Leveraging Thought Leadership

Once you realize that your company needs a full-fledged thought leadership role, how do you make that vision a reality? What information should be included in your proposal? Who do you need to buy-in, and what would the role entail? These are some of the questions we explore in this episode. Our guest is Erica James, Director of Customer Marketing and Thought Leadership at Medallia. Medallia's award-winning SaaS platform, the Medallia Experience Cloud, leads the market in the understanding and management of experience for customers, employees, and citizens by utilizing a proprietary AI technology to turn personalized and predictive insights into tremendous business results. We explore the journey Erica has taken; from her instinctive talent for thought leadership, to pitching and developing her formal position as thought leader at Medallia. Erica describes how she knew the position would benefit the company, the way her personal love of thought leadership played a part in getting executive buy-in, and the way her new role increases employee satisfaction throughout the entire organization. Erica shares with us the way feedback from current clients is a source of inspiration, as she takes their requests for information and turns that into a drive that shapes content. She discusses the many people who have come out of the woodwork to work with her now that her position is formalized, and how she shines the spotlight on them (both internally and externally) to develop their brand. Finally, we discuss the methods of coaching Erica employs to move others along the thought leader road. By using an apprenticeship model she is able to make meaningful relationships and then by breaking down thought leadership into bite-sized chunks, she makes the task manageable and more comfortable for new practitioners to accomplish. This episode gives amazing insights and pathways toward standing up a new thought leadership role inside an organization, and will be useful to those looking to become thought leaders as well as to executives wanting to create a thought leadership function inside their organization. Be sure to listen in! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership is like a marching band. Everyone on the team has a unique role that adds to the harmony of the music. When adding a thought leadership function to an organization, start with the question, "What outcome are we trying to reach?" People are seeking thought leadership content that is authentic and approachable. The personal touch can carry you far!

Today's guest is Michelle Mellon, Thought Leadership Director at SalientMG, a strategic marketing firm that creates custom programs for clients seeking to spur new business, create awareness, or get recognition as an industry leader. Michelle is also an accomplished short-fiction author; her work can be found in compilations like The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction. She's an expert in using creative storytelling to drive insights and make thought leadership accessible and powerful. When writing a work of fiction, Michelle often starts with the question of "What if?" And, indeed, as she tells us today, that question also forms a powerful intersection between fiction and thought leadership. Michelle explains how her thought leadership goes deeper. She looks at trends, listens to her audience, and crafts stories that will both educate and entertain. In our conversation, Michelle explains the basics of storytelling, and how the elements of fiction can also empower good thought leadership content. Michelle walks us through the best practices of crafting and telling engaging stories about leadership, brand, and mission, and explains that by following and even sometimes breaking the rules of basic storytelling, one can capture and inspire an audience. Every author has to find their voice and stay true to it. Michelle explains why an authentic voice is necessary to craft good thought leadership. In addition, we discuss ways to develop the mind's ear, and how to use voice and language that is specific to every audience. Having a distinct voice will only carry you so far - if your audience doesn't understand or isn't interested in what you are talking about, your thought leadership won't stick! This is an insightful episode for creative writers entering the world of thought leadership, and for those seeking to breathe life into an idea and share it with others. Listen in! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leaders should embrace the speculative and look into the future as they craft their content. Your ideas don't have to be 100% right; they just have to be engaging and enlightening. It's a fallacy to think that long-form content has more prestige. Convey your thought leadership in a variety of formats, and you'll reach a wider audience. Thought leadership needs to tell your personal story, share your experiences and your mission, but it must also inspire others - and to do that, you must share it in a way that they can understand.

There are two popular roads that can be taken when building a consulting firm. The first is intense specialization; becoming the gold standard in a particular domain. The other is to have a more general focus, relying on a broad variety of topics that can be combined and recombined to solve many different problems. But what happens when the truth of your brand lies on both roads? Niko Canner is the Founder of Incandescent, a firm which has many talents: it serves as a thought partner to leaders of large enterprises on strategy, organization and innovation; advises founders on the development of their ventures; and partners with foundations and non-profits engaged in systems change. Prior to founding Incandescent, Niko was co-founder and Managing Partner of the consulting firm Katzenbach Partners. In our conversation, he recalls his struggles to properly but concisely describe their firm to the market, and how many potential buyers walked away without properly understanding their value. Niko also shares how the term "Breakthrough Organizational Performance" was the key that let them go to market as both specialists and generalists, and find buyers competing for their attention. Niko shares the conversations that took place prior to that acquisition, how to find a good fit for both acquiring and acquired company, and explains the factors anyone hoping to see their firm acquired someday should be considering now. Three Key Takeaways: In order to successfully market your thought leadership, you need a platform that is succinct and resonates. If your thought leadership brand is too general, you can get lost in the crowd. Get too specific, and you could become irrelevant to most. Find the path between! When looking to have your thought leadership firm acquired, you need to establish a relationship and prove that you are a good strategic fit to your buyer.

