Beyond the Algorithm: Why the Smartest Tech Leaders Are Choosing People Over Prompts

Written by: Jen Wangler, VP of Technology, The Right Place

There's an AI in your pocket that can solve complex problems, draft strategies, and offer insights at any hour. It's infinitely patient, remarkably capable, and always available.

So why are 150 women standing in line—literally on a waitlist—to gather for coffee in Grand Rapids, Michigan? The answer reveals something critical about where we are in tech leadership: we've discovered the limits of our most powerful tools, and we're hungry for what they can't provide.

AI in Career Development: The Mentorship Revolution (And Its Shadow)

We’re already seeing how deeply AI is reshaping professional development. According to HRD Connect, nearly half (47%) of Gen Z workers prefer ChatGPT's guidance over their manager's for career advice. For introverts in tech especially, AI offers liberation: no networking anxiety, no vulnerability required. The efficiency is intoxicating.

But efficiency isn’t the same as connection. And guidance isn’t the same as trust.

The cost, my friends, is invisible.

The Trust Gap: Why Business Happens Face-to-Face

You can learn from AI. You do business with people you trust.

As Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss wrote in their May 2020 Harvard Business Review article, Begin with Trust:

"Trust is the basis for almost everything we do. It's the foundation on which our laws and contracts are built... It's also the input that makes it possible for leaders to fully realize their own capacity and power."

Trust develops through repeated interactions and micro-signals we pick up in person: tone, energy, body language, shared experience. These are things no algorithm can replicate. Social capital is built through physical presence, not chat interfaces.

And when trust is the currency, geography suddenly matters again. The pendulum is swinging back. After years of “you can do everything remotely,” we’re seeing a renewed hunger for physical gathering. Not as a rejection of technology, but as a recognition that relationships still require presence.

And in Grand Rapids, that shift is already underway.

The Grand Rapids Talent Migration: Starting Over in a New Ecosystem

Grand Rapids has seen an influx of professionals—both young talent and experienced leaders who left C-suite corporate comforts to start companies. They arrive with impressive resumes and zero social capital.

They know how to do the work. They don't know who to do it with.

That gap between expertise and connection is where ecosystems either thrive or stall.

The Coffee Circle Experiment: Building Community for Women in Tech in Grand Rapids

A year ago, I launched our first Coffee Circle as a beta test. The thesis was simple: create consistent space for women in tech to connect, face-to-face, once a month.

The idea for Coffee Circles came directly from our community. After Go Beyond, our annual full-day conference for women in tech, attendees told us the same thing: once a year wasn't enough. They wanted ongoing space to continue conversations and build genuine relationships. Trust doesn't happen in a single event; it requires consistency.

At the same time, the city itself was changing.

I was also seeing an influx of professionals moving to Grand Rapids—talented women and men from larger markets who wanted to connect in meaningful ways but didn't know where to start. Coffee Circles filled that gap.

The response told me everything about the moment we're in.

• First gathering: 6 women showed up
• Most recent: 150, with a waitlist

But here's what really surprised me: the business outcomes. Coffee Circle became an unexpected B2B engine. Strategic partnerships formed. Companies found team members. Business owners discovered vendors, collaborators, and champions for their work.

"Coffee Circles have been so instrumental over the past year,” said Stacy Paul, CEO of Array of Engineers. “I have made connections to strategic partners, I’ve been able to grow my personal and professional network and have found teammates."

This is what trust looks like in motion.

These aren't outcomes you can prompt engineer. They're trust-based transactions that happen because people showed up, repeatedly, and invested in relationships before opportunity.

A Growing Movement for In-Person Tech Community Building

The Coffee Circle movement isn't alone. Several other networking events and experiences are popping up throughout the city. Collider by Atomic Objectcreates open space for leaders with no agenda, no speakers—just connection.

West Michigan Product Communitybrings together software product professionals through monthly meetups focused on real-world challenges. Founder Rebecca Narayana explains: "In-person networking is essential for building trust, sparking new ideas, and strengthening our local tech ecosystem."

Different formats. Same instinct. These groups solve for the same need: trusted relationships in an ecosystem finally admitting AI, Slack, and Zoom aren't sufficient.

What This Means for Tech Leaders

Ecosystem building is infrastructure work—and it's more critical than ever. As organizations adapt to new technologies like AI, workforce dynamics are shifting. In these moments, a strong, micro-connected local economy becomes essential, and your network becomes a powerful source of support and opportunity.

Trust is now your competitive advantage. In a world where everyone has access to the same AI tools, differentiation comes from who you know and who trusts you.

Building Beyond the Algorithm: Why Human Connection Still Wins

The future isn't less AI—it's AI plus intentional human connection. The algorithm will make you efficient. Events like the Coffee Circles will make you effective. The smartest tech leaders have AI in their pocket. They're just not letting it replace the irreplaceable.

What are you building to bridge the trust gap in your community?