I think you have to take a brutally honest assessment of how important technology is to your company. By important, I mean, is technology a frequent consideration in C-level decisionmaking? Is technology directly, or at least closely, tied to revenue? Who is your boss, and to whom does he or she report? What about that person's boss? Where does your group fit into the org structure? These are the indicators that matter. Lots of non-tech companies can talk the talk, or at least make the necessary noises. But check to see where your company's mouth and money are.<p>Don't be fooled by trends, or by your company's current infatuation with any buzzy topic of the moment that happens to play to your strengths. Companies eat up and spit out new trends every quarter. Instead, look to things more fundamental and deeply ingrained: org structures; career tracks (if any) for your function there; the power structure and network of decisionmaking; how the company makes its money; etc.<p>If tech is not really that important to your company, you've got a choice to make. Stick with the company if you want to coast, and perhaps to reach a nicely compensated sinecure within the firm. You can do well for yourself, but you might never really climb the ladder, or attain strategic importance. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that. That's the endgame perhaps 90% of all workers strive for. Leave if you hunger for something more than that.<p>On the other hand, it is <i>certainly</i> possible to become a hot, exotic, and indispensable figure at a non-tech company by being a techie who is sufficiently skilled in the arts of politics and influence. But you will need to master those arts. Technical competence alone, even extreme competence, will be necessary but insufficient.