Today's guest is Everett Harper, the Founder and CEO of Truss. Truss is a software company that works with teams to design, build, and scale software and tech infrastructure to give them the tools they need to excel. Everett is also the author of Move to the Edge, and Declare it Center, a book that helps people lead organizations, solve problems, and sustain company growth with effective practices for complex, uncertain, and unpredictable environments. Many CEO's want to write a book about their experiences, but doing so can be an expensive and time-consuming process. How do you know it's the right time to write a book? What insights and experiences should you share? In Move to the Edge, and Declare it Center, Everett discusses a moment of disquiet in 2020 that compelled him to write - and how that moment has gone on to inspire others through his book. Everett also describes the process Truss uses with their clients, interviewing not only the leaders of a project but also software operators, end-users, and partners, in order to gain the widest view of complex problems. With that information in hand, they create an infrastructure to help the designers of a software system understand the needs of its end users, and keep both involved throughout the entire entire development cycle. Three Key Takeaways: Nobody knows everything, and not knowing can feel frustrating. Great thought leaders manage that feeling and find a way forward. Complex problems don't always have linear solutions. Thought Leaders can make amazing discoveries by keeping an experimental mindset. A good thought leadership book can get you recognized, and bring your insights respect - giving you an edge on the competition.

Have you ever had to onboard a new hire, or explain a complex task to a colleague not in your field? How can you get a novice up to speed without giving them a doctoral-level lecture? Today's guest is Ashley Faus, Content Strategy Lead for Software Teams at Atlassian. Atlassian is a software development company that creates tools which are used worldwide to unlock the potential of high-functioning teams in the workplace. We start our conversation by discussing frameworks for thought leadership, content, and broad ideas, and how building a content framework can make even complex ideas accessible to learners of all levels. Ashley goes on to share the four pillars of her framework: Credibility, Profile, Prolific, and Strong Depth of Ideas. She explains how frameworks can be a tool to assess areas of specific challenge or difficulty, and how to use them to create a stronger focus to improve. In addition to her four pillars, Ashley shares how she arrived at the idea of the "Content Playground," and how she builds on her experience in content marketing to turn ideas and inspiration into learning journeys. An audience can be engaged by allowing them to choose their own path through content, discover insights that speak to their personal perspective, and grow through the novelty of play. Ashley explains that trust is an essential quality of thought leadership, and that to be a great leader, you must be open, honest, and vulnerable. Organizations, too, need to manifest those traits, remaining consistent and authentic in their actions and messaging, so that audiences understand and believe in the brand'. Three Key Takeaways: A well-built framework can be a great way for others to more easily grasp the core of your thought leadership. Thought Leadership can be used for content marketing, but that should not be its main goal. Thought Leadership is a long-term play, unlike most marketing, and should be constructed and utilized to withstand the rigors of time.

When you can't gather in person, how do teams manage strategic planning, maintain role clarity, and build both alignment and consensus? Today's guest on our podcast is Dr. Sharon Lamm Hartman, the Founder and CEO of Inside-Out Learning. She talks to us about the content of her book, The Authenticity Code: The Art and Science of Success and Why You Can't Fake It to Make It, and how she helps clients, professionals, and leaders to be real and authentic no matter what communication obstacles they may face. Having a published book codifying your thoughts and processes can be a useful tool as a thought leader. Yet, in our present environment, buyers often have different expectations of virtual programs and how they will put forward the information and insights in the book. Sharon helps us understand those expectations, and talks about the ways thought leaders can both meet and exceed them, giving your thought leadership book even more staying power. Further, we explore the way relationships develop differently in a learning environment than in a typical working one, creating stronger teams and closer community. In addition to utilizing virtual programs to support her book, Sharon's also added the power of an easy-to-use app to her arsenal. The app guides readers through the 5 habits and 15 steps of her thought leadership, standing beside them every step of the way. It provides easy access to her content, and quick reminders that keep leaders on track. Buyers of the book unlock the app, and receive information about 1 habit and 3 steps for free. Then, the remainder of her content is accessible as an additional unlock, providing access to a community of leaders on the same journey. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders need to be real and authentic in their work, both with clients and in content creation. If you are moving your thought leadership programs into a virtual model, you need to ensure they are engaging and interactive in order to meet buyer's expectation. Developing a companion app is an incredible value add to any thought leadership book.

