How to Network at the 2026 LCI Congress Conference
How can you make the most of the many networking opportunities at the 2026 LCI Congress conference? Gain tips and strategies from our interview with two experienced Lean practitioners who are both long-time LCI Congress attendees and 2026 Congress speakers.
Felipe Engineer-Manriquez, Director, Project Delivery Services at The Boldt Company, Construction Scrum author, and past LCI Board Achievement Award winner; and Linsey Schoene, Senior Lean Services Manager at Alberici and 2026 Congress Learning Day instructor, share how to build your network and learn from others at the 2026 LCI Congress.
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Q. What are your top tips for making the most of networking at Congress?
A.
Linsey:
- Put yourself out there with everyone you meet. The first time I went to LCI Congress Learning Day, I was shy and worried about sitting at a table with all these people I didn’t know. But those are the people you meet and get to know while getting immersed in classes together, and then you see them throughout Congress. From there, you start connecting with the people they know, too.
- Stay open and very intentional about meeting and getting to know people. There are people I first met at Congress who I still keep in contact with. I see them at different industry events, and over time, they really become part of your network.
- Be authentic and share lessons learned. Candid sharing is a special part of Congress that a lot of other industry events don’t have. Everyone has a story to share. When I choose a class or presentation, I want to hear what went wrong and what you did to overcome it. The community at Congress really lends itself to that. People aren’t afraid to share what they’ve learned, even when things didn’t go as planned. The community really wants everybody to succeed as a whole. My philosophy is this: if I can share something with you that will get that information out there and make it easier for people to understand, or easier for people to start at their own companies, it will eventually be paid forward.
- You don’t have to worry about connecting with the right person. I’ve been going to Congress for nearly 10 years now, and it’s such a great opportunity. Everyone there is in the construction industry, and either interested in Lean or already practicing it in some form.
Felipe:
There is rarely going to be a problem you’re facing that somebody else hasn’t faced at least 20 times.
My philosophy is: there’s nothing new under the sun. Now, with that said, every human being is also born with amnesia, and once they come into this plane of existence, nobody knows what happened before they got here, and they have to learn it through direct experience.
- What I love about LCI and Congress is that there is rarely going to be a problem you’re facing that somebody else hasn’t faced at least 20 times. I love networking, meeting, and learning with other experienced practitioners and newer people. Sometimes I learn more from the newer people than I do from the experienced people.
- At Congress, there’s absolutely nothing but opportunities to learn. I always try to exchange my contact information with people as soon as I can to make sure we stay connected. It’s so they can keep the conversation going with me, or I can talk to them. Many times, after Congress, I’ll get phone calls or emails that say ‘hey, I just want five seconds or two minutes of your time to go over this thing that you said.’ Or ‘we were both in a session, and the speaker said this, but I don’t know any examples of it. Can you share one with me because I know this is what you do?’
- Teaching is the path to mastery. Those teaching experiences have been tremendous for me because LCI has this in all the Learning Day slides: teaching is the path to mastery. You’ve got to teach somebody else, and what better way to do that than to engage with people who are brand new?
Q. Do you have any specific tips for new attendees?
A.
Felipe:
For new attendees, don’t be shy. If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t know what this is, or these people keep talking about all these words that don’t make sense to me,’ just stop and ask. If you’re in a session, lean in to somebody next to you and just say, ‘hey, do you know what this is?’ Or write it down and get ready to ask the speakers after they’re done.
People at this event are one of the best examples in our industry of high psychological safety. You can talk about anything. You can talk about things that are working well. You can talk about things that are challenging or resistance to trying something new.
There’s nothing off the table. And so I’d highly recommend asking your questions. That’s a must-do.
Linsey:
Meet all the people you can, be fully present, and bring something back from each day, because that’s how you learn at Congress.
Meet as many people as you can and bring your authentic self.
It’s very easy, and I’ve done it before: when I have some big deadline coming up, half my brain is somewhere else, and half is in the room. If you can really dedicate some time to it, and like Felipe said, lean in, there are so many practical Lean pieces and tools that you can take back and start implementing right away that go beyond the theory. First-timers should just come ready to listen and learn.
At my company, we have a group of 25-plus people going this year. My message to them is, meet all the people you can, be fully present, and bring something back from each day, because that’s how you learn at Congress.
Q. Do you have any icebreaker questions to share?
A.
Linsey:
- What have you learned? What is your biggest lesson that you’ve learned in this?
- What is your favorite thing that you’ve taken away from Congress? I think that really gets people started, because I would have 100 things to share.
- Be honest and willing to ask the first question. There are no bad questions when it comes to connecting with others at Congress. I always feel like I can put myself out there and be honest, because you’re surrounded by like-minded people who are often experiencing the same things you are.
Felipe:
If you’re shy, just introduce yourself: first name and what your role is in the industry, and then go from there.
People who know me know that I’m not shy. I haven’t been shy in so many decades that I can barely remember what it was like when I was raising my son, who started off being shy, and I can confidently say that he’s no longer shy after 16 years in our household.
- For Congress attendees, if you’re shy, just introduce yourself: first name and what your role is in the industry, and then go from there. People will talk to you. There’s nothing to fear. You’ll get the vibe right away from day one.
- If you’re coming in for Learning Day, all the instructors are vetted and make it a safe space to ask questions and participate at a high level.
- In the general sessions, make sure to introduce yourself to every session’s champion and break the ice.
- For speakers, to break the ice, all you need to do is ask, ‘What should we call you?’ And you start talking.
As an extrovert with a capital E, I see new faces, and I go tap their shoulder and introduce myself to them, and I usually ask, ‘Hi, what’s your name? What role are you playing in the industry?’ And then we can start talking about things if we’re in a joint session, or I can ask them, ‘Hey, have you heard about this cool thing called Scrum, or artificial intelligence?’ That usually gets people going.
Q. Should attendees plan for networking in advance?
A.
Felipe:
There will be many opportunities for the collision of great ideas and amazing people.
I actually just got asked that question this week. I said I get paid to plan for a living, and so I can answer that in a very schedule-like way. But in reality, I don’t plan at all. I’ve been going to Congress since 2016. I never plan for networking. It just happens.
A key thing is don’t overschedule yourself, because then you’ll have no time to actually talk to people.
Pay attention to the sessions you want to go to, and the time between. Thankfully, LCI, through continuous improvement, has made time during Congress for people to network between sessions, or stay longer for questions and answers. There will be many opportunities for the collision of great ideas and amazing people.
Let it happen. Don’t force it. That’s my advice.
Linsey:
I second that wholeheartedly. For several years, I overscheduled myself, and it felt like I didn’t really get to talk to anybody.
I suggest going in with a few specific things in mind, or people you want to connect with or catch up with. Other than that, just be open, ask questions, and be curious.
There are lots of events during Congress, including small events held by vendors. Those are great opportunities to meet like-minded people and share. It’s pretty hard not to network at LCI. There are always people willing to talk and excited to share.
Felipe:
I usually only sleep about three hours per night during Congress week because I am out catching up with people, and somehow I’ve never missed the next day’s session. I’m so excited to talk to new people. Again, extrovert over here. There are plenty of people who get a good night’s sleep. I’m just not one of those people. I get energized by meeting people at Congress. I sleep on the plane on the way back.
Q. Do you have any specific tips based on 2026 Congress events?
A.
Kick-Off Social (Tuesday Evening, October 13)
Felipe:
For the Kick-Off Social, half are new attendees, so they’ve never been to an event like this before. Bring your favorite way to take notes. If paper and pen are the easiest, LCI always makes sure there’s a notebook in your bag so you can take notes. Have that handy. Some of these other applications can be a little clunky when you’re standing in a hallway. You’re not going to create a full-on thumb throttle on your phone.
A small notepad is plenty to capture what you need, and you can always embellish your notes later. That has been really valuable.
Linsey:
I would second that. Congress always provides a notebook and pen to attendees. I always think it’s useful to know what’s in those bags, because I purposefully stopped bringing my own notebook.
Don’t lug around your laptop unless you’ve got something you need to be doing, which hopefully you don’t. I always bring a little stack of sticky notes with me so I can flag some of the pages and write little notes down, and put them in different places, because I love sticky notes. Just come ready to listen and learn.
Exhibitor Reception (Wednesday Evening, October 14)
Take advantage of those events and the networking breaks to sit with somebody new.
Linsey:
The Exhibitor Reception is a very good opportunity to see what’s out there from a technology standpoint, and also to take advantage of meeting new people. I try to always branch out. Our group will inevitably start to only talk to one another, and I’ll say, let’s go meet some new people. Usually, you’ll see your session mates or old friends you can spend time learning more about or reconnecting with.
Take advantage of those events and the networking breaks to sit with somebody new.
Golf Tournament (Monday, October 12)
Linsey:
I’m playing in the golf tournament this year. We have a team of four, so I’m very excited about that. I’m terrible at golf, but I’m going to have fun, and that’s what it’s for. Any time your company is willing to sponsor opportunities like that, take advantage of it. It’s a really good opportunity. I’m very excited about it.
Q. What are you most looking forward to at Congress?
A.
Linsey:
I’m most looking forward to meeting people and learning from those who do. I learn something new from people all the time. And the people who are earlier in their Lean journey ask different questions. When you get further along in your Lean journey, you can start to feel like you’re at this mastery level, and you sometimes forget those initial questions of how to do something. So those are really valuable learning opportunities for me. Thinking of the LCI 5S in Lean Construction Learning Day class that I teach with Annmarie Thurnquist, questions come up there all the time that I haven’t thought about in years, and it’s such a good way to learn and refresh yourself.
Congress is my favorite time of the year.
Felipe:
I’m most looking forward to catching up with old friends who I haven’t seen in a long time.
I’m most looking forward to catching up with old friends who I haven’t seen in a long time. Some people don’t go to every conference, so you catch them when they’re back. We get so busy with the day-to-day that we don’t always have time to call each other. Being in person with so many people, it’s an easy way for us to get together and see how things have been.
What are you working on? What’s challenging now? Challenges always change. They’re nuanced to the problems that we face in construction, so I’m very excited to see how other people are doing, especially in contract types and building types that I don’t work in every day.
Learn more about all of the Congress sessions and networking events.
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