07-08-2025
7 things every leader should hear from Delaware's Spur Impact Summit
The MILLSUMMIT is dead. Long live the Spur Impact Leadership Summit.
The rebranding of the 8-year old annual event became official halfway through the event that returned on Aug. 5 to 1313 Market in Wilmington, with a theme that, appropriately, was about embracing change and moving forward.
Originally called the Millennial Summit, the brainchild of Spur Impact founder Charles Vincent was aimed at young future leaders when it started in 2017. It soon dropped the generational focus, as millennials grew out of the professional youngster demo and it became clear that people of all ages attended and benefitted from the event. The shortened MILLSUMMIT name became more of a reference to Delaware's historical and modern mills that helped establish it as a center of business.
Some things haven't changed: Equity is still a focus, with attendees picking up advice on protecting their rights in the workplace and knowing when a workplace no longer aligns with their core values.
Whether you're a business leader, future leader, founder or technologist, here are seven of the biggest takeaways from the day.
You can find a live recap and pics in our Delaware Slack channel. (Not yet a member? Request an invite here.)
1) No job in your industry? Use your transferable skills
It's rough out there for people breaking into new careers, whether you're fresh out of college/training or a mid-career pivoter. Until you find the job in your preferred industry, many of the skills you've picked up can still serve you in the meantime, said Nicole Denson, a managing director at JPMorgan Chase.
'If your industry of interest is not available, take your skills to another industry until your industry becomes available, and then transfer them,' Denson said.
2) Choose quality over quantity
Whether it's network connections or social media followers, quality over quantity was a recurring theme. (second only to 'Everyone has imposter syndrome').
Glenn Jackson, an executive VP with M&T Bank, offered advice on finding meaningful professional relationships.
'Slowing down for me was really important,' Jackson said. 'Instead of stacking up relationships and you're checking a box… just engage people, meet them where they're at, stay present in that moment, and something will happen'
3) Mentors aren't just for young people
Marlow Levy, president of St. Francis and Mercy Fitzgerald hospitals, never got to be guided by his dream mentor when he was young, but he eventually found others in hospital leadership positions who helped him reach his goals. And even then, he never stopped seeking guidance.
'I think it becomes a sort of hubris to think that you ever get to a point where you don't need a good mentor to help guide you,' Levy said. 'I have a couple of mentors, and I think the most difficult sort of advice one may have given me at some point during my time with them was probably [that] sometimes being uncomfortable leads to growth.'
4) Don't save being nice for the CEO
Leaders who took the time to treat people well as they rose to the top, regardless of their rank in the organization, are some of the most effective, said Natalie Edwards, global chief diversity officer of National Grid.
'People often forget what you did, but people rarely forget how you made them feel,' Edwards said. 'Some of the best relationships in my career… the ones that will actually get you more opportunities than knowing the CEO, is how you treat your peers and the people who are junior than you, because at the end of the day, those are the people you work on projects with across the organization.'
5) AI is not the Terminator, but ethical concerns shouldn't be ignored
Today's leaders need to keep up with AI and understand its importance as a tool that can greatly increase efficiency, according to Greg Watkins, cofounder of and an AI advocate.
The fears that surround AI as it changes the business landscape like nothing since the advent of the internet (if not the Industrial Revolution) often to focus on science fiction-type fears of self-aware cyborgs, while the biggest risks are actually more mundane, he said, tied to data centers powered by fossil fuels and ethical concerns in education and medicine.
'Out in Delaware City, they're trying to build a data center,and it's getting a huge pushback from the community due to environmental issues,' Watkins said. 'There are ethical concerns around the usage of AI, right down to is a student cheating when they use it in school, or are they using a tool to make their work better?'
6) Rethink the 'Golden Rule' in the workplace
Discrimination in the workplace — and retaliation for reporting discrimination — is real, said Richard Sexton, senior counsel for labor and employment at BAE Systems, American University. Workers should know their rights, and understand that protection from discrimination doesn't mean a perfect workplace.
From a leadership perspective, Fleur McKendell, president of the Delaware NAACP State Conference of Branches, made a counter-intuitive suggestion:
'I think it's important that we understand that we need to have a paradigm shift away from treating people the way you want to be treated,' she said. 'We need to treat people the way they want to be treated, because what's acceptable to you may not be acceptable to someone else.'
7) Remember to have fun
Wally Koval, the Wilmington-based cofounder and CEO of the adventure brand Accidentally Wes Anderson, found success building an online community by listening to followers and continually re-evaluating what works (and what doesn't), as he and his wife Amanda followed a path that has so far included global travel and a New York Times bestselling book.
Becoming successful doing something that started out as a personal project is a unique position in some ways, but Koval's advice applies to everyone:
'Don't forget to have fun with it,' Koval said. 'This [takeaway] is easy to an extent, and, I think, the hardest one.'