We are assaulted by digital pollution on a daily basis: spam calls, fake e-mails, harassing chats, phishing scams, and worse. With all the noise, how can thought leaders create a message that our audience wants to hear? How do we make them understand that our outreach is important? To help answer these questions, we've turned to Ethan Beute, the Chief Evangelist at BombBomb; a company that uses video messaging to build better business relationships. Ethan is also the co-author of Human-Centered Communication: A Business Case Against Digital Pollution. This book is a great read for anyone who needs to generate attention, build trust, and create engagement online! Discover the pitfalls of "digital pollution," and how it negatively impacts our ability to reach potential customers. Listen in, as Ethan shares insights about Human-Centered Design, and how it breaks through the noise to reach customers, and make sure the message they hear is deeply relevant to their needs. He discusses his job as Chief Evangelist, telling us how he is a staunch advocate for Human Centered Design. Learn why boasting about your product instead of addressing people's needs, emotions, and challenges, can cause your audience to stop listening. Some content modalities come easily, while others require greater amounts of study and even coaching. Ethan explains how he began by using his strong command of short-form writing, and over time, has mastered the ability to host his successful podcast, The Customer Experience; communicate with his audience through a video format; and even take the stage for live events. This is a great episode for anyone struggling to ensure that their brand doesn't get lost in the noise. Three Key Takeaways: · Thought Leadership built on Human-Centered Design should focus on desirability, feasibility, and viability. · Spreading your Thought Leadership through short personal video messages can have greater results than mass e-mail blasts. · While evangelizing your Thought Leadership, focus on your client's problems, not the product you are trying to sell.

Every day, we are berated with advertising for products and services trying to convince us to switch to their brand. What makes us take pause and pay attention is no longer the fear of missing out. Audiences want to find meaning in the products they buy and activities they take part in. So, how can you convey to your customer that your brand has meaning? Our guest today is Emmanuel Probst, Global Lead of Brand Thought Leadership at Ipsos, where they are passionately curious about society, markets, and providing a game changing understanding of the world to help clients make faster, smarter and bolder decisions. He is also the author of Brand Hacks: How to Build Brands by Fulfilling the Consumer Quest for Meaning. In this book, Emmanuel shows us how to use simple hacks to create and grow brands that deliver meaning — even with a limited budget. We ask Emmanuel, "What is the quest for meaning in branding? Why do people care about some brands and almost instantly forget others?" and his answers deliver! Emmanuel helps us understand why customers are seeking meaning and why companies need to focus on creating long term strategies that incorporate feelings of nostalgia, joy, and empathy. That's what makes people want to come back year after year. Next, we move to discuss how thought leadership connects to branding and how the thought leader needs to inject a level of self into their work regardless of where it can be found. We study how academics and practitioners often have a large gap between each other, when in fact they can learn a lot from each other. Emmanuel teaches us to bridge that gap and bring complex ideas to customers in simple, intuitive, and relevant ways. We round out the conversation with Emmanuel's thoughts on why thought leadership works at Ipsos, and how true leadership involves listening to what the market wants to learn, hear, and monetize. From there, they help the customer answer the questions of "So What?" and "What Now?" by giving them ideas that are relevant and actionable to the market. This is a great episode for everyone interested in brand-building. Listen in! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders need to help clients create a brand that has meaning, in order to create customer loyalty. The fear of missing out brings short term results, but creating a positive emotional connection with a brand will make consumers invest for the long term. Great thought leadership ideas shouldn't be complex! Find ways to make your concepts quick and easy to understand.

