Yeah it's definitely a balance--the big company-wide meetings can be good for context but could also be too broad in scope. On a couple occasions I've enjoyed medium-sized informal get-togethers with my team, and I can sort of pick people's brains. Just having that social environment means I can sometimes talk one-on-one with folks I would rarely interact directly with otherwise.

I completely agree--in my day-to-day, I'm very much in my head about the problem at hand. I respect folks who can keep the long-term vision in their sights while applying that to short-term decisions which will help in the future. Some of the more valuable things I could learn from the higher-ups at my work, I feel, are related to big goals, changing landscape, rising opportunities and problems in the industry.