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6 Jul 2010
Every now and then someone stands out for delivering a clear, compelling thought leadership position. Booz & Company’s thought leadership position on innovation is one such instance.
I need to state up front that I have not met anyone from the business nor have I chatted to anyone in their corporate communication or innovation team – all I’ve had to go in is what I discovered on their website. This in itself is interesting because I have always been an advocate of openly sharing information with your markets. The web is a great way for people to find that information and Booz & Company has done just that for me.
Thought leadership in action – the Global Innovation 1000 study
According to their website, the company has conducted the Global Innovation 1000 study every year since 2005. The research investigates the relationship between how much companies spend on R&D and their overall financial performance. Every year, they reinforce the conclusion that there is no correlation between the two. You can see the research here http://tinyurl.com/25yz5rz
These findings as well as their analysis of what makes the most successful innovators led The Economist to call the Global Innovation 1000 “the most comprehensive assessment of the relationship between R&D investment and corporate performance.” Tom Peters called it a “provocative, research-based article that is sure to get you thinking.”
Thought leadership = conversations and coverageUnfortunately I cannot tell you how Booz has used it internally or how they have leveraged it with customers and prospects. No doubt there are some examples of how powerful it has been in these instances. What I can gauge is that since its inception, the study has been mentioned in more than 150 publications in 27 countries, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. It has also received numerous awards and has no doubt been presented at numerous conferences.
Every year the study has produced quantifiable insights and lessons for companies so that they can make more productive use of their R&D dollars. How this translates practically is supported by a page of case studies that outline how the company’s innovation insights, advice and solutions have helped clients.
On the face of it Booz is using this thought leadership position to good effect. They are sharing it online, they are giving it to clients and prospects to help their businesses and they are no doubt leveraging it to great effect internally and with their clients and prospects. Importantly, they continue to build expertise around the topic for the company and for the team involved.
The innovation experts
For example Barry Jaruzelski, who leads the company’s innovation practice is frequently quoted in publications like The Wall Street Journal, the Economist, the Financial Times, and The New York Times on the technology industry and the challenges of innovation. He often appears as an expert commentator on ABC News, CNBC, NPR and the BBC.
What a great position to be in to be able to share insights and knowledge that will benefit your client or prospect instead of having to try and ‘sell’ to them. What a great way to build trust and confidence in your brand and your people’s expertise. What fertile media material to generate coverage and what a superb platform and position – the innovation experts.
This is thought leadership that ticks just about every box.
More importantly, innovation is a wonderful value with which to be aligned as a business and because of the work they have done in this space, Booz & Company has achieved just that.
4 Responses to “Thought leadership case study – Booz & Company on innovation”
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The Economist appears to have back-tracked from its support of thought leadership in a recent editorial September describing the phrase when used by consultancies as “annoying” and going on to question the value it brings to such firms investing in it. Why the volte-face?
Tom, I have purposely stayed away from commenting on the Economist piece for a few days so I wouldn’t say what first came to my mind when reading this article.
Fortunately this is the great thing about non-evidence based articles – they are merely opinions and we are all free to share those. This is merely another opinion from a commentator who has been ‘annoyed’ somewhere down the track by some thought leadership material or the loose use of the term. But then on the latter aren’t we all?
If it was the Economist’s stance one would have to start thinking about words like hypocritical. Afer all what is the purpose of The Economist Debates, The Economist Intelligence Unit and The Economist Conferences? Absolutely, The Economists’ very own thought leadership platforms.
Maybe the commentator who penned this article should ask the Economist’s customers whether this thought leadership is ‘annoying’ them.
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