Working 40 hours has been accepted as the "standard work week" since Henry Ford implemented it almost 100 years ago. What would happen if we focused more on the outcomes that we wanted from our labor, instead of focusing on the time it takes to accomplish them? Could we learn to work less and do more? Our guest today is Joe Sanok, host of the popular The Practice of the Practice, the #1 Podcast for counselors in private practice and one of the top 50 podcasts worldwide! Joe has gone from working as a full time physiologist to teaching others how to structure their practice in a way that will increase ROI and reduce time spent working. Joe's also is the author of Thursday Is the New Friday: How to Work Fewer Hours, Make More Money, and Spend Time Doing What You Want. Today, Joe shares his story; from working at a Community College, to building a strong and profitable side practice that made more than his full time job. Learning how to leverage his gifts helped Joe make the journey to becoming a thought leader, starting a podcast, and helping others think differently about mental health in the workplace. In addition, Joe is helping counselors in private practice build their business and their brands. We discuss how to effectively use your time, why you should find clients that are the right fit for you, and ways to outsource the things you are not good at. It's possible to build healthy teams by asking the right questions! Finally, we wrap up by discussing Joe's book Thursday Is the New Friday, which offers exercise, tools, and training to help people create the work schedule they want — and the results they need: less work and greater income! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders can accomplish more by outsourcing less important tasks, or things they are not good at, in order to focus on important matters. By specializing your thought leadership, you can be a more effective help to your clients and outpace your competition. It's easier to convince clients to buy into your Thought Leadership when you can clearly explain the way your fee will save the client time and increase their ROI.

The word Redneck tends to conjure up a certain image in most people's minds. When you hear the word do you think Director of Radiology and author? Our guest James Harold Webb is a self-proclaimed redneck who despite the obstacles that stood in his way went to college became a radiology technologist, then Director of Radiology at a hospital in Dallas, and now is the author of Redneck Resilience: A Country Boy's Journey To Prosperity. James shares how his simple upbringing in Mississippi was actually the bedrock of his work ethic and resiliency, watching his parents overcome various challenges in their personal and professional lives implanted the idea that he too could always find a way to overcome and rise up. We discuss the origin of his book Redneck Resilience and what exactly is the meaning of resilience. After many telling him he should write a book he started jotting down notes and stories realizing that he wanted the lessons he learned to be able to be passed onto his children and others that would benefit from them. James has faced a large amount of personal strife, from a brain tumor to a cancer diagnosis for both him and his wife. These personal experiences have changed how James views problems and stress as well as how he works, closing the door to business at the end of the day to focus on what really matters in life: family. James shares personal stories of resilience and shows how regardless of your origin you too can get back up after being knocked down and find a new path forward. Three Key Takeaways: Writing a book for your Thought Leadership does not have to be part of a business plan. It can be to leave a legacy. If you are being told to put your Thought Leadership into a book, start by writing your thoughts and stories for 30 - 60 minutes a day and see if it meshes together. Resiliency in Thought Leadership means finding an alternative path when the road gets blocked.

Ten years ago, the term "thought leadership" did not exist. Yet, the principles of thought leadership were being practiced, shaped, and refined by pioneers in the field; people whose great ideas literally shaped the road for all others. Our guest today is Amelia Folkes, Senior Manager of External Relations at Workiva. Previous to that, she worked at Emerson Automation Solutions and State Farm, where she worked to implement changes that made the world a safer place - through practices and insights that we now recognize as true thought leadership. Changing an organization's culture can take years of effort. Amelia explains how she did it: by positioning brands as more than just vendors. She taught her companies to become solutions providers and partners to their customers, and level up the organization's voice. In this way, she created earnest relationships, and helped her brands gain the trust and loyalty of their audience. Relationships are important, but the hardest work of thought leadership is finding a way to take those values to scale. Amelia discusses the use of both broad and narrowcasting, and the ways she works to position Workiva at the front of the ESG (Environmental Social Governance) frontier. Through her work, their clients themselves become integral thought leaders on the topics of sustainability and diversity. We finish our conversation by discussing the importance of establishing your voice, and creating key messages. Amelia explains that it's important to maintain consistent messages across multiple platforms, from social media to personal relationships. This helps create an echo chamber that, over time, will move into broader and broader audiences. This episode is an exploration of the way thought leadership has changed over a decade. Listen in, to learn some of the fascinating history, and to discover ways to define your voice, stay on message, and grow your reach for the next decade of thought leadership! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership needs to create trust in the things you are doing or selling. In order for thought leadership to take your client's voice to the next level, you must focus on storytelling and influence. It takes time for thought leadership to become part of the mind of your audience. Repetition and consistency are crucial.

