The Watchtower - Mission Critical and Data Center Perspectives

Empirix Partners
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Brought to you by Empirix Partners, trusted advisors for Mission Critical Procurement. Hosted by our CEO, Zachary Peña, The Watchtower explores how the supply-led approach to Mission Critical creates the best go-to-market advantage. When Mission Critical lights go off, everyone feels it. We help bring them online, on time. We say what we mean and the quiet parts, too. Join the Mission! www.empirixpartners.com

  1. JAN 23

    When Waiting Isn't an Option: A Discussion with Jake Ring, President of PDM, Live from PTC 2026

    Today, we sit down with Jake Ring, President of PDM, live from PTC 2026 in Hawaii to discuss how his company is disrupting the transformer market with unprecedented lead times, mobile substations, and innovative solutions for the AI factory era's power challenges.  In this recording, we'll review: How PDM went from unknown to having customers approach them at industry conferencesThe shift from utility builders to data center developers designing their own substations - and the challenges this createsWhy transformers are the critical pinch point for accessing grid power and enabling self-generationThe mobile substation solution that could accelerate commissioning timelines by monthsWhy commissioning nightmares from 2025 decisions will haunt developers throughout 2026And much more.

    33 min

  2. 12/11/2025

    The First Dollar Problem: Why Intentional Leadership Development Determines Your Future

    Today, we explore why intentional leadership development is critical in the rapidly scaling data center industry, examining how to build leaders before you need them and the costly mistakes of leaving top performers to self-develop in isolation. In this recording, we'll review: The cushion effect - how rapid growth masks the cost of poor leadership for far too longWhy your best performers are the most likely to leave without proper developmentThe difference between hiring stallions and creating the environment where they can runHow middle managers represent 80% of activity but receive disproportionately little developmentThe critical shift from activity-based learning to first principles thinkingWhy leaders need real risk and downside in their decisions to truly developAnd much more.

    29 min

  3. 10/23/2025

    Building the Skill of Grit: Why Mental Toughness Separates Winners from Losers

    Today, we explore mental toughness as a learnable skill rather than an innate trait, examining how grit separates winners from losers in the high-stakes data center industry and what it takes to build this capability in yourself and your teams. In this recording, we'll review: Why talent counts, but effort counts twice - and how grit intersects with natural abilityThe critical difference between endurance (holding on) and grit (embracing the challenge)How mental toughness can become a mask that does more harm than good when misappliedWhy being "comfortable being uncomfortable" is the foundation of the Empirix cultureHow uncomfortable transparency and direct feedback build grit in teamsWhy maintaining zero difference between internal and external performance standards mattersThe partnership element of mental toughness - you can't do it aloneAnd much more.

    30 min

  4. 09/18/2025

    Beyond the Booth: How Yotta 2025 Fostered Real Conversations That Will Shape the Data Center Future

    Today, we dive into the key takeaways from Yotta 2025 at MGM in Las Vegas, where our team witnessed the data center industry's transformation into the AI factory era, featuring insights from our senior associates who attended this rapidly growing conference.In this recording, we'll review: The unique energy and cross-industry representation that makes Yotta different from other conferencesWhy suppliers chose brutal honesty over smoke and mirrors when discussing timelines and capabilitiesHow mentorships and hallway conversations create more value than formal presentationsThe shift from "data centers" to "AI factories"First-time attendee perspectives on the collaborative energy that enables innovationAnd much more.

    33 min

  5. 08/28/2025

    Radical Focus or Rejection: Why Defining Your Product-Market Fit Is No Longer Optional

    Today, we dive deep into product-market fit in the data center industry, examining the three strategic approaches that define success or failure, and why understanding your market position has never been more critical in an era of increasingly selective capital.​ In this recording, we'll review: The three core approaches to product-market fit: product-led, market-led, and founder-led strategiesWhy founder-led "super groups" carry the highest risk despite their initial appealHow build-to-suit strategies can trap you into being "anything to anyone"The critical importance of radical focus and why it must fit on a sticky noteWhy timing matters as much as product innovationHow smart money is getting pickier and passing on deals at faster ratesThe fundamental shift from "if you build it, they will come" to rigorous market validationAnd much more.

    26 min

  6. 08/14/2025

    Part 3 - Beyond Consolidation: The Adaptive Advantage and Winning Strategies in this New Era

    Today, we conclude our three-part series by revealing the adaptive advantage and winning strategies for thriving in the unprecedented data center consolidation era, where traditional approaches fail and creative problem-solving becomes essential for survival. In this recording, we'll review: Why there's no standard field manual - strategy must be tailored to your specific market bucketThe universal principle of challenging status quo mentalities across all three player typesCreative problem-solving approaches for grid constraints, labor shortages, and reimagining the data center itselfThe "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" philosophy for balancing speed with smart executionHow to develop a supply-led strategy that's measured, proactive, and grounded in realityWhy strategic intent and radical focus determine when to accelerate versus when to pauseThe most important spicy take: get back to basics and stop overcomplicating the fundamentalsAnd much more.

    24 min

  7. 07/23/2025

    Part 2 - Beyond Consolidation: Three Mindsets in the New Reality of Today's Digital Landscape

    Today, we continue our three-part series by examining the three distinct mindsets emerging in the data center consolidation era and analyzing who thrives versus who risks extinction in this unprecedented market transformation. In this recording, we'll review: The "Woolly Mammoths" - traditional large players with market assumptions and historical approaches facing climate changeThe "Fire Starters" - agile new startups with build-fast mentalities, speed advantages, and cautionary talesThe "Apex Predators" - AI hyperscale chasers focused on gigawatt land grabs and first-to-tenant strategiesWhy perceived success can be more dangerous than actual failure in this environmentThe critical balance between speed and smart execution across all three approachesHow self-awareness of your market position determines survival oddsWhy predictability may trump pure speed in the hardware reality of data centersAnd much more.

    26 min

  8. 06/11/2025

    Part 1 - Beyond Consolidation: Why the Data Center Industry is Experiencing Fastest Industry Transformation in History

    Today, we begin a three-part series by examining how market consolidation in the Data Center industry has arrived and is fundamentally different from any consolidation curve in business history, driven by unprecedented scale, speed, and resource consumption that's reshaping the entire landscape.In this recording, we'll review: Why this consolidation is unlike anything we've seen before - bigger, faster, and more resource-intensive than previous industry transformationsThe scale factor: how AI and generative AI have created a "war-time" pace of development with trillions of dollars moving into the spaceThe speed paradox: how massive gigawatt campuses are being built faster than smaller facilities used to be constructedBehind-the-meter power solutionsHow winners are capturing exponentially more capital while others get less, accelerating the consolidation timelineThe emergence of alternative supply strategies as traditional approaches fail to meet demand And much more. CLICK HERE to access our previous podcast episode discussing the consolidation curve. CLICK HERE to access our previous blog discussing tactics to deploy during consolidation.

    21 min
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5
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3 Ratings

About

Brought to you by Empirix Partners, trusted advisors for Mission Critical Procurement. Hosted by our CEO, Zachary Peña, The Watchtower explores how the supply-led approach to Mission Critical creates the best go-to-market advantage. When Mission Critical lights go off, everyone feels it. We help bring them online, on time. We say what we mean and the quiet parts, too. Join the Mission! www.empirixpartners.com

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