Leveraging Thought Leadership

There are two major challenges thought leadership practitioners face when they sit down to codify their ideas: Too many ideas, and A big, blank page. Sitting down to codify your content can feel like a daunting task. You've got tons of insights - but when you're staring at that first page, everything freezes up. Where do you even start? To learn how to gather your insights, map them out, and codify expert solutions, I've invited Rhea Wessel, the Founder of the Institute for Thought Leadership. Rhea helps companies turn their subject-matter experts into thought leaders, enabling them to share their insights clearly, cohesively, and fluidly. Our conversation begins with a common issue: Should thought leaders give away their best insights for free? Rhea discusses the balance between how much content a thought leadership practitioner should share, and how much should be kept in reserve for clients, and most importantly - why that line exists and where to draw it. As a journalist with 25 years of experience, Rhea has developed methodologies to help experts identify topics, map them out, and apply their knowledge in a way that offers a valuable solution to their audience. This "story engine" can help overcome the fear of giving away ideas, by generating a constant flow of topical insights. Finally, we take a look at the things that make content compelling. Rhea tells us to include an element of transformation - either in a person, team, or project. In order to create that, you need to understand the full story of the transformation, from the beginning to the end. Be sure to describe the waypoints of change, and illuminate why that transformation was critical to success. Three Key Takeaways: * Good ideas that sit on the shelf aren't helpful. Giving away ideas that create buzz and show promise is the best way to get your content, and your name, recognized. * Good content will make an audience say, "Tell me more!" Make sure they see quickly what your insights do, and why they're valuable. * Compelling content needs to lead the audience through a journey of transformation.

The principles of Green Chemistry have been widely accepted, but are not widely adopted. With solutions for sustainable and profitable innovation available, where is the disconnect between these principles and their use? Our guest on this episode is Urvashi Bhatnagar, Vice President of Business Development for Healthcare at Genpact, a global professional service firm that transforms industries. She is also the co-author of The Sustainability Scorecard: How to Implement and Profit from Unexpected Solutions. The Sustainability Scorecard was co-written with Paul Anastas (also known as "The Father of Green Chemistry") while Urvashi was working toward her MBA at Yale. During discussions with Paul about the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, they examined why those principles had not been widely applied - even though they were widely accepted! With a better understanding of the issues, they proceeded to write a book that would make a big impact in both chemistry and management. Urvashi shares the three parts of their business model. She discusses advocacy through speaking and engagements, building associated foundations to inspire and support others, and helping people transport important knowledge and structures from one field to another - where big ideas can make a real difference. We round out the conversation discussing how thought leadership's ability to help design the future. We hear about the increasing need for thought leadership in private equity and startups, and how moving a chunk of marketing budget to create and support an organization's thought leadership can strengthen an organization's reputation and offer an even higher return. This is a great episode, and we encourage you to listen in! Three Key Takeaways: * When taking scientific or research data to a general audience, write with a less academic voice and gear your insights towards leaders. * When your target market is niche, you have to be very intentional about the content you release. * Thought Leaders who are conscious leaders – focused on mentoring and enabling – can make great strides in designing a brighter future in multiple fields.

Now that publishing is easier and openly available, we see more books hitting the market than ever before. With that in mind, how can you elevate your book and create a roadmap that leads clients to you and your offerings? Today, I invite two seasoned experts to share their experience with publishing, and the tools they used to move their audience up the product ladder. * Andy Paul is the author of "Sell Without Selling Out", Host of the "Sales Enablement Podcast with Andy Paul," and is a Top 50 Global Sales Expert, consulting with the biggest businesses in the world. * John Jantsch is the President and Founder of "Duct Tape Marketing", and the author of "Duct Tape Marketing." As a consultant, he teaches business owners to streamline their marketing approach, increase revenue, and scale strategically. We begin our conversation by discussing publishing options, and how modern methods are helping authors soar. John and Andy have both published multiple books using various methods, and they discuss the pros and cons of each. Publishing is only the beginning of an author's work! A successful book launch needs an established following, one that is ready and waiting for your book to come out. Awareness can be built up through podcasts, blogs, or posts on LinkedIn. Andy and John explain how releasing consistent content helps you build a reputation, giving your followers a flow of bite-sized portions that prepare them for the full meal of the book. And last, we talk about building community. With so many people working alone, the need to communicate and share with like-minded people has increased. Our guests share how they've used cohorts, workshops, and mastermind groups to create communities that reach beyond the initial product offering, building lasting relationships. If your book isn't driving the traffic you hoped, this episode can help! Three Key Takeaways: * The moment you have an idea for a book, you need to start building a following. Don't wait to build the audience after its release! * Creating content that has value, and deploying it consistently, is key to growing your following and building a reputation. * Don't be afraid to experiment with ideas – putting them out into the world, and get feedback to help promote its value.