Being a working mother means juggling a lot of balls. Stress, overload, and exhaustion can make work a nightmare and in turn create an unhealthy home environment. Is it possible to simply let go and focus on the important things one at a time? Today, we sit down with Dr. Whitney Casares, a private practice pediatrician and mother. It was the combination of these two life paths that led her to write The New Baby Blueprint: Caring for You and Your Little One and her newest book The Working Mom Blueprint: Winning at Parenting Without Losing Yourself. Whitney discusses the significant changes to the pediatric approach that have occurred in the last decade, and how doctors are becoming more involved in the physical health of parents as well as the mental health of both parent and child. Whitney shares her experiences as a working mother trying to manage a time consuming career while figuring out how to care for a colicky newborn. She touches on her challenges with postpartum, and later, anxiety for both mommy and daughter. She created revolutionary ways to overcome these experiences, so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics approached her about writing books to give advice to the large population that struggles with similar issues. We wrap up by exploring the way Whitney uses her books as credentials; allowing her access to organizations and corporations. There, she talks health, strategy, and awareness about the working mothers' needs, and how businesses can make simple changes that will save them time and money - and improve their working mothers' lives. If you are concerned about your company's approach to mental and physical health, this podcast is an eye-opener. Listen in, and learn about simple changes you can make to retain working mothers and help them flourish. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership that comes from personal experience can be incredibly powerful. Thought Leadership needs to help organizations be proactive about creating a happy and healthy workplace. Using thought leadership to make small changes that accommodate working mothers can shape both careers and organizations.

When you can no longer meet face to face, how do you update vital information with medical professionals and the at-risk patients they serve? Our guest today is Traci Conley, the Thought Leadership Manager for Standard Imaging, Inc., a company that has become the leading supplier of calibration and quality assurance instruments for healthcare, including a broad range of solutions and support for radiation therapy. Traci is also the host of Out of the Gray, a podcast that looks at the world of Radiation Oncology. Traci started her role as Manager of Thought Leadership around the same time as the COVID-19 outbreak, which made the traditional means of communications with healthcare professionals and patients nearly impossible. In today's conversation, we discuss new methods being used by thought leaders in the healthcare field to maintain the spread of crucial information while keeping everyone safe. Before moving into the role of thought leadership practitioner, Traci worked as a radiation therapist. She shares how her work in the field gives her a unique view of medical processes and communication; a viewpoint that now allows her to help develop practical and effective solutions. This includes building communities to provide open communication, allowing the flow of questions and answers to better the whole. If you are struggling to find new ways to maintain communication, or want to build communities for your industry, this conversation will give you insight about practical steps toward success. Three Key Takeaways: When unable to meet in person, being able to deliver Thought Leadership through webinars and e-training is essential. Podcasts can provide a much-needed space for experts to share experiences. This is a great way to expand your Thought Leadership presence. When building communities of thought leadership, be careful to share the spotlight, and make sure everyone has a voice.

Thought Leadership means peering around corners to predict changes, innovations, and challenges in your field. How far into the future is far enough? 5, 10, 20 years? Is it possible plan for 50 years down the road? We answer these questions with the help of today's guest, Peter Griffiths. Peter is the City Strategist at ING Media, and an Urban Content Consultant specializing in building cities that will thrive and grow. We discuss how he is using thought leadership to get ahead of the curve, and develop the cities that will embrace and support humanity's future. Looking into the future means asking the right questions about the impact of today's choices, and how we can affect tomorrow's dreams and solve challenges before they arise. Peter finds the right questions thanks to a background in journalism; he looks for right answers by understanding that a unique view of the world is valuable, but so is the strength of collaboration. By being willing to merge his vision with the expertise of others, Peter makes the world better for us all. This conversation is an intriguing look into how thought leadership can help cities evolve, and also the ways that thought leadership can be used to predict - and plan for - humanity's future. Three Key Takeaways: Your thought leadership should allow others to get ahead of the curve and plan for tomorrow. Allow your thought leadership to take into account the experience and expertise of others, to benefit everyone. Thought leadership should be transactional, focusing on two-way conversations and an open exchange of ideas.

