at the same time, so you can start narrowing it down and figure out which will be most beneficial to you and who you want to bump into after.”
In addition, the App makes it easy to reach out to other attendees. You can ping someone directly within the App. Chris added, “You can find some individuals you want to talk to, and put some names to faces. That can help you introduce yourself and start a conversation.”
Keep in mind that you can upload your headshot to the app. It’s not just for speakers!
Before the App is live, you can review all of the sessions, including speakers and descriptions, via the interactive agenda. You can select your concurrent sessions during your online registration, and modify your registration in advance of Congress.
Tip #2: Attend the networking events, including the Kick-Off Social and the Exhibitor Reception, and introduce yourself.
Chris shared that it’s helpful to attend the networking social events, including the Congress Kick-Off Social (Tuesday evening) and the Exhibitor Reception (Wednesday afternoon). He added, “Those are great events.”
While at any of the Congress events, “Don’t wait for someone to come up to you. Introduce yourself. People going to Congress are like-minded individuals who probably share some of the same desired learning outcomes as you.”
For more seasoned Congress attendees…
If you’ve been to Congress before, he suggested going out of your way to meet others who may be new to Congress, offering, “Introduce yourself, especially to younger individuals who are there for the first time and might not have been to an event like this before, and may be a little reserved. Explain your role and share what you’re looking to get out of Congress.”
New to the LCI Congress?
If you’re new to Congress, Chris offers this advice: “If this is your first or second Congress, and you’re a little new to the design and construction industry, be a sponge. Take it all in and digest what you’re learning. It will spark a ton of questions. Find someone to have a safe conversation with—to ask, could you explain more about this process that I heard about?
We always save time at the end of sessions to ask questions. For newer individuals, that can be a great chance to get clarification. Engage. Meet new people and also ask speakers and champions a question or two about what you heard—or dive deeper into something brought up by the presenters.”
Tip #3: Visit the Exhibit Hall, a great setting for connecting.
Chris shared that the Exhibit Hall offered a great venue for networking. He shared, “The Exhibit Hall is where I always find myself bumping into new people. Different vendors have their areas set up, talking about their offerings. That’s a great opportunity to network. During the Exhibitor Reception (Wednesday evening), you can also have a beverage and walk around and talk to attendees, and learn about new tools and systems that are out there.”
Tip #4: Make the most of the whole LCI Congress week.
The 2025 LCI Congress week spans the Golf Tournament (Monday), Learning Days (Monday afternoon and Tuesday), Kick-Off Social (Tuesday evening), Core Program sessions (Wednesday and Thursday), Exhibitor Reception (Wednesday evening), Gemba Day (Friday), meals, coffee breaks, and the times between it all. Stay open to connecting throughout Congress.
Chris talked about some of these events: “The Golf Tournament is another great venue to network and meet some new people, plus chase the white ball around the course.”
“Another great thing about Congress is Gemba Day on Friday. During Gemba Day, a handful of local projects open up their doors to people who can come and see what they are up to. Project teams talk about their approach to implementing various Lean processes we cover during the Core Program. They share their successes and lessons learned, including things they tried and may suggest trying differently. It’s just so great when project teams share their knowledge and challenges too—it shows how special our Lean community really is. We have a fantastic selection locally that you can see in action. It’s structured so you can do some networking while gaining knowledge.”
Tip #5: Advanced planning can go a long way.
Chris noted that at his company, DPR Construction, their team plans ahead to make the most of Congress—and to share the knowledge and connections gained with those who didn’t attend. About 25-35 members of his company go to Congress each year.
He offered, “My approach is to use the App to see the different events happening at Congress. You can also see a speaker on the attendee list and ping them through the App and introduce yourself, and suggest meeting up. That’s a good way to network.
After the presentation days, we always make plans to meet with some people at local restaurants. That’s a great way to connect and talk about what you saw that day, and what you’re looking forward to the next day.
At DPR, we conduct several internal calls leading up to Congress. Once we know who is going, we figure out a divide-and-conquer strategy for networking. That also creates a forum for us to come back to each other and share the different things we saw and people we met.”
Chris shares some networking icebreaker questions.
We asked Chris if he uses any special icebreaker questions. While it’s easy and natural to network at Congress, here are a few conversation starters he shared:
- How many Congresses have you been to, or is this your first one?
- What are you looking to get out of Congress? Is there something specific?
- Chris noted, “Since I’ve been to a few, I can offer suggestions of people, vendors, or presentations that can be helpful.”
- How do you bring the knowledge you’ve gained at Congress back to your organization to share it?
Chris is looking forward to networking and learning at a very special 2025 LCI Congress.
Chris is looking forward to “meeting new individuals and getting new ideas shared in the sessions.”
He continued, “This will be a very special Congress in Arlington. I was part of putting it together on the abstract team. This Congress includes great presentations, topics, and new themes coming into the design and construction world that we are all starting to figure out—AI and a handful of other things—and we have a lot of presentations that will touch on those.
It’s bigger in Texas. To have this many people within our design and construction industry coming to an event like this is pretty special. I’m looking forward to this year in Arlington.”
Chris closed with, “Come to Congress and take it all in. There are new project opportunities to be found. You may run into a new client or trade partner you want to bring on to projects. Networking at Congress goes in every direction. The beauty of it is that if you are at Congress, you most likely have a mindset in common with others—of advancing and bettering Lean project delivery in design and construction. It will be a great place to see 2,000 of your like-minded buddies this year–don’t miss it!”
Join us for it all.
Join us at the 2025 LCI Congress, October 20-24, in Arlington, Texas, for networking and learning you won’t want to miss! Register today.
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Stay in the know.
Check out the rest of our Congress blog posts and keep up with the latest on LinkedIn with #LCICongress25.
Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this year’s Congress?
Email Ilene Goldberg or call (703) 785-9087 for more information.
Questions on the Congress program?
Contact Joan Piccariello for more information.