One term being bandied around the marketing sphere a great deal at the moment is thought leadership. Every business wants to be seen as a thought leader, while many wrongly assume that they already are. This post will attempt to separate fact from myth, explaining exactly what thought leadership is, and the steps marketers can take towards assuming it for their organisations without making laughing stocks of themselves along the way. Ready?
What are the origins of thought leadership?
Fellow word derivation enthusiasts, gather round. The collective noun “thought leaders” was coined by editor Joel Kurtzman in the late 1990s, to describe the cutting edge thinkers contributing to Booz & Company’s Strategy and Business . (Of course, the original thought leaders existed many millennia before Kurtzman, when the philosophies of, say, Plato and Aristotle sparked radical new ways of thinking among the human race.)
As the phrase gathered momentum in the noughties, hordes of consultants made themselves self-appointed thought leaders, believing this was akin to calling themselves subject matter experts, or trusted advisors.
What is successful thought leadership?
Effective thought leaders tangibly advance the creation and exchange of ideas by putting forward actionable, new points of view, often supported with research and usually commercially relevant. Thought leadership is driven by big ideas that change the marketplace and how people perceive the world.
How can an organisation become a thought leader?
Today, the business world is abundant with individual thought leaders. Establishing thought leadership as an organisation presents a greater challenge. The starting point is to listen more in order to understand better the needs, wants and demands of increasingly sceptical customers and clients. Next, expect to put in consistent, diligent effort that will only pay off over time, for successful thought leadership is always a cumulative process.
How NOT to position yourself as a thought leader
The surest way to screw up thought leadership is to sell anything except original ideas. The next surest way is to charge for your thought leadership – this is not a profit-making exercise, rather a brand building one.
You could also blindly churn out content that replicates existing ideas. Your discerning professional audience will quickly gloss over anything product-centric and can smell a PR-driven white paper from miles off.
A little humility also goes a long way along the path to establishing true thought leadership. How many tech companies have published white papers claiming to reveal ‘The Future of Mobile Technology’, ‘The Next Big Thing in Telecommunications’ or similar. Far preferable to step away from the crystal ball, admit that your company, and indeed no company, can actually predict the future – and instead posit some useful takes on how things might develop, supported with fresh research.
How to build trust and loyalty through content
The very best examples of thought leadership address a specific audience, and help that audience in some way to better get on with their life or their work. In business terms, this would mean addressing one industry, or even better, one specific role within an industry. The best thought leadership messages are carefully crafted with their audience in mind – that’s why you won’t find any financial business blogs about electronics manufacturing.
When developing thought leadership, always think of the reader, or perhaps the attendee at your next presentation. That person has invested time in accessing your ideas and deserves something in reward. When that person goes back to their team armed with new ideas that they are eager to share, then you can say that your content truly adds value.
Over to you
Who do you consider to offer true thought leadership in your industry, and why?
Photo: Ignas Kukenys