When businesses talk about "making a pivot," it's often thought of as something that must happen quickly and with great impact. The reality is – a successful pivot is often anything but quick, and true impact can be difficult to implement. Who better to discuss bringing big changes to organizations than the "Pivot Catalyst," Lori Michele Leavitt! Lori is the founder and President of Abridge Corp, as well as an accomplished coach, consultant, trainer, speaker, and author of The Pivot: Orchestrating Extraordinary Business Momentum. Lori shares her insights on bringing about large-scale business changes, from building momentum to bringing people on-board with the shift in mindset. If you want to make a pivot, the leadership of the organization needs to encourage the adoption of many small changes by many people over time - not demand massive changes all at once! Momentum and buy-in are both key to any lasting change. Lori has guided many businesses and leaders through this kind of process, and has learned a great deal about organizations undergoing large-scale change. She shares how she turned her processes into a book, and later, software that she continues to iterate. She's moved the needle on management software, building a leadership operating system called Aligned Momentum. Codifying your message and process into a book is complicated, but it's another step to then turn your content into software! Lori shares insights into the process she went through with her content, sharing her insights into the future of consulting software as it continues to evolve. Three Key Takeaways: * Helping an organization successfully pivot starts with getting the cultural decision-maker on board with change. * Being the smartest person in the room isn't the best way to have a lasting impact as a coach. * Change often happens faster in a safe space, and it's good to have peers and allies to help identify your blind spots in the process of organizing and driving change.

When most hear the word scale they'll think of a kitchen or bathroom scale - a tool for measuring. When it comes to thought leadership, what does "reaching scale" mean? How can you measure it, and how can you achieve it? In this special episode, I'm are going to invite a few unusual guests: frameworks and models. These models define scale, measure methods of distributing content, and find ways to assess impact. When attempting to measure and reach scale, thought leaders often look to social media metrics such as followers, engagement, and likes. But, what's the value of a "like" toward measuring thought leadership? Instead of getting wrapped up in superficial metrics, thought leadership practitioners need to understand that scale happens when people encounter an idea and choose to act on it – because thought leadership,at its very core, needs to be an idea in action. Thought leadership isn't about building the largest audience it is about building the right audience. Bill discusses the differences between Total Addressable Market (TAM), and Share of Market (SOM), the market percentage that you are currently reaching. Understanding these two numbers gives a clearer picture of the influence of your thought leadership. Further, he shares insights about Broadcasting, Narrowcasting, and Point-Casting. Broadcasting is scattering your ideas on the wind and hoping they reach the right market,. Narrowcasting means focussing on the people who need your ideas the most, while point-casting means packaging your idea in particular terms for a VIP within your TAM. If you've been struggling to reach scale, you might need to better understand how to reach your best audience. Don't default to broadcasting. Take the insights in this episode, and start increasing your SOM! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership needs to be an idea in action. Without action, movement, and interaction with an audience, thought leadership can't spread and thrive. Organizational thought leadership isn't about building the largest possible audience. It's about building the right audience. If you can get your idea to the VIPs in your TAM, and convince them to take action, you've gained a link to the best audiences your thought leadership could attain.

