Views on thought leadership part one

Views on thought leadership

Marte Semb Aasmundsen, is a postgraduate student due to graduate this month with her MSc Strategic Public Relations and
Communications Management at The University of Stirling in the UK.  She approached me some time ago about interviewing me on the topic of thought leadership as part of her thesis.

I will run excerpts from that interview over three posts.  This is the first:

How would you define thought leadership?

“As evolving content that is geared towards the issues and challenges of your target audiences or your business prospects.
It should enable you to have conversations with them and a relationship beyond selling your products or services. It’s got to be client centric and it’s got to address the issues and challenges that clients and your prospects care about, because if it doesn’t you’ll struggle to gain traction.

“Ideally good thought leadership should be a bit of a game changer – it challenges conventions, it can be pretty out there, it’s new and not everybody agrees with it. In fact, if you can engage in dialogue with people who disagree, fantastic, because that just raises the profile of your thought leadership even further. Effectively, you want to be challenging the industry with your point of view as well as your stakeholders to think differently about that sector or that industry.”

What’s the underlying purpose of thought leadership?

“Quite simply to position yourself as the expert in that field, to position yourself as someone that has a different point of view and who can add value to your clients or your prospective clients.  To position yourself as the go to person in your area.”

Why do organisations choose to implement a thought leadership
strategy?

“More than ever companies are struggling to differentiate themselves.  There is so much content out there and the competition is in the increase.  It’s very difficult to stay at the top of the pile and companies have realised that the consumer, whether they are in B2C or B2B, are looking for something a little bit different, they want to be engaged with that business.

“And it shouldn’t be an engagement that says to them ‘these guys are just trying to sell me their products, or they’re just trying to sell me their services.’  Ultimately it should be the type of engagement that says to them ‘these guys really understand my sector, they really understand me, and they’ve given me stuff that has added value.  I feel very comfortable talking to these guys because they really do understand my issues and challenges.’

“It becomes a lot easier to sell when you talking to somebody about their problems as opposed to your product.”

Is there a difference between B2B vs B2C thought leadership?

“Yes.  B2B can be a lot more targeted.  It also requires more depth in terms of the research in the sector within which you operate. I think B2C in some ways can by more difficult because the audience is a lot bigger and more diverse – depending of course on what you’re selling. As a result it is more difficult to define your thought leadership position and delivery of that is more challenging.

“When it comes to a business, for example if you are a lawyer or a management consultant, you have a very defined audience, you probably have a closer relationship with them and as a result I believe it’s easier to target your thought leadership in terms of their needs. “

In part two Marte asks me about whether a brand can be a thought leader, the sustainability of thought leadership, whether it’s measurable and how you measure it.  

Feel free to download my e book at the top right of this page.  I’d welcome you to follow me on twitter @thoughtstrategy
and join me on LinkedIn.

Advice from 7 global thought leaders on thought leadership

Insights from 7 thought leaders

Over the course of the last few years I have had the privilege of interviewing a number of thought leaders in different fields.  I’ve taken the best of what these seven thought leaders have shared on the topic and hopefully you’ll find them useful.

David Meerman Scott, author of “The new rules of PR and Marketing”, is well known to many marketing and public relations professionals.  When he was working for NewsEdge he famously ignored the advice of his PR and ad agency and ‘broke the old rules’ by publishing lots of free content online which resulted in hundreds of sales.

Sales and thought leadership

David explained the link between thought leadership and sales this way.

“The Web gives everyone—B2B companies, consumer brands, consultants, non-profits, and even rock bands, churches, and colleges—a tremendous opportunity to reach people and engage them in new and different ways.

“When you build content especially for your audience, you build a relationship with people before you’ve even met them. When it’s obvious that you understand your buyers and their problems, it jars your visitors into paying attention.

“You transform your marketing from mere product-specific, ego-centric gobbledygook that only you understand and care about into valuable information people are eager to consume and that they use to make the choice to do business with your organization. Instead of creating jargon-filled, hype-based advertising, you can create the kind of online content that your buyers naturally gravitate to—if you take the time to listen to them discuss the problems that you can help them solve.

“Then you’ll be able to use their words, not your own. You’ll speak in the language of your buyer, not the language of your founder, CEO, product manager, or PR agency staffer. You’ll help your marketing get real.”

Content and thought leadership

When I pressed David about his thoughts on producing content and whether content alone makes you a thought leader, his view was:

“The problem is that most organizations create content about their stupid products. What people need to realize is that nobody cares about your products (except you).  What people do care about are themselves and ways to solve their problems.”

Another thought leader who had some interesting views on content is well known marketer Dana VandenHeuvel (Marketing Savant), who had this to say about content:

“Content is the medium of exchange for thought leaders. Now, there are nuances to this that I won’t go into, but on the surface, the more content you have, the more currency you have in your marketplace.  If it’s you, with a content rich site sharing information that’s deemed useful by your audient (usefulness is key here), vs. a competitor with less content and fewer shared ideas and concepts, I’ve found the prospects like the person or organization that’s given them more currency and gives them a larger base perspective from which to make a decision.”

I love the way Dana equates content to currency and how it gives you the perspective to make decisions.  My view is that for your thought leadership to truly work it has to give your clients the information and insights necessary to make informed decisions.

Gary Bertwistle, multiple author of books such as “Who stole my Mojo”, “What made you think of that”, “My Dad’s got Mojo” and “The Vibe” had this to say about content and taking your content to market:

“My advice to aspiring thought leaders would be to develop your own content. Too many so-called thought leaders are just parroting what they’ve read or heard, whereas a true thought leader espouses. To be a true thought leader you have to have original thoughts and this only comes from taking the time to be silent and to look, see, listen and really hear what’s going on around you to be able to form an opinion that can truly help take people and organisations forward. Thought leaders aren’t those who just repackage what everyone else has said. They must have an angle and a new approach, idea, concept or innovation that can truly lead.

“In today’s world books are not the only tool that business or leaders can use. Many thought leaders are using social media particularly well through blogs, tweets, podcasts and vidcasts. The book is purely the tool to help you get the word out.

“Organisations and business leaders can do just as good a job by truly investing in original thinking and using all the tools outlined above as the methods to share your thoughts as a leader. Blogs, tweets, Facebook, LinkedIn, DIGG, podcasts, vidcasts are all fine but if you’re not sharing innovative thinking that helps me as the follower to think differently or be better at whatever it is that I do, then you fail to add value and all those things are a waste of space. Too many companies are loading up with podcasts and blogs, which have no value and are a waste of time.”

Fiona Czerniawska is a global authority on thought leadership, particularly in the management consultancy space.  There are few people who understand as much about thought leadership as Fiona.  A co-founder of Source, a company specialising in researching the consulting industry, she has authored numerous management reports, books and papers.

She makes the following point about good content:

“If you look back at the block-buster management ideas of the past, they were all based on serious research, not a sudden brainwave or luck.  I don’t believe in eureka moments except those that emerge from deeper-than-deep content.  That being said, I do think that innovation in thought leadership will come from the way this content is assembled and disseminated.”

Thought leadership is about sharing

Generosity played a big part in Gary Bertwistles’s advice about content sharing:

            “Today’s brands need to be generous.

“Generosity is a key driver for any thought leader or organisation wanting to lead.  You can’t just sell a service or a product. You have to go above and beyond that and provide the extras.

“Provide the overs. The overs come in the form of information, advanced notice, freebies, alliances, promotion or insights. If you aren’t sharing your knowledge or insights with your target audience then you run the risk of leaving yourself open to attack from a competitor who does. Today it’s an expectation from your target audience. The buyer of any product or service expects the extras.”