Today's guest is Leslie Ehm, Swagger Coach, Amazon #1 best-selling author of Swagger: Unleash Everything You Are and Become Everything You Want, speaker, and Chief Fire Starter at Combustion Training: a creativity-fueled training company that transforms people so that they can transform organizations. In today's conversation, Leslie tells us her story; from working as a TV host, script editor, and advertising creative director, she found her true voice and started her own training company, building creative companies through a foundation of support for creative and inspirational people. We discuss the slow growth of Combustion Training due to the need for trainers to be subject-matter experts in order to avoid the sub-par training experiences that she has seen in the past. From this realization came the origin and process of Leslie's book, Swagger. Leslie shares the hard choices she made to keep her authentic voice, the methods she used to keep the words of others out of her mind, and how she connected her unique story to thought leadership. Plus, she shares the favors she called in to generate word-of-mouth for the book, and why paying back those favors is an important part of her publishing process. Three Key Takeaways: When bringing others onboard to spread your thought leadership, be picky. Only work with those who are the right fit for you. It is crucial to write your thought leadership book in your authentic, individual voice. If you ask others to promote your thought leadership, pay it back (and pay it forward).

We all have personal stories of triumph and growth. Our history, our experiences, shape us and drive the most insightful parts of our thought leadership. So why is it so hard for us to share those stories? Aliza Hughes is the Director of Thought Leadership at Zoecial Media, a company that provides social media management with the aim of growing the client's audience and credibility through brand storytelling. We start our conversation by discussing how uncomfortable it can be to share personal stories in our thought leadership - the very stories that best illuminate our insights, strengths, and growth! Aliza shares her thoughts on telling personal stories, and how even tales of failure can connect you to your audience, and connect you as humans in search of growth. Aliza also explains that LinkedIn is important - get that first post out! While a certain level of professional polish needs to be present, perfection isn't required, and seeking it is just another method of procrastination. We discuss getting comfortable with yourself, and growing your audience by taking part in comments - on your own posts, and on posts made by others - as well as how to turn those comments into full fledged posts of their own. This is a wonderful conversation for anyone looking to add a personal touch to their Linkedin and make audiences take notice! Three Key Takeaways: Don't be afraid to have a more personal voice in your Thought Leadership content. Passion plus expertise = Successful Thought Leadership. Don't compare likes and comments to other thought leadership posts; everyone is at a different place in their journey. Instead, focus on beating your own personal best.

Not that long ago, books about emotions, vulnerability, and transparency would have been found in the self-help section. Now, business books about those same "soft skills" top best-seller lists. What has changed and why have these skills become so important? Our guest on this episode is David Wood, a former consulting actuary to Fortune 100 companies and founder of the world's largest coaching business, serving an audience of 150,000 coaches across 12 countries. He also hosts the Tough Conversations podcast, and is the author of Get Paid For Who You Are as well as an upcoming book titled Name that Mouse. David shares his journey, from developing his intellect while shutting down his emotional side, to his realization that there is a great need for emotional intelligence, vulnerability, and transparency on the path to excellence as a leader. We also discuss the change in the way these necessary soft-skills have been perceived in the last decade, and how they moved out of the self-help section and onto every major executive's must-have list of proficiencies. Further, David shares news about his upcoming book, Name That Mouse. Much like the "elephant in the room," there are often other smaller, more subtle problems in any workplace that are not discussed - "mice" that everyone ignores. David explains why simply naming "the mouse" and addressing it can alleviate anxiety, create transparency, and avoid negative feelings that are easily avoided. This conversation is a fascinating look at soft skills in the business world, and why they are essential for success. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership needs to support emotional intelligence, communication, and authenticity within the corporate world. Thought Leadership can be used to enrich both career and our home life, giving us skills that are universal. Naming a problem can give it less power. Thought Leadership should help to bring these small, necessary issues into the light.