How do you connect a high-profile brand with its best audience? Through great storytelling! Liz Brunner is the Founder and CEO of Brunner Communications, assisting high-profile individuals and organizations in developing powerful, meaningful, and desirable brand identities. She is also the Founder of Brunner Academy of Online Learning, and the author of Dare to Own You: Taking Your Authenticity and Dreams into Your Next Chapter. Liz has had a number of professions over the course of her career, from high school music teacher to Emmy Award-winning news anchor. She explains that the key to her success can be summed up in two words: great storytelling. When you know the secrets of storytelling, you can capture the attention of your audience and keep them hooked. Having worked both in person and on television, it was easy for Liz to transition her work into the digital space after the pandemic started – in fact, she began to teach others how to engage in the virtual space and still move the dial. She shares why digital presenters need to think like TV stars, and how to get your audience to feel your presence - even through the lens. Our final topic revolves around the energy gained from working face-to-face, versus the newfound advantages of the digital space. Liz explains the pros and cons of each, and how to connect, communicate, and engage, developing the keys to success regardless of your medium. Three Key Takeaways: * When presenting virtually and using slides keep things moving! Use more slides with less content on each or include animations to keep the audience constantly engaged. * Looking directly into the camera when working online gives a feeling that you are looking directly at every member of your audience and engages them more. * While putting a message together you need to hook people right away, if you don't you'll miss an opportunity for your brand (personally and for your company).

There are a lot of hard-working thought leadership practitioners in the non-profit sector! What's it like to face the challenge of communicating complicated, multi-generational problems to a global audience? We're glad you asked! To better understand the role thought leadership plays at established non-profits, I've invited Meghan Quinn, Director of Thought Leadership at Habitat for Humanity International, to chat with me about her work. Meghan defines her role, elaborating on the meaning of thought leadership means at Habitat for Humanity. In a non-profit, conversations around thought leadership often start by focusing on the role and goals of the greater organization: for Habitat, that's the global affordable housing crisis. In order to have a real impact, Meghan's work needs to reach policymakers, stakeholders, and donors. Meghan tells us how moving these people to action means taking technical research and creating content that is both curated and simple-to-approach. Rule #1: If your audience doesn't understand what you're saying, and why, they certainly won't be moved to act on your information. As with many thought leadership programs, measuring success can be a difficult task. Sales data and leads aren't as tangible in the non-profit sector. Meghan shares how success at Habitat is measured, through anecdotal evidence, making connections with new backers, and deepening relationships. Her primary goals are to spread the word, and to increase credibility and trust in the organization. This kind of vision can't be measured in weeks or months - it can take years to see real results on a global scale. This conversation gives a glimpse into the unique world of thought leadership in the non-profit sector, and offers valuable insights for organizational thought leaders everywhere! Three Key Takeaways: * Curation and Digestibility are the keys to making complicated data into something a general audience can understand. * Thought Leadership isn't successful overnight. A plan and vision that spans years is needed to properly measure success. * Thought leaders need to be able to follow their instinct and not be afraid to experiment – and even fail from time to time.

During the last two years, speakers, consultants, and thought leaders have moved their presentations from in-person formats into relatively unknown digital space. Now, as we settle back into a face-to-face workplace, we look back and consider the lessons learned from online experiences. What would a new, hybrid style look like? What better way to investigate these topics than to talk with two doctors, who are both experts in their fields! Dr. Nick Morgan is one of America's top communication theorists and coaches. He is also a keynote speaker and author who helps people bring clarity to their great ideas. Dr. Joseph Michelli is a consultant, psychologist, professional speaker, and New York Times Bestselling author. He's been voted a Top 5 Global Guru in Customers Service for more than 7 years! We start by laying the foundation: discussing what the standard business model looked like, pre-pandemic. Then, we move forward, and explore how each of our guests found ways to deliver great experiences virtually. We talk about their successes, and the hardships they struggled to overcome — such as developing trust and transparency through a computer screen. The future of keynote speaking and conferences is still uncertain, and many thought leaders are exploring "hybrid" models, moving fluidly between in-person and remote presentations. Nick and Joseph discuss how they believe things will continue to play out, giving examples in the ways their businesses were returning to the "old normal," and how they continue to incorporate digital modalities. While this interview took place some months ago, the advice on how to build trust with a virtual audience is evergreen! Three Key Takeaways: * Virtual relationships can get clogged up and degrade over time – whenever possible renew that relationship in person. * If you are going to make video work you have to go deep fast. Forge a strong relationship right out of the gate by being honest, trustworthy, and transparent. * Virtual speaking means having to grab the audience's attention in the first 90 seconds. Speakers who don't have some form of interaction are missing a trick for their

In thought leadership, which comes first: the brand or the people? It's not a chicken-and-egg situation! The answer is always people. You inspire and invest in your employees, and the word spreads. Those people act as ambassadors for the brand, building a strong org reputation — and that brings in customers. In order to understand where this power cycle starts, I've invited Zoe Bermant, the CEO at ZoecialMedia, creator of the Caroself ™, and an expert in organic social media for B2B. While many believe that the brand needs to be the focus of an organization's social media, Zoe explains that the power in organizational thought leadership comes from the people who work for the company. Thought leadership is about creating a human aspect within a business relationship; moving interactions beyond data and white papers, and sharing meaningful interactions. By elevating your people, you create passionate ambassadors for your brand, and create an online presence that is credible, trustworthy, and relatable - and that brings in more customers! Learn why Zoe recommends starting this cycle at the executive level, and how doing so can create a culture of engagement both internally and externally. When executives interact with employees (and customers) online in a direct and meaningful manner, it helps build genuine relationships. This bolsters new sales, employee retention, and even talent recruitment. Great ideas can spark from anywhere, even a simple typo. Zoe shares how she mistyped "caroself" in a message to a coworker (instead of "carousel") and came up with a brilliant new idea. Using the pdf carousel function of LinkedIn, Zoe made a document that humanized her work experience, letting people know where she grew up, went to school, and even her likes and dislikes - and she called it the Caroself™. She then tagged others, and challenged them to do the same. Before long the idea had spread to thousands of users who saw the benefit of giving the world a deeper look into their personalities, and move their career prospects forward by going beyond the professional persona. We wrap up our conversation discussing women in thought leadership. Zoe works with hundreds of executives, and has seen a trend of women being overly timid about sharing their insights. Many incredibly insightful female leaders don't promote themselves through thought leadership - and they should! The chat explores why that trend continues, and gives suggestions around how to encourage others to take control of their power and seize the opportunities thought leadership presents. The world needs more great ideas! Three Key Takeaways: * The cycle of "invest in your people - let them be ambassadors for your brand - build your brand reputation - engage more new customers" is powerful, and it's one that more organizations should use. * You can't rely on a random algorithm to get the word out. You have to actively seek out and build relationships, sharing things about yourself (or your org) and creating a human connection in order to succeed. * When cultivating your social media profile, it's beneficial to ensure that personal stories still relate to your expertise or experience in a professional sense. Don't forget to show your strengths!

When it comes to the "higher purpose" of your brand or organization, how much control do you have on either versus the values customers will place on them? Today we will examine the impact COVID has had on how consumers see brands and the value we place on them. To get a better understanding I've invited Dr. Martina Obert to join me. Martina is the CEO of Meaning Global, an expert strategy consultancy helping leaders envision new possibilities for future innovation, value creation, and growth. She is also recognized by Forbes as The Meaning Expert™. Martina explains how COVID created a shift in the marketplace that moved emphasis from brands to the people they serve. The feeling of being "stuck" was pervasive, and led many consumers into a period of self-reflection about themselves, their lives, and their goals. This realignment of values as impacted advertising, and to be successful, brands today need to do more to deliver appreciable, meaningful value. Brands and organizations often promote meaning and purpose, but what does that mean — and how much control do they really have over their audience's perception? Martina shares stories about how our values impact the perception of our brands, and what audiences look for when choosing to buy. This is a fascinating conversation about the rise of the 'humanistic paradigm" and how brands, organizations, and advertising are having to change in its wake. Three Key Takeaways: * Organizations need to consider how to fundamentally improve customers' lives with their advertising, and align with each person's sense of greater meaning. * COVID-19 has made the emerging humanistic paradigm more profound and cohesive. * When starting out in thought leadership, find your niche! Hint: It's the thing you are more passionate and knowledgeable about than anyone else!