Gary had a simple three-step process around thought leadership which comprised:

1.      Clarifying who you are targeting

2.      Clarify the category you want to occupy – find a single concept which differentiates you and decide what perceptions you want to create around this

3.      Work out how you will infiltrate your target’s world in order to alert them about this information.

Bernard Salt is a global thought leader on consumer and demographic trends.  He represents KPMG at conferences around the world sharing his insights on these topics.

When it comes to sharing information, Bernard is emphatic:

“There are a lot of people who I am aware copy my material, style and approach without attribution – there is no protection against intellectual theft.  But the way I figure it is that it’s my job to remain intellectually creative to such a degree that pretenders are continually left with the option but to copy.

“The only people who are paranoid about giving away material are people who do not have faith that they are creatively superior to those who would copy them.  Copy away.  I’ll just think up other stuff.  It keeps me sharp.”

Thought leadership is not about controlling the message

One of the areas where companies really battle in the social world is about controlling information.  The idea of engaging in conversations online let alone having dialogues with people as a result of their thought leadership content is an anathema for most big corporations.  Most companies have always pushed a message, typically a highly sanitised one at that, and then controlled it to the nth degree across all channels.  As a result they really battle with the concept of no longer being in control of what is said about their brand and are hesitant about entering the social media world. 

David Meerman Scott has a strong view on this and access to information:

“And you must resist the urge to “control the message.” Create something interesting that will be talked about online.

“When you lose control of your marketing by opening up and not requiring a registration, as many as fifty times the number of people will download it compared to the form requirement.”

Thought leadership is Customer focused

David believes one has to be customer focused when it comes to creating thought leadership content:

“My most important aspect of creating information is to throw away your own ego and instead create content for what I call ‘buyer personas’.

“I think ‘buyer personas’ are the king of marketing and a focus on buyer personas allows you to create the content.”

I couldn’t agree more, too many companies focus on what they’re excited about rather than taking time to find out the pressing issues and challenges facing their clients or prospects.

As Fiona Czerniawska point out:

“Clients have mixed reactions, depending on the subject-matter and their position.  Overall, clients dismiss most thought leadership simply because it’s not relevant to them.  There’s a lesson in this about ensuring all material is focused on as tight a group of clients as possible, otherwise – a bit like infections treated with antibiotics – they become resistant! 

“Where it is relevant, views are much more positive: indeed, it’s quite clear that producing good thought leadership is, in many senior managers’ eye, a fundamental characteristic of a certain type of established, high-class consulting.”

Tips from a master thought leader

Most people will know Ken Blanchard from his book “The one minute manager” which has sold more than 13 million copies.  The fact is Ken has published and co-authored over 50 books and is one of the top 25 top selling authors of all time on Amazon.

When I asked him about what tips he could give to other aspiring thought leaders he said:

“The first thing you have to do is to determine your leadership point of view—your thoughts about leading and motivating people. Your leadership point of view relates to who you are as an individual. It grows out of who influenced you, what your purpose is, what your values are, and what people can expect from you. This is important because research has shown that the most effective leaders have a clear leadership point of view and they’re willing to share it with others.”

Ken also makes a hard hitting point about sharing information and getting your thought leadership to market:

“The bottom line, though, is that you have to get the word out somehow. You can have the greatest, most innovative thoughts in the world, but if nobody hears about them, they’re worth squat.”

Thought leadership takes time

Bernard Salt believes that thought leadership is a test of endurance, personal belief and courage because it takes years to be recognised and to cut through the clutter.  As he says:  “You have to be the last person standing when all other pretenders have melted away.”

He also says that corporations need to be patient with thought leaders but that they are notoriously impatient.

Thought leaders need to be skilled communicators

Bernard is a firm believer that thought leaders need to be able to pitch their ideas – in other words they need to be skilled presenters and outstanding communicators.  Bernard says:

“What business wants is a compelling case pitched verbally with passion and with direction.  Hone your speaking and presentation skills.  And then hone again.

“Watch good speakers and presenters.  Watch stand-up comedians, they are brilliant at controlling an audience.

“Get to the point, speak passionately, use words well (you must be articulate), and connect with your audience.  And when you think you are good enough in that skill area go out and learn some more because you are never good enough at speaking, pitching and presenting.”

Another global thought leader who believes in the power of presentation and effective communications is Howard Gardner, professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Howard has authored 25 books and is best known for his theory on multiple intelligences:  Howard had this to say about becoming a thought leader in your chosen field:

You need the “capacity to speak and write for a popular audience, and the willingness to go on television, travel, speak to general audiences…

“Every year I think that I improve both my understanding and my ability to communicate effectively – or at least I hope so.”

Key challenges for thought leaders

Fiona Czerniawska says that one of the trends she has identified is the way in which people are publishing their material with a plethora of new formats, including Twitter, videos, podcasts and design-your-own graphs. 

She flags that the key challenge for thought leaders these days is:

 “…you have less space to say things and I think consulting firms are struggling with the transition from back-breaking flagship reports to a pithier, more opinionated style.  A five-minute video shouldn’t be a balding man in a grey suit reading the executive summary, but someone saying something memorable and thought-provoking, as well as fast.  This type of thought leadership should be like the tip of an iceberg, with the underlying research below the waterline, but it often becomes an excuse for not doing the research in the first place – and that shows.”

How thought leaders attract attention

One of the areas that Fiona touched on was how thought leaders can attract a client’s attention.  She has identified four areas on which a thought leader should focus.  These are: appeal, differentiation, practical application and quality of thinking.  She explains: 

“These four factors relate to the quality of a firm’s output and that’s independent of quality (although, almost inevitably, a firm that decides to increase the quantity of its material takes a hit on quality).  It’s tempting to say that quantity should never matter but it does: if you produce one piece of thought leadership on, say, strategy in the banking sector, but your competitor produces 20, then there’s a fair chance that you’ll get shouted down, however great your piece is. 

“Quantity also sends a not-so-subliminal message to clients about how much a firm specialises in a particular area. 

“However, I think firms could indeed be more creative about the way they package their content.  In particular, I’d like to seem more “bundling” (putting related articles, in a mix of different formats, together in the same place); better recommendations (suggesting articles I might find of interest); and, please, please, please, better search engines.  It’s incredibly frustrating to put a keyword in but not be able to sort the results by date or filter them.”

The future of thought leadership

Fiona believes that thought leadership has a bright future:

“I like to think that it will become a serious battleground for really good ideas.  I may be laughed at for this on the quite reasonable grounds that (a) clients value small-scale insights more than grandiose conceptual models and (b) the extent to which thought leadership is – or can be – a crucible for innovation is questionable.  But I do get frustrated by the lack of ambition in much thought leadership.

“There are some big and interesting questions about business that never seem to get debated – and it would be good to think that some of these will start to be discussed.  The prerequisites to this, and I suspect to upping the overall quality of thought leadership, are investment and collaboration.

“I can’t believe we won’t see more money going into thought leadership in the future, as it’s clear that it is one of the few marketing activities which can differentiate a firm.  And I also think consulting firms will realise that they have to work with people (clients and other consultants) outside the boundaries of their firms for inspiration.”

Please download my free e book top right of this page.  Follow me on twitter @thoughtstrategy and join me on LinkedIn.

Interview with communications measurement expert Michael Ziviani

Michael Ziviani is the CEO of Precise-Value, a business he started in 1999 after leaving his role as the research manager for Microsoft Australia.  Michael has brought a whole new dynamic and rigour to the art of measuring communications.  He and his team have lifted measurement to a new level by providing remarkably detailed and valuable insights into the worth and return of marketing and communication campaigns.

 The information he provides not only enables practitioners to measure their campaigns but also to recalibrate and focus their efforts to maximise their future returns on these campaigns.

Michael is constantly stretching the boundaries of where and how one can use coverage and campaign analysis to strategically help organisations drive even better value. He has recently been using advanced analysis of communications and CSR to prove the business benefit to organisations.

I interviewed him about his work in this field.  This is what he had to say:

1.       Michael after years analysing data previously with Microsoft and now with your own business Precise Value, you have some interesting observations that measurement alone is limiting, can you expand on that?

Businesses today measures lots of things – almost as if some kind of compulsion for KPI’s makes managers seem more in control. But what do those numbers really mean?

It pays to put measurement aside to seek deeper learning from evaluation and analysis. Real analysis is a quest for creating new business value or at least mapping out how to access that value for marketing and communications professionals. To get there we need a longer-term business growth solution, not tick-a-box measurement. That means providing insights with enough detail and colour to make the journey easy.

For example, I used to get asked by Product Managers ‘What’s our market share in segment X for product Y?’ So I’d say 42% – now what do you do? They’d realise then the need to know much more. So it’s a mix of qualitative (descriptive) and quantitative (KPIs) that’s actually required.

[Like: Tell me more about the audience – what needs do they have, what they think about us, even what words they use around our products. Do our comms messages resonate with that? Do the right messages have enough weight in the right media?]

2.       What business value should organisations look for from, for example, their media coverage?

Well, we know from focus groups the impact of media on consumer choice is significant. Think about your own buying decisions and how likely you are to base a decision on, say, advertising alone. Most communications professionals intuitively know this and have done for years – but they haven’t been able to prove it in concrete terms. They also need to know where to focus for best effect.

This means creating a link between media outputs and business outcomes. The link can be made in four steps:

A systematic approach makes it possible to capture each step in concrete numbers. Most Communications activity, including PR, drives brand health up or down over time. Our experience also suggests PR drives the hardest to shift areas of brand consideration, preference and loyalty. Understanding your brand health position is fundamental to understanding where sales come from. And crucially, knowing where to focus for best results. The business value is in understanding  how to achieve better results and do so more efficiently. Whilst I think most managers get this idea they seldom have the systematic analysis setup to support it in practice.

[For example, if a big communications push did not drive any mid-term sales result could you answer why? The above analysis gives you that answer.]

3.       There is an increasing sense that marketing is content and content is marketing.  How important is it to track the impact of content put out to market by companies?

Everyone wants us to do more with less these days but how do we do that and still have a life? I think we need to work smarter not harder by bringing some science to the art of communications.

By creating structured feedback we can show which content had what impact, where. This is particularly important when the communications objective changes over time – as does the competitive landscape.  The tracking analysis is like a map that shows you the shortest path to meeting those objectives. It makes you more effective at what you do by:

·         Reducing the effort required to achieve the same result

·         Giving you the ammunition to argue for more budget

·         Helping you outperform competitors

·         Complementing your skills & proving your value

·         Identifying who and what had the most (and least) impact

This approach forms the basis of what you could call high performance marketing communications.

4.       In your view do you think business today understands the value they can extract from an in depth analysis of their coverage?

I think business is heavily distracted by change. As human beings we like routine, we like predictability and clarity. The problem is there are many forces now acting to create change and doing so at a faster pace than ever before. Those forces act in ambiguous and often complex ways so running on gut feel is not really feasible anymore.

In some ways communications professionals themselves need to see what is possible using advanced analysis. Most I speak with are amazed at the possibilities and the sources of new value. Much of that value comes from the depth of results which describe in detail how to grasp opportunities and mitigate threats.

This is really about mastering change in a systematic way. That means setting up a structure for analysis that matches your business and communications aims in a customised way.  Repeating that analysis regularly creates a Plan-Do-Refine feedback loop. The feedback helps us master a dynamic media environment and the depth shows how to grasp opportunities and mitigate threats. Such strategic guidance can create massive value for an organisation. And that value can be proven with concrete numbers.

5.       You believe media coverage can impact a company’s share price and you have been doing some work on this – please explain. 

Once we had worked with the activity-outcome model above we knew it could be applied to significant business outcomes like share price. It just made sense that communications activity would affect share price. So we set about R&D to prove that link. After many months of careful statistics we found the proof.

For the R&D case study, results suggested that PR represented one-quarter (¼) of the controllable factors driving share price movement. That almost implies one-quarter of your efforts to boost share price are directed to communications in the media. It’s a fantastic business case. Of course you also need the material to communicate!

6.       After years of analysing media coverage and its impact on numerous spokespeople and brands, how important is building a profile to being seen as a thought leader in the industry?

Thought Leadership creates a point of difference based typically on innovation and interest. It is almost never negative but instead adds a richness to the subtle ‘brand attributes’ within coverage we see. Our assessment tracks a range of attributes in client and competitor coverage so we can quantify that richness. We expect Thought Leadership to be more resilient during crises when attributes like Trustworthy or Quality may suffer erosion.

There are great examples we have seen on couching Thought Leadership and Industry research is case in point. One strategy here is to seek out a slightly offbeat take on the industry by focusing the research on something unusual. That approach can capture interest to get greater cut-through. I like that quirky curiosity the media seem to have.

7.       From your experience and the thousands of media articles you have analysed over the years, what qualities do thought leaders in their respective industries display?

The client or spokesperson is generally providing industry leadership.  Often they are able to explain or predict linkages between various complex concepts or between a particular piece of research and current events.  Overseas trends may also factor in here.  Depending on the medium, a thought leader will be able to explain the more complex concepts or research findings in everyday terms and without jargon. 

The delivery is generally subtle. It would be unusual for us to see a spokesperson spruiking the services of the client overtly. This is generally an outcome of the thought leadership with the client seen as the ‘go to’ firm in that field.

Though leaders and thought leadership operates differently across industries. The Financial industry often provides advice or research with good success. That research sometimes generates significant proportions of the Impact we see.

Other industries might gain respect by showing leadership through products, or product innovation for example. The Electronics industry tends to prize technical innovation – thought leadership to them means a better product.  Service based firms may demonstrate their knowledge and research round clients needs particularly into the future. .

Across various fields, the articles where there is thought leadership are more favourable than those where it is lacking. On our 5-point scale (from -2 to +2) the uplift has ranged from +0.3 to +0.8 – very noticeable shifts.

While thought leadership can appear even without a spokesperson, usually the two work together. We have certainly found that any spokesperson mention is beneficial to articles – the average uplift here is about +0.6, a substantial boost.

Thought leadership insights from global expert

Fiona Czerniawska shares her insights on thought leadership

For this interview on thought leadership, I had the privilege of interviewing Fiona Czerniawska, one of the foremost global authorities on thought leadership, particularly in the management consultancy space.  There are few people who understand as much about thought leadership as Fiona.  She is the co-founder of Source, a company specialising in researching the consulting industry www.sourceforconsulting.com .  She has authored numerous management reports, books and articles.

I would urge you to visit her site and join up to her thought leadership newsletter White Space http://www.sourceforconsulting.com/whitespace/ . White Space is a subscriber-based web service which provides detailed analysis of the thought leadership of around 30 leading global consulting firms.She is also the Director of the Management Consultancies Association’s Think Tank, she is a Programme Director for the Centre of Management Development at London Business School, and also lectures at Kingston Business School in London and Haarlem School of Advanced Management Studies in Holland.

 Trends in thought leadership

1.      Fiona your firm White Space does an exhaustive annual analysis of the thought leadership material of around 30 leading global consulting firms.  What trends have you seen emerging in this field from the leaders in the thought leadership space?

The overall quality of thought leadership in 2010 slipped a bit – at least in our opinion. We think there were two main reasons for this.  The first is that many firms cut their thought leadership and research budgets during the recession and the cracks this opened up really began to show in the latter half of the year.  Thankfully that particular trend seems to being reversed.  The second reason is to do with the way in which people are publishing their material: we’ll all have noticed a plethora of new formats, including Twitter, videos, podcasts and design-your-own graphs.  But these share a common challenge which is that you have less space to say things and I think consulting firms are struggling with the transition from back-breaking flagship reports to a pithier, more opinionated style.  A five-minute video shouldn’t be a balding man in a grey suit reading the executive summary, but someone saying something memorable and thought-provoking, as well as fast.  This type of thought leadership should be like the tip of an iceberg, with the underlying research below the waterline, but it often becomes an excuse for not doing the research in the first place – and that shows.

Content and thought leadership

 2.      There’s a lot written these days about marketing content but what’s your view that content alone doesn’t make you a thought leader?   

I’d agree, but with some caveats.  I honestly don’t think you can beat good content: that’s easy to forget because so much of the content we do see isn’t that good.  If you look back at the block-buster management ideas of the past, they were all based on serious research, not a sudden brainwave or luck.  I don’t believe in eureka moments except those that emerge from deeper-than-deep content.  That being said, I do think that innovation in thought leadership will come from the way this content is assembled and disseminated.  I’m watching McKinsey’s What Matters micro-site with interest and I know that other firms are looking at this issue too. 

Thought leadership quantity vs quality

3.      You talk about four factors likely to attract a client’s attention as appeal, differentiation, practical application and quality of thinking but do you think the volume of thought leadership these firms produce these days means they are having to be more creative with the way it is packaged?

These four factors relate to the quality of a firm’s output and that’s independent of quality (although, almost inevitably, a firm that decides to increase the quantity of its material takes a hit on quality).  It’s tempting to say that quantity should never matter but it does: if you produce one piece of thought leadership on, say, strategy in the banking sector, but your competitor produces 20, then there’s a fair chance that you’ll get shouted down, however great your piece is.  Quantity also sends a not-so-subliminal message to clients about how much a firm specialises in a particular area.  However, I think firms could indeed be more creative about the way they package their content.  In particular, I’d like to seem more “bundling” (putting related articles, in a mix of different formats, together in the same place); better recommendations (suggesting articles I might find of interest); and, please, please, please, better search engines.  It’s incredibly frustrating to put a keyword in but not be able to sort the results by date or filter them.

Thought leadership as a term

4.      The term thought leadership is bandied about quite loosely do you think the term itself is dated and if so are there better terms to encapsulate thought leadership?

Like all jargon (the first book I wrote was on business language… ), “thought leadership” has its uses.  People – at least consultants – know what it refers to means and broadly understand what’s involved even if they might quibble about its exact meaning.  The trouble is that it’s an inherently arrogant term that set itself up for a fall: it’s an old joke that most thought leadership is really thought “followship.”  And of course the even bigger problem is that no one, certainly not us, has a better term.

Thought leadership – a growing discipline

5.      Are you seeing signs that thought leadership is becoming a discipline in its own right?  Are there any examples of it being split in terms of resourcing and manpower from the traditional marketing and corporate communication roles?

We’re certainly seeing this more – and I think that’s the right thing to do.  If you ask clients what influences their choice of consulting firm, they almost always cite personal recommendations, case studies and thought leadership, but these components have an impact in different ways and at different times.  A personal recommendation is very much about which firm to use for a specific piece of work, but case studies and thought leadership are important at an earlier stage in the thinking process.  Long before they reach the point when they decide to hire a consulting firm, clients need evidence that it makes sense to invest time and effort in an idea or problem they’ve been mulling over – and case studies and thought leadership can provide this.  In other words, done well the latter help stimulate demand for consulting in general even if they don’t convert into a sale for a specific firm.  That’s why it makes sense to view these functions separately – but of course you can go too far in the opposite direction and it’s important for marketing, corporate comms and thought leadership to plan and act in unison.

The client’s view on thought leadership

6.      What are clients of the firms you analyse saying about the thought leadership material they receive?   

They have mixed reactions, depending on the subject-matter and their position.  Overall, clients dismiss most thought leadership simply because it’s not relevant to them.  There’s a lesson in this about ensuring all material is focused on as tight a group of clients as possible, otherwise – a bit like infections treated with antibiotics – they become resistant!  Where it is relevant, views are much more positive: indeed, it’s quite clear that producing good thought leadership is, in many senior managers’ eye, a fundamental characteristic of a certain type of established, high-class consulting.

Thought leadership case study

7.      What’s the best thought leadership campaign you’ve seen and why?

The BBC’s A History of the World in 100 Objects.  Not exactly a conventional programme, but it gives us a clear sense and standard about what can be achieved when you mix great content with an intelligent use of new media.  It should be required listening for all marketing departments.

The future of thought leadership

8.      What is your view on where thought leadership is heading over the next five years?

I like to think that it will become a serious battleground for really good ideas.  I may be laughed at for this on the quite reasonable grounds that (a) clients value small-scale insights more than grandiose conceptual models and (b) the extent to which thought leadership is – or can be – a crucible for innovation is questionable.  But I do get frustrated by the lack of ambitious in much thought leadership.  There are some big and interesting questions about business that never seem to get debated – and it would be good to think that some of these will start to be discussed.  The prerequisites to this, and I suspect to upping the overall quality of thought leadership, are investment and collaboration.  I can’t believe we won’t see more money going into thought leadership in the future, as it’s clear that it is one of the few marketing activities which can differentiate a firm.  And I also think consulting firms will realise that they have to work with people (clients and other consultants) outside the boundaries of their firms for inspiration.

If you have any comments on Fiona’s points of view I’d love to hear from you – also don’t forget to sign up for Fiona’s newsletter here http://www.sourceforconsulting.com/whitespace/

Thought leadership interview with Dana VanDen Heuvel

Dana VanDen Heuvel on thought leadership

In this thought leadership interview I speak to marketing consultant, author and speaker, Dana VanDen Heuvel.  Besides writing regularly on thought leadership topics, Dana is a widely recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices.  He speaks regularly on these topics at industry events around the world. You can read more about Dana’s views on Internet marketing and other marketing related topics at his blog  www.danavan.net 

Q1: Dana you have successfully positioning yourself as a thought leader in all things marketing.  Given your experience of positioning yourself in this space, what are your tips for aspiring thought leaders in other industries?

Thanks, Craig.  There are many thought leaders in marketing, and it seems, to those of us peering in, that they’ve all just arrived one day. In reality, this is something that I started working on in 2002 and have followed a very deliberate plan to sharpen my expertise and position myself as someone that (I hoped) is worth listening to in the market.  Here are a few things that have helped me along the way.

1.    Have a plan. I know, that sounds really basic and boring, but for the last several years I have set plans and goals in place for publishing, speaking and other presence opportunities that were based on a long list of things that I thought made up the right moves for an emerging thought leader.

2.    Speak. Speaking and presenting is the #1 tool for business development and thought leadership advancement among those considered thought leaders. There’s nothing like being on stage to elevate our position. I could not be where I am without speaking. It also helps that I love doing it!

3.    Keep an idea file.  I keep several files for article ideas, speaking ideas and blog post ideas that help me stay on top of publishing as consistently as possible.  Keep the ideas flowing and make sure that they’re useful to your audience and you’ll see yourself rise quickly.

4.    Participate.  Thought leaders are only thought leaders if they’ve amassed a following.  You need to be involved in a community of peers in order to be seen by anyone as someone who might be useful to them. 

Q 2:  What are some of the benefits you have experienced of being perceived as a thought leader? 

I used to be able to calculate the ratio of blog posts written to inbound leads for consulting or speaking that I received.  I loved those days!  While it’s a bit more challenging today, due in large part to the sheer volume of peers in the space, there are still many benefits to being considered a thought leader in any realm.

1.    Awareness and ease of business development.  Whether you call on someone out of the blue or they find you, your efforts in thought leadership make that first conversation a higher-level discussion based on how you can solve their problems vs. them trying to figure out just who you are.

2.    Thought leadership begets opportunity. If you’re considered a thought leader in any right, it’s easier to get articles placed, become a guest blogger or get in front of an audience for a speaking engagement. 

Q3:  You have written a lot in the past about thought leadership particularly in the B2B space, from your experience, what are some of the barriers that hold corporations back from becoming thought leaders and what would your advice be to them to overcome these?

You know, I find that it’s usually about a company’s culture and mindset about becoming a thought leader that either position it for success or keep it from getting off the ground. I see a few things holding companies back.

1.    Lack of belief in the thought leadership model. It’s a mindset and way of conducting business and you need to get that before you get to become a thought leader.

2.    It’s (usually) not an ‘overnight’ marketing tactic. If you want that, try direct mail.  Thought leadership takes a bit of time BUT is cumulative in effect. The more you do, the better it gets and if you’re in it for the long haul, thought leadership is going to be a  big win for you. 

Q4:  In building your thought leadership position, what has been your key differentiating factor and what has been most effective in getting this to market?  

Early on, I was the ‘B2B marketer from the trenches’ and that was a great position and differentiator.  As things have moved forward, I’ve diversified my differentiators, but I tend to do a few things consistently such as bringing in multiple disciplines in my writing which helps to showcase a depth of perspective not found with some others.  I’m an adjunct professor and love the academic side of things so I find that bringing in the academic perspective and melding it with the real-time and practical issues is something that can really help to set my ideas apart.

Q5:  You talk about the thought leadership marketing equation: Point of view leads to share of voice which leads to share of mind and ultimately share of market.  In your experience how do companies wanting to do this get there and how long does it typically take?

The equation looks simple, doesn’t it!  In reality, there are several steps in each bucket. For instance, share of voice includes a research phase, to determine their current share of voice, a planning phase to determine what they need to do in order to achieve the desired level, and an implementation phase to put the plan in play and get themselves into the marketplace. 

It all starts with a plan, in my opinion, and that plan can take anywhere from six months to six years.  Realistically, when you’re pursuing thought leadership, depending on your industry and niche, I normally tell people to give the endeavour a year of consistent effort to get some really solid, consistent and sustainable results.  That said, I’ve had clients where we went from somebody to perceived thought leader in about 60 days. In fact, that last case has one of the most sustainable thought leadership efforts of anyone I know.   

Q6:  You deliver a lot of interesting and informative content on your site.  What are the benefits of providing so much content and what’s your advice, in particular to companies, who seem to think that giving away too much content is a sin?

Content is the medium of exchange for thought leaders. Now, there are nuances to this that I won’t go into, but on the surface, the more content you have, the more currency you have in your marketplace.  If it’s you, with a content rich site sharing information that’s deemed useful by your audient (usefulness is key here), vs. a competitor with less content and fewer shared ideas and concepts, I’ve found the prospects like the person or organization that’s given them more currency and gives them a larger base perspective from which to make a decision.

For those averse to this, I don’t really have a lot of great advice.  I’ve beat my head against the wall with organizations who have asked me to come in to help them with that problem and it never ends well.  Thought leadership requires commitment and a corporate DNA that’s open to accepting the responsibility of thought leadership.  Sure, it can be learned and organizations can change, but it’s almost always an uphill battle.

Leadership guru Ken Blanchard talks about his views on thought leadership

Ken Blanchard is one of the world’s most influential figures on leadership and management.  He is a sought-after author, speaker and business consultant on the topic. 

His book “The One Minute Manager’ co-authored with Spencer Johnson has sold more than 13 million copies.  He has co-authored over 50 books including: Raving Fans, Gung Ho, Whale Done, Leading at a Higher Level, Know Can Do and The One Minute Entrepreneur among others.

His success as an author has seen him inducted into the Amazon Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 best-selling authors of all time.

While he has received many awards and honours for his contributions in the field of management, a little known fact is that he received The Thought Leadership award by Association of Learning Providers.

I interviewed him about his views on thought leadership and he had some great insights to share with some handy hints and tips for aspiring thought leaders.

1.    Ken, as a pre-eminent global thought leader on leadership and management what tips can you give other aspiring thought leaders?

The first thing you have to do is to determine your leadership point of view—your thoughts about leading and motivating people. Your leadership point of view relates to who you are as an individual. It grows out of who influenced you, what your purpose is, what your values are, and what people can expect from you. This is important because research has shown that the most effective leaders have a clear leadership point of view and they’re willing to share it with others. 

 2.    What are the key differentiators that have positioned you as one of the world’s most sought after experts on your topic?  

 I really don’t know. I think my popularity is more the result of a blessing I’ve received than a strategy I’ve implemented. I guess I’ll have to leave that question for others to answer.

 3.    Are there any defining moments that signaled when you broke through the ranks of the thousands of other ‘experts’ on management and leadership and became a ‘go to’ person and a thought leader in your space?

Without a doubt, William Morrow’s 1982 publication of the book I wrote with Spencer Johnson, The One Minute Manager, was the event that drew a lot of attention to me and the work I’d been doing in the leadership arena. The publication of several other bestsellers—Leadership and the One Minute Manager, Raving Fans, Gung Ho! and others—also helped to establish my name as a thought leader.

 4.    You have written and co-authored 45 books and have been inducted into the Amazon Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 best-selling authors of all time.  How important have these books been in positioning you as a thought leader?  And, what advice would you give to companies striving to become thought leaders in their sector where a book may not necessarily be appropriate?

Actually, I think I’ve co-authored more than 50 books at this point, but who’s counting? All kidding aside, as I said earlier, the books have probably been instrumental in establishing the Blanchard name. I want to emphasize here that with the exception of a couple of books, I do all my writing with coauthors. I’ve had the privilege to work with an amazing assortment of writers and they all deserve a lot of credit for their contributions.

As for how to become a thought leader in a sector where publishing a book is not feasible: I suggest that people use all the other forms of information technology available to get their message out—film, radio, blogs, television, newspapers, etc.  You can also be so good at what you do that your customers become your sales and marketing team. A good reputation and word-of-mouth advertising is more effective than most marketing campaigns. The bottom line, though, is that you have to get the word out somehow. You can have the greatest, most innovative thoughts in the world, but if nobody hears about them, they’re worth squat.

 5.    You have been quoted as saying:  “I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I’ve had in my life is that the more I give away, the more that comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works.”  This seems to be the antithesis to the culture in a lot of businesses today where the focus is more on holding information, knowledge and insights close their chests.  Is this your experience, and if so, how do you believe companies can overcome this?

I think it’s sad that some people still don’t know that their role as leaders is to serve, not to be served. The truth is, if you want love, you have to give it away. If you want money, you have to give it away. If you want success, you have to give it away. We’ve found over the years that when you focus only on success, you will never reach significance, and that’s where the real results and satisfaction are. But if you focus on significance—generosity, service, and loving relationships—you’ll be amazed at how much success will come your way. Take Mother Teresa. She couldn’t have cared less about accumulating wealth, recognition, and status. Her whole life was focused on significance. And what happened? Success came her way. Her ministry received tremendous financial backing, she was recognized all over the world, and she was given the highest status wherever she went. She was the ultimate servant leader. If you focus on significance first, your emphasis will be on people. Through that emphasis, success and results will follow. 

 6.    In a world where content is readily available and easily accessible at the click of a mouse what will be the key things that differentiate companies/ products/ brands in the eyes of their target audiences over the next decade?

What sets companies/products/brands apart is delivering Legendary Service. This goes way beyond merely good customer service. It’s service that’s so outstanding that it inspires customers to tell stories about your company. The best companies in any industry—for example Southwest Airlines in the airline industry, Chick-fil-A in the quick service restaurant industry, and Nordstrom in retail—have empowered their employees to make decisions on a day-to-day basis that serve customers at the highest level. These frontline people are not bogged down at the bottom of a red-tape filled management hierarchy. They can use their brains and creativity to make customers happy. That gives energy to the whole organization, and it’s what creates the kind of legendary reputation that sets a company apart.

 7.    Are there any companies or campaigns that stand out for their thought leadership? 

I just mentioned one: Southwest Airlines. Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest, and Colleen Barrett, the president emeritus, had a clear vision of what they wanted their organization to be. They designed the company around three values: Warrior Spirit, Servant’s Heart, and Fun-Loving Attitude. Southwest is the only airline company that has made money year after year and it’s because they value their people as much as their profits, and they know how to treat people right.

Exclusive thought leadership hints and tips from Gary Bertwistle

      Gary Bertwistle is one of Australia’s foremost thought leaders on creativity. In 2001 Gary designed and built The Ideas Vault, Australia’s first ever dedicated creative space, designed specifically for the generation of better ideas. In 2004 Gary recorded and released an audio program called the Studio of the Mind, a 2 hour radio show that covers how creativity works, how to remove barriers to creative thinking, and techniques for unlocking ideas and imagination.

In early 2007 Gary self-published his first book entitled ‘The Keys to Creativity‘. The year finished on a high note with Gary being named 2007 Speaker of the Year for TEC (The Executive Connection), the world’s leading CEO membership organization.

Gary’s second book ‘Who Stole My Mojo?”, was released in June 2008.  In June 2009, ‘What Made You Think of That?‘ was published and Gary’s latest book, The Vibe, has just been published.

I interviewed him about his views on thought leadership.  It is long but only because he has some great insights to share and has been abundant with his advice in this regard.  This is what he had to say:

1.)    Gary, over time you have built a position as a thought leader on marketing and creative thinking.  What tips can you give to aspiring thought leaders out there?  

“My advice to aspiring thought leaders would be to develop your own content. Too many so called thought leaders are just parroting what they’ve read or heard, whereas a true thought leader espouses. To be a true thought leader you have to have original thoughts and this only comes from taking the time to be silent and to look, see, listen and really hear what’s going on around you to be able to form an opinion that can truly help take people and organisations forward. Thought leaders aren’t those who just repackage what everyone else has said. They must have an angle and a new approach, idea, concept or innovation, that can truly lead.

“The piece of advice I would give to any thought leader is that they need to design or develop their own style. There’s no point trying to be the next Matt Church or Craig Rispin. They need to be themselves and the essential part of being a thought leader is to decide who that really is. They may be mentored by others, benchmark others and even admire them. However they must be their own self. If appearing somewhere in order to sell their own ideas or thoughts and they leave the stage or board room, people must know that it was them and not just another person mimicking or parroting others. Most powerful thought leaders have their own style, their own thoughts, their own method of presentation and their own personality and drivers.

“My last piece of advice is something that I have learnt in the last 5 years, particularly since I have done so much writing, is to disconnect. Thought leaders MUST disconnect from the real world, technology and noise, in order to fully observe and hear. Thought leaders aren’t the guys rushing through an airport with a crackberry locked to their ear trying to push through crowds to dive into the back of a taxi. Thought leaders are the guys who have got their crackberry in their back pocket and are slowly meandering through the airport, listening, watching, thinking, pondering and dreaming about “what if”? Thought leaders take the time to disconnect and think to themselves “imagine if”! 

2.)    You have written numeous books, how have these helped position you as a thought leader in your field and what advice would you give to companies striving to become thought leaders where books may not necessarily be appropriate?

“Having now written 5 books and in the process of mapping the 6th, I would say that books lend credibility to thought leaders. Once you publish your thoughts you’re putting them into the marketplace for all to be reviewed.

“It’s all very well saying it but when it’s put in writing it’s there for prosperity for evermore.  Having your perspective in writing can lend an enormous amount of credibility to you as a leader, speaker, author or entrepreneur. For whatever reason, books seem to be business cards on steroids. However, from my experience it’s the second and third book where you truly get credibility. The first book is nice, but you join the masses. Thought leaders for me are the people who over a period of time have amassed enough thoughts and their own point of view to be able to land that thinking to a number of publications.

In today’s world books are not the only tool that business or leaders can use. Many thought leaders are using social media particularly well through blogs, tweets, podcasts and vidcasts. The book is purely the tool to help you get the word out.

“Organisations and business leaders can do just as good a job by truly investing in original thinking and using all the tools outlined above as the methods to share your thoughts as a leader. Blogs, tweets, Facebook, LinkedIn, DIGG, podcasts, vidcasts are all fine but if you’re not sharing innovative thinking that helps me as the follower to think differently or be better at whatever it is that I do, then you fail to add value and all those things are a waste of space. Too many companies are loading up with podcasts and blogs, which have no value and are a waste of time.”

3.)  A lot of what you advocate centres around stimulating and sharing ideas but there are plenty of companies out there who don’t share their knowledge or insights with their target publics.  What advice would you give them?

“In my last book The Vibe, I outlined one of the greatest trends that’s happening in the world right now and is becoming even more prevalent since the book was published. Today’s brands need to be generous.

“Generosity is a key driver for any thought leader or organisation wanting to lead.  You can’t just sell a service or a product. You have to go above and beyond that and provide the extras.

“Provide the overs. The overs come in the form of information, advanced notice, freebies, alliances, promotion or insights. If you aren’t sharing your knowledge or insights with your target audience then you run the risk of leaving yourself open to attack from a competitor who does. Today it’s an expectation from your target audience. The buyer of any product or service expects the extras.

“One of the greatest exponents anywhere in the world right now is Apple. They have free tutorials, free advice, free public problem solving, free applications, free upgrades, free business shopping, specialists and so the list goes on. I only buy a computer once every 12 to 24 months, and in the meantime they super-serve me and make me the loyalist of Apple tribe members by constantly being generous with their information, time, insight and products. Which is why they have just been voted the most admired companies in the world yet again.” 

4.)    In the preamble to your latest book “The Vibe” you mention that only a few brands make an authentic connection with their customers.  What are the key things companies should be doing in order to make that connection?

“In order to make an authentic connection with your customers you must do two things. First thing is to create a true perception of what separates you from everybody else. Today it’s not good enough for me to know you and your name or what you do or how you do it. I need to know why I should buy from you and not from somebody else. I must have a succinct perception in my mind that separates you from your competitors and makes me move from knowing you to wanting to do business with you. Do this well and once I’ve done business with you I will want to stay with you even if somebody does it quicker, faster or cheaper.

“The second part of the question centres around the authenticity of the story. Today people aren’t just buying products, they’re buying into the story. They’re buying into why you do what you do.

“Too many business websites have their first two pages outlining what they do and how they do it. Put your hand over their logo and it’s no different to their competitors. The people who truly resonate, get the first call, build the perception and build true loyalty with their customers and clients, will be the ones who have told their story. Why the company was set up, why you do what you do, why you have the sorts of people around you, working for you, and why you think what you do can change, help or benefit the organisations you work with.

“Once you’ve worked out the why you exist then outline: 1. Why we should do business with you; 2. How you do what you do; 3. What you do. People are buying stories and too few people tell the story let alone even know what their story is.”

5.)    What will companies need to do from a marketing/communications perspective to differentiate themselves from the competition over the next decade?

“In the next decade two things will need to happen for companies to truly take advantage of their marketing communication. Firstly you need to get the fundamentals right, by clarifying who you are targeting as a customer or client, and what you do (that is what category you occupy). This is very important.

“Next, what perception do you want to create? Concentrated into one single concept or word that summarises why you are different from your competitors.