Decades of economic principles have been written in stone, followed blindly by leaders and scholars alike. But, as with all things, stone erodes over time. Our guest today is ready to shatter the rock, and set minds free. Listen in! Today, we're honored to speak with David Weitzner, author of Connected Capitalism and Fifteen Paths. David primarily identifies as a philosopher, but has spent time as a music industry executive, a professor of management, and has spent nearly two decades studying the philosophies that make our economic principals work. Now, he teaches at York University, where he advocates for co-creation, not management. David shares with us some of his deep thoughts, explaining the meaning of the term "Connected Capitalism,"and how it differs from Conscience Capitalism or ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). David also explains how Connected Capitalism offers a deeper sense of spiritualism and harmony; two traits which are often thought of as taboo in the modern business world - but traits that are helping today's leaders break old boundaries and forge new paths.. In this episode, we discuss the generational shift in business, and how employees are concerned about staying true to their values as well as finding success in their careers. This move away from the old mindset of "chasing the dollar" will, over time, change many of the financial models and practices that have stood for decades. This episode is full of philosophical, economical, and socially responsible advice that leaders and employees of any generation can put to use. It's the cutting edge of financial thought leadership - and it's all right here! Three Key Takeaways: People want Thought Leadership that answers big questions; ideas that will help them reopen, rebuild, or pivot their business for the pandemic and post-pandemic age. Thought Leadership can be the key to helping decision-makers open their process to new voices - without creating chaos. Can your thought leadership help employees find meaning in their work? Does it connect them into a society, and help them find a sense of wonder in their job?

Great leaders have to handle tough situations. Inevitably, the time will come when you have to make a hard choice or deal with a crisis. Will you be prepared? Our guest today is Thomas Lahnthaler, Founder and CEO of The Crisis Compass, an organization which teaches leaders and companies innovative and resource-based crisis management. We start our conversation by discussing the concept of risk and how it relates to Thought Leadership. Thomas explains that "crisis points" are inevitable, and the future is always unknown. We get through crisis points by being prepared, stepping up, and making choices, not by ignoring possible difficulties. These crisis points are often a source of fear and tunnel vision, even for the best leaders. We tend to rely on assumptions, or feel as if a leader needs to take full responsibility and solve the problem alone. Thomas shares reasons why these assumptions can be dangerous, adding to the feeling of risk. He also addresses the way tunnel vision can be an advantage when specific insights are shared with others, adding a variety of focuses to your own point of view. Preparing your organization to handle crises means teaching them to share ideas, have empathy, and work in teams that are deeply diverse. These are only a few of the ways Thomas suggests a great leader keep themselves ready for any crisis, and be in the best position to deal with difficulties as they arise. Three Key Takeaways: When aiding others through a crisis, your thought leadership needs to create comfort, establish solid choices, and avoid feeling overwhelmed by risk. Exchanging ideas and perspectives is a great way to create thought leadership for crisis preparedness. Thought Leadership helps others have smart conversations and create positive teamwork skills, and those habits can carry you through any crisis.

Can creating a brand make your brand distinct, and give you a competitive advantage? Today, we dive into the deep end with a true shark of brand creation. We'll answer that question - and more! Kevin Harrington is an entrepreneur, business executive, and one of the most well-known hosts of the investment reality show Shark Tank. Kevin has decades of experience helping people like George Foreman and Tony Little build their brands, and generate billions of dollars in sales. And today, he's our guest! Kevin created his first infomercial in 1985, identifying an opportunity to fill late night and early morning dead air on cable networks. He's seen the rise and fall of many brands, and has become one of the foremost thought leaders in the sphere of productization. Today, he explains how he noticed the change in trends and habits surrounding television, and why he chose to sell millions of assets to move away from broadcast television and toward the internet. While Kevin has not been on Shark Tank for a few years, he still gets thousands of investment pitches per year. Now, he shares with us the checklist he uses to examine proposals, and why finding a "problem solver" is top of the list. Finally, we discuss ways to use a book to elevate your brand. Kevin uses examples from his own books, Key Person of Influence and Mentor to Millions, to illustrate how he elevated his brand by writing books, creating content, and being a guest on great podcasts! Three Key Takeaways: Creating a top-shelf thought leadership brand can set you apart, and give you an advantage. Don't be afraid to surround yourself with experts outside of your area of thought leadership, or to get a mentor that can help you find traction. Being a guest on podcasts can open new relationships and build broader audiences for your thought leadership.

Trying to get your thought leadership to the employees of your company is never an easy task but attempting to reach 250000 employees in your organization can feel like trying to climb Everest. Making the tools to climb that mountain is what today's guest excels at. Vishwas Anand is part of the Infosys Knowledge Institute which helps industry leaders develop a deeper understanding of business and technology trends through compelling insights. Vishwas shares how he aided in the creation of the Infosys Insight Store -- a platform people can use to access hundreds of articles, podcasts, and video. It is meticulously cataloged to make finding the right content simple without having to take a deep dive into it. Many companies are still trying to understand how to measure the success of thought leadership. Vishwas explains why vanity metrