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13 Mar 2012
I was fortunate to be interviewed by Dr Liz Alexander about my views on thought leadership.
Liz is based in Austin, Texas and consults to individuals and businesses who want to write a book to position themselves as a thought leader.
You can check out the full interview here: http://drlizalexander.com/2012/03/thought-leadership-2-qa-with-craig-badings-of-canning-corporate-communications/
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26 Sep 2011
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.
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17 Mar 2011
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/
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11 Mar 2010
I was reading an article penned by veteran marketing strategist, Rob Leavitt. Rob is the Principal at Solutions Insights and he specializes in issues- and content-based marketing. Rob helps companies distinguish themselves in the marketplace and advises them on how to have strategic conversations with their clients, prospects, and market influencers.
Rob gets thought leadership and I thought the six lessons he has for thought leaders at any level were well worth sharing. Here they are:
Six thought leadership lessons
Stepping back from the specifics of these two initiatives, I see six general lessons for thought leadership marketers at any level:
- Put Customers First. It sounds obvious to say that thought leadership marketing should focus on what your customers really care about, but far too many marketers take a product- or solution-first approach and try to fit some larger issue neatly around their offering. Buyers don’t care about your offerings by themselves; they have their own problems to worry about. Engage them where they live. IBM is trying to build relationships with CEOs, so they research and talk about what other CEOs are doing. Deloitte works especially closely with Boards of Directors, CFOs, and other C-level executives; it’s hard to think of a C-suite issue more pressing these days than risk management. What do your customers and prospects really worry about?
- Do the Research. Thought leadership without real research is just opinion, and opinions are a dime a dozen. Show buyers serious research, though, and they’re much more likely to pay attention. You might not be able to interview 1,130 CEOs around the world, but you can survey and interview your customers and prospects, produce serious case studies (not puff piece “success stories”), and comb the literature and online conversation to produce new insights.
- Say Something New. Thought leadership without a differentiated point of view is just an echo of conventional wisdom. Why should customers listen to your version then they’ve already heard it before — or if you’re only telling them something they already know. Smart customers want to be challenged. If you’re not sparking at least some disagreement and debate, you probably haven’t said anything new. None of IBM’s five attributes are themselves shockingly new but the synthesis suggests and aggressive and innovative approach that goes well beyond conventional thinking. Deloitte’s focus on the upside as well as the downside of risk clearly stands apart from the post-Wall Street collapse mentality of compliance first, last, and always.
- Build a Pervasive Presence. Long gone are the days when thought leadership marketing meant publishing a white paper, research report, or journal article and then moving on to the next project. Media fragmentation, information overload, and the power of social media make it critical that thought leadership marketers put substantial energy into getting the word out across a broad range of media and activities. IBM’s 360 degree campaign for the CEO study included traditional activities (email, Web, direct mail, advertising, press and analyst briefings, sales enablement, video, etc.) as well as a number of newer approaches (blogs, podcasts, online innovation jams, and branded content). IBM also produced 15 “flavors” of the main report for different industries and C-suite positions. Deloitte has similarly tapped a wide variety of media and activities to engage clients, prospects, and market influencers. For thought leadership marketing today, think multi-media, social media, and complementary online and offline engagement to build a strong presence wherever your stakeholders already spend their time.
- Stick with It. IBM’s CEO study is a two year project, and the 2008 version is IBM’s third such study. To maximize marketing impact, IBM organizes a “teaser phase” (outreach to build awareness before the formal launch), a “reveal phase” (a multi-faceted public launch to build buzz internally and externally), and a “sustain phase” (ongoing engagement to dig more deeply into the issues with customers and others). Deloitte launched the Risk Intelligent Enterprise effort in 2006 and has continued to explore the issues, refine the point of view, publish, and engage. The point is to pick a core issue for your customers and stick with it. Thought leadership takes time. It’s better to pick one or two issues and work them hard for several years than to flit from one issue to the next in a more superficial way.
- Confirm the metrics. Far from an airy initiative, thought leadership marketing can and should focus on core metrics essential to business development and growth. Objectives for the IBM initiative revolved around relationship building with CEOs, corporate visibility and interest, ongoing engagement with key contacts, and sales leads. Deloitte takes a similar approach, focusing on competitive differentiation, influencer relations, client connections, and business development support. Setting and gaining organizational agreement on clear marketing and business development objectives provides the grounding and accountability that marketers need to justify the necessary investments.
Serious thought leadership marketing is not easy, but taking these six lessons to heart will go a long way toward success. At least that’s my opinion! What do you think?
I think Rob is right on the money and would be interested to see whether anyone else has any more ‘lessons’ to add to his list of six?
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19 Feb 2010
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. “
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26 Jan 2010
Craig Pearce
This is the first in what will be a series of interviews with thought leaders from around the globe and from different walks of life and industries.
In this one I ask five thought leadership related questions of Craig Pearce, a PR practitioner who has an interesting blog on all things PR. You can visit his blog at http://craigpearce.info/
1. Craig you are in the process, and a successful one at that, of positioning yourself as a thought leader in the PR industry – are there some tips you can give to aspiring thought leaders in other industries?
I am not so convinced I am in the process of positioning myself as a thought leader for one main reason: I think it is rare for me to put forward original thinking. Most of my discussions on public relations and marketing – my area of, um, expertise… – are based on ideas that have been promulgated by academics like James Grunig or that I have learnt off my peers.
There are occasions, certainly, where I have articulated notions that you don’t seem to hear too much of, such as when I wrote that marketing should report to public relations, social media belongs to public relations and PR is not media relations. But that might be more to do with one of the attributes that I do believe characterises thought leaders: bravery.
There are some that might say this is more like stupidity, or career suicide, but after a year in which I was retrenched and felt forced, to a large degree, to enhance awareness of my skills and knowledge, I have no regrets.
But you need to have some sort of point of difference. It doesn’t have to be huge, but there needs to be a point of view you are putting forward. In the best case scenario, this point of view adds value to those who you want to interact with or position yourself favourably with.
An inherent dimension of learning off others is that it may well be that even if your stakeholders recognise you are no genius, if you are making the effort to reflect on original thinking or issues, and occasionally shine a perceptive light on this thinking or issue, maybe that’s enough.
Certainly, there are lots of watchers and critics in this world: those of us that are actually contributing, or going beyond the bounds of what is absolutely necessary are in the minority. Because of that, we’re of some value.
For a thought leader to be positioned as a thought leader they need to engage in two essential activities: think and articulate that thinking.
Whilst I don’t claim to be an intellectual or a great original thinker, I do at least put the grunt in. The posts on my Public relations and managing reputation blog are not something I quickly reel off. It takes a considerable amount of time to get them to a point where I am (relatively) happy with them. It is not a walk in the park.
A third stream to this is going to the trouble of bringing your thinking to people’s attention. In the context of a blog, this includes SEO and using networks like Twitter, LinkedIn etc.
I think having a problem solving, aspirational attitude and/or approach is a good one to have. Being fixated with the negative is all too easy. I leave that to the media. Another dimension of attitude (and the bravery mentioned earlier) is that it is good to disagree with others, it is good to challenge the orthodoxy and taken-as-read assumptions, which are all too often arrived at in a lazy, undisciplined manner.
This will not always make you friends, but I have plenty of friends. And I don’t expect them to agree with me all the time, either.
One approach to thought leadership is looking at it from a strategic, or SWOT-centric perspective. Look at the information/topics out there and the approaches existing thought leaders are taking. Then a ‘strategic approach’ can be taken to the generation of a thought leadership platform or program.
And there is nothing wrong with this, but it does sound a bit contrived, doesn’t it? If the platform is not sincere, if it doesn’t add value, then it won’t get cut through. I don’t think the importance of passion to all this can be underestimated.
2. What do perceive as the key benefits of a thought leadership position for an individual?
Creating that point of difference between yourself and all the other hens in the chook yard is the main one.
What does that mean? Career opportunities, helping your organisation stand out from the crowd to win new and bigger business, enhanced self-esteem and peer recognition are some benefits.
The snowball effect of learning even more from those wiser than you is another positive, as is the constant challenge you feel in needing to come up with new topics. This brings with it a sense of ‘edge’ that I enjoy.
3. In a previous life you were heavily immersed in the corporate world. What are some of the barriers that stand in the way of corporations becoming thought leaders and what would your advice be to overcome these?
I think of the world’s leading public relations academic, Professor James Grunig, and his notions of two-way symmetrical communication in this context. Organisations, to be effective in their ‘management’ of stakeholder relationships need to recognise that they may need to change to meet stakeholder needs and wants. And they may need to give their stakeholders information they want if they are to satisfy them.
Essentially, organisations should open themselves up more, share their expertise and not be so control-centred. They need to realise that there are profoundly important issues at play here, including the survival of the planet and the future of the human race.
Corporates rule the world, not governments, and most of them should be taking a much broader socially-centric (not shareholder-centric) view of the world and behaving in this manner, too. Public relations can help them do this.
Until they get real in this context their thought leadership is all about product and financial bottom lines. Yes, this pays our bills as PR folk but it doesn’t do much for the soul.
4. What is the key differentiating factor between a thought leader and others in their industry?
Well, one key differentiating factor is that they care about what they are talking about. In fact, they are probably passionate about it. I certainly am in my field.
If you are passionate and you are constantly making a contribution, I think you can be forgiven a lot. You are putting yourself at risk by challenging orthodoxies (and if you don’t ever challenge orthodoxies then I don’t think you are a thought leader). It is hard to pull that off without being passionate about it. You might get away with it for a while, but people will see through you in the end.
Not only are thought leaders passionate about their topic, they are often passionate about helping others, whether it is their peers, customers, the community etc
5. Thought leadership and innovation – do the two necessarily go hand in hand?
The easy answer is yes, but I don’t think that is necessarily the case.
As I implied earlier, the distillation and/or crystallisation of ideas/thoughts into a form that is useful for stakeholders is an important criteria that I don’t think should be underestimated.
Innovation – first and/or best of species – certainly helps kick thought leadership along, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. Customisation of this innovation in a relevant way to stakeholders is also important.
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