“Then thirdly work how you will infiltrate my world in order to alert me to this information. Unfortunately too many organisations are skipping the fundamentals and get caught up in how to spend money and how to communicate the message without working out what their message is. They have no story, they have no fundamentals taken care of. All they have is a logo on an invoice so people know who to pay. This is not having a brand. A brand only happens when you have told your story and built your perception.

“The second thing you need to happen is that as people’s buying, lifestyle and communication habits change, brands will need to be on top of this. The old saying “if you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you always got” summarises it well, but today what you’ve always done may not be good enough.

“Brands in every size, in every industry, in every category need to be aware of the changing face of brand where stories, authenticity, being generous, building a tribe and being more than a brand are currently influencing the way people make buying decisions. As a thought leader this is your bread and butter because you are the person who is slowing down, thinking, pondering and imagining “what if?” You are the person will observe these changes to bring them to the attention of your followers.”  

6.)    Which individuals or companies do you look up to as thought leaders in their industry and why? 

“Unquestionably marketing and brand guru Seth Godin who wrote Purple Cow, All Marketers Are Liars, The Dip, Meatball Sundae and so on, is a thought leader.

“In terms of companies, Apple are unquestionably a brilliant organisation with ticking all the boxes I’ve outlined so far. But that organisation is only as good as their leader and there is no question that Steve Jobs is a thought leader in not only in computers but also in the entertainment and animated film industry.

“Another company that I greatly admire who I think are doing it very very well are the Nespresso Coffee people. They’ve quickly built a brand new category and established a foothold in an area that previously didn’t exist, and they’ve built a very cool, very successful and very funky brand that has longevity.

“These thought leaders are doing it in a way that makes it very difficult to penetrate their category. All things that I’ve talked about above have been done extraordinarily well by Apple and Nespresso.

“And finally, I know it’s a little out of left field but someone else I admire as a thought leader is Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. He’s been on the top of his game for many years now, having been the creative genius behind Chanel, Fendi, and now his own brand. He’s just gone back to Chanel. He has amazing philosophies and is unquestionably a thought leader in his industry. He is admired by many of the most creative people in the world, and I truly think he is someone who blazes his own trail regardless of what anybody else thinks.”

Howard Gardner on thought leadership

Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A.Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  He also holds positions as Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Senior Director of
Harvard Project Zero. Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981. He has received honorary degrees from 26 colleges and universities. In 2005 and again in 2008, he was selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. The author of 25 books translated into 28 languages, and several hundred articles, Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be adequately assessed by standard psychometric instruments.

Gardner will be doing a multiple city tour of Australia in May 2011.

1.    Howard, in the 1990s you investigated professional ethics, or what you and your colleagues termed ‘good work’.  Can you explain what ‘good work’ means for companies today?

“Colleagues and I are still investigating good work. As we now define it, GoodWork is Excellent technically; personally Engaging and meaningful; and carried out in an Ethical manner. We speak of the three Es, and of an intertwined ENA. As psychologists, our work focuses on the individual, but clearly the good work analysis can be extended to corporations as well. Also, when it comes to the treatment of work, I would add a fourth E—that individuals are treated equitably, and that the income and privilege ratio is not skewed too much in favor of senior management.

“For more information see www.goodworktoolkit.org and www.goodworkproject.org”

2.    You have worked with many noted and pre-eminent psychologists, neurologists and others, what do you think has made some of them more successful than others in building a public profile and becoming known as a thought leader in their market?

“Two different routes:

1. The outstanding quality of work, I would cite my close colleague Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and his ground breaking work on ‘flow’ or neuroscientist Giacomo Rizzolati, who discovered ‘mirror neurons’
2. The capacity to speak and write for a popular audience, and the willingness to go on television, travel, speak to general audiences, get a joke writer, hair stylist, etc. I’ll let you come up with examples. Let me simply say that some scholars who achieve popular acclaim, like paleontologists Stephen Jay Gould or astronomer Carl Sagan, were also great scholars.”

3.     You have written numerous papers and books.  Given your experience, what tips can you give aspiring thought leaders in other industries about what it takes to be recognised as a thought leader?

“Even if you begin as an indirect leader, writing for and addressing primarily scholarly audiences, it is crucial to pay attention to reactions. I have in mind both appropriate criticism of your scholarship AND suggestions about how better to present your materials. My presentations have changed as much, because of the reactions of popular audiences (including my own children) as they have been affected by scholarly colleagues who would never go on television or address a rotary club.

“I would add that there are certain things that I would not do, even if they were to give me more visibility. One of them is to appear on Fox television, which I do not consider to be a worthy outlet.”

4.    In building your thought leadership position around multiple intelligences, what has been your key differentiating factor/s and has there been one stand out tactic that has helped you achieve this?  

“While I never anticipated it, the use of the word ‘intelligence’; has been crucial. If I had spoken and written about seven or eight talents, gifts, faculties, my work would not have attracted comparable attention.

“Also, I have found it useful to employ a simple analogy: The standard solitary view of intelligence is like a single all purpose computer, which can work well or poorly; the multiple intelligence view posits a set of relatively independent computers—so, for example, one person might have a good music computer and a poor spatial computer or vice versa, while a second person might have a strong linguistic computer and a poor interpersonal computer, or vice versa,

“Over twenty-five years, I have been able both to deepen my own analysis of this work, and to present it in ways that are easy to understand while not being misleading. Every year I think that I improve both my understanding and my ability to communicate effectively—at least I hope so!”

5.    What’s your view on sharing content and ideas and from your experience, how far should a thought leader go in sharing this information?

“I don’t really understand this question. I don’t see why anyone should withhold information, so long as they are confident that what they are saying has some validity.

“When it comes to trade secrets, I suppose that is a different kind of problem. Ideas and thoughts are free and should be treated as such.”

6.    How would you define thought leadership?

“Thought leaders are individuals who develop ideas that have substance and validity and have some success in communicating these ideas to a relevant wider public. Some thought leaders do it primarily through their writings—see the Csikszentmihalyi and Rizzolati examples above—and others do it through a combination of writing, speaking, blogging, tweeting, etc.”

David Meerman Scott on thought leadership

David Meerman Scott  is one of the pre-eminent thought leaders on PR and marketing.  For those who are in the marketing or PR industry I can highly recommend his book “The New Rules of PR and Marketing”.  I asked him six questions about his views on thought leadership and its role in building a brand.  See what he had to say and the thought leadership case studies he nominates at the end: 

1.      David, when you were working for NewsEdge you ignored the advice of your PR and ad agency, in effect you ‘broke the old rules’ by publishing lots of free content online that resulted in hundreds of sales.  Could you explain the link between thought leadership and sales?

 “The Web gives everyone—B2B companies, consumer brands, consultants, nonprofits, and even rock bands, churches, and colleges—a tremendous opportunity to reach people and engage them in new and different ways.

“When you build content especially for your audience, you build a relationship with people before you’ve even met them. When it’s obvious that you understand your buyers and their problems, it jars your visitors into paying attention.

“You transform your marketing from mere product-specific, ego-centric gobbledygook that only you understand and care about into valuable information people are eager to consume and that they use to make the choice to do business with your organization. Instead of creating jargon-filled, hype-based advertising, you can create the kind of online content that your buyers naturally gravitate to—if you take the time to listen to them discuss the problems that you can help them solve. Then you’ll be able to use their words, not your own. You’ll speak in the language of your buyer, not the language of your founder, CEO, product manager, or PR agency staffer. You’ll help your marketing get real.”

2.    You have written 5 books which have clearly driven a large part

of positioning yourself as a thought leader in your field but what advice would you give to companies striving to become thought leaders where books may not necessarily be appropriate?

“Now we can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable (call it thought leadership if you like) and then publishing it online for free: a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, photos, a Twitter stream, an e-book, a Facebook page. There are hundreds of different outlets for valuable information.”

