Inside the 2026 Thought Leaders Retreat

Some events are defined by who takes the stage.

The Thought Leaders Retreat has always been defined by who is sitting in the room.

This July, landscape industry CEOs, owners, senior leaders, and partners gathered at Live! by Loews in Arlington, Texas, for three days built around a simple idea: give experienced leaders the time, space, and peers to think out loud about the decisions that matter.

The result wasn’t three days of people taking notes. It was three days of people comparing them.

The Questions That Defined the Room

The conversations started on stage.

Tony Brock opened TLR with a simple, uncomfortable observation: growing companies rarely struggle from a lack of effort. They struggle from a lack of clarity. His framework, Leading with Clarity, gave leaders a practical way to align priorities, sharpen execution, and lead their organizations through change with more confidence.

Dave Anderson pushed the question further in The Leadership Gap, examining the distance between the standards leaders say they expect and the behaviors they actually tolerate.

Brian Corbett and Jim McCutcheon took the room inside The Deal Behind the Deal, exploring what really determines the outcome of an acquisition: valuation, preparation, cultural fit, deal structure, and the decisions owners make long before a transaction closes.

Different subjects. A common thread:

The hardest problems at this level rarely have simple answers. That is where the room becomes valuable.

When the Room Takes Over

Some of the best conversations at TLR didn’t happen from the stage at all. They happened across breakfast tables, during the Executive Forums, around the pool at the Cabana Exchange, over dinner, and in the conversations that continued long after the scheduled program ended.

The Built to Scale case study made that particularly clear. Attendees were given the same company, the same facts, and the same leadership problem. Then they were asked what they would do.

They didn’t agree.

That was the point.

Experienced leaders can look at the same problem and reach different conclusions. Hearing how another CEO thinks through the trade-offs can be more valuable than being handed the supposed right answer.

That idea carried throughout the retreat. TLR isn’t built on the assumption that the smartest person is standing at the front of the room. There are smart people sitting at every table.

More Than Networking

Calling what happens at TLR “networking” doesn’t quite capture it. Networking is exchanging contact information. This is different.

It’s finding someone who has already faced the decision you’re wrestling with. Meeting an owner whose company is a few years ahead of yours. Challenging someone else’s thinking. And having them return the favor.

Sometimes the value is an idea. Sometimes it’s a different question. And sometimes it’s simply finding another leader you can call six months later when you need someone who understands the decision in front of you.

The sessions start the conversations. The room makes them valuable.

Partners Who Become Part of the Room

The same principle applies to TLR’s partners.

The best partnerships aren’t built by standing outside the conversation and trying to sell into it. They’re built by becoming part of it.

LandScaling returned as TLR’s Title Partner for the second consecutive year, joined by Gold Partners CCG Advisors, Scythe Robotics, Process-Smart, and Protiv.

Throughout the retreat, our partners shared meals, exchanged ideas, answered questions, and built relationships alongside the leaders they came to meet.

That’s what partnership at TLR is supposed to look like.

What Comes Next

Planning for the 2027 Thought Leaders Retreat has already begun.

The location will change. The speakers will change. The questions certainly will. The standard for the room won’t.

We’ll share the dates and location soon.

Because year after year, one thing has become increasingly clear:

Put the right people in the room, and the conversation takes care of itself.