3.    Does content alone make a thought leader?

“The problem is that most organizations create content about their stupid products. What people need to realize is that nobody cares about your products (except you).  What people do care about are themselves and ways to solve their problems.

“People also like to be entertained and to share in something remarkable. In order to have people talk about you and your ideas, you must resist the urge to hype your products and services. And you must resist the urge to “control the message.” Create something interesting that will be talked about online.”

4.    Do you have any advice for companies who don’t share content and

hold their knowledge and insights close their chests?

“It all comes down to the goals. For decades, marketers have had a goal of collecting names (via registration forms) so they can then sell and market to those people. You are measured on the number of forms submitted. 

“But I think for many people a better goal is to spread your ideas. How many people can your reach? A million? Ten million? You can measure how many people have downloaded your stuff. How many bloggers are talking about you.

“When you lose control of your marketing by opening up and not requiring a registration, as many as fifty times the number of people will download it compared to the form requirement.

“This is a difficult one for people to make the leap to do, but believe me, it works.”

5.    In a world where content is readily available and easily

accessible at the click of a mouse what will be the key things that differentiate companies/ products/ brands in the eyes of their target audiences over the next decade?

“My most important aspect of creating information is to throw away your own ego and instead create content, what I call “buyer personas.”

“I think “buyer personas” are the king of marketing and a focus on buyer personas allows you to create the content. A buyer persona represents a distinct group of potential customers, an archetypal person whom you want your marketing to reach. Targeting your work to buyer personas prevents you from sitting on your butt in your comfortable office just making stuff up about you products, which is the cause of most ineffective marketing.

“Incidentally, my use of the word “buyer” applies to any organization’s target customers. A politician’s buyer personas include voters, supporters, and contributors; universities’ buyer personas include prospective students and their parents; a tennis club’s buyer personas are potential members; and nonprofits’ buyer personas include corporate and individual donors. Go ahead and substitute, however, you refer to your potential customers in the phrase “buyer persona,” but do keep your focus on this concept. It is critical for success online.”

6.    What companies or campaigns stand out for you as thought

leadership best practice? 

How Lisa Genova used social media to turn a self-published book into a NY Times bestseller http://www.webinknow.com/2009/01/how-lisa-genova-used-social-media-to-turn-a-self-published-book-into-a-ny-times-bestseller.html

Fun with Sharpies

http://www.webinknow.com/2009/01/fun-with-sharpies.html

Film producer builds pre-release buzz by making soundtrack available for free download http://www.webinknow.com/2009/01/film-producer-builds-pre-release-buzz-by-making-soundtrack-available-for-free-download.html

CENTURY 21 moves TV ad spend to online: Bev Thorne, CMO, tell us why http://www.webinknow.com/2009/01/century-21-moves-tv-ad-spend-to-online-bev-thorne-cmo-tell-us-why.html

How an active Facebook group drove 15,000 people to the Singapore Tattoo Show http://www.webinknow.com/2009/01/how-an-active-facebook-group-drove-15000-people-to-the-singapore-tattoo-show.html

Persona focused Web site leads to 4x conversions for RightNow Technologies http://www.webinknow.com/2008/12/persona-focused-web-site-leads-to-4x-conversions-for-rightnow-technologies.html

New marketing at work: BitDefender and the hip new Malware City site reach internet security geeks http://www.webinknow.com/2008/11/new-marketing-at-work-bitdefender-and-the-hip-new-malware-city-site-reach-internet-security-geeks.html

Bernard Salt’s tips on what it takes to become a thought leader

Bernard Salt is Australia’s pre-eminent thought leader on consumer and demographic trends and represents KPMG at conferences around the globe to share his insights.

Here he shares his views on what it takes to become a thought leader and some valuable tips on how to get there.  Even though I have researched thought leadership for years and have written a book on it, Brand Stand: seven steps to thought leadership, I found some of Bernard’s insights very illuminating and I hope you do too.

1.   Bernard, you have successfully positioned yourself as a thought leader on Australian consumer culture and demographic trends.  Given your experience, what tips can you give aspiring thought leaders in other industries? 

“You must believe in yourself when others don’t, when there is no reward, no recognition, when no-one wants to interview you or pay for your views.  And you must do it with good humour year after year.  And then, one day, you break through and all the dissenters and critics and naysayers just melt away.  It’s a test of endurance, of personal belief and of courage.  Some might say it’s also a test of foolishness.  There are no guarantees.  You might just be deluded into thinking that your views are worthy of a national audience.” 

2.    Please describe some of the personal and KPMG brand benefits you have accrued as a result of becoming a thought leader in your field?   

“I am in spaces and meetings that KPMG would not normally get into.  I can cut through into relationships where an auditor or tax expert cannot.  I offer a left field bridge to critical relationships.  And because I am in these meetings with business and political leaders at the highest level i am able to offer advice as to who to talk to about different issues.  I’m act like a traffic cop.” 

3.   In building your thought leadership position, what has been your key differentiating factor/s and has there been one stand out tactic that has helped you achieve this?   

“No point being a thought leader unless you can pitch your ideas.  That means you need the skill of presenting.  Not just a good presenter but an outstanding communicator. During the 1990s i wrote reports (like thousands of other consultants) but this is not what business wants.  What business wants is a compelling case pitched verbally with passion and with direction.  Hone your speaking and presentation skills.  And then hone again.  Watch good speakers and presenters.  Watch stand up comedians, they are brilliant at controlling an audience.   Get to the point, speak passionately, use words well (you must be articulate), and connect with your audience.  And when you think you are good enough in that skill area go out and learn some more because you are never good enough at speaking, pitching and presenting.  And don’t be precious about pitching saying oh but I haven’t prepared or I haven’t got my notes.  If you are so damned good you can pitch your ideas with 10 seconds notice. “

4.   Someone once said it takes 15 years to achieve overnight success – what has the journey been like from being one of a host of commentators battling to gain share of voice to someone who is sought after for his views in your space? 

“From my first public quote (1989) to entree to the speaking circuit (2001) is 12 years.  I started my column in 2003.  There is no start point.  I have been gearing to what I do now for 35 years, I just didn’t know that’s where I was headed at 15.  And yet looking back it’s always where I was headed.  I get lots of people saying they want to do what I do.  And it’s admirable that they have the sense to ask straight up how to get there and how to do it.  Saves a lot of stuffing about.  But I can tell from a 2 minute phone call they haven’t got it.  Other people, I think they could do it if they wanted to but many don’t want it.  You have to want it.  You have to take hits.  You have to be the last person standing when all other pretenders have melted away. “

5.       You deliver a lot of interesting and informative content on your site http://www.bernardsalt.com.au/  and you have written numerous books covering a range of topics.  What are the benefits of providing so much content and what’s your advice, in particular to companies who seem to think that giving away too much content will reveal too much to the competition? 

“This is a good question.  There are a lot of people who I am aware copy my material, style and approach (without attribution–there is no protection against intellectual theft).  But the way i figure it is that it’s my job to remain intellectually creative to such a degree that pretenders are continually left with the option but to copy.  The only people who are paranoid about giving away material are people who do not have faith that they are creatively superior to those who would copy them.  Copy away.  I’ll just think up other stuff.  It keeps me sharp.”

6.   What, do you believe, are some of the barriers that hold corporations back from becoming thought leaders and what would your advice be to them to overcome these? 

“Corporations need to be patient with thought leaders.  And commercial organisations are notoriously impatient.  I was able to deliver commercial value as well as evolve into thought leadership.  Not an easy balance.  Partly the reason is that thought leaders get to a point where they believe they can act more freely and successfully without the organisation.  I always thought I could go further with a global commercial partner than without.  And I was right.  I speak across the globe today courtesy of KPMG International.  I couldn’t have done that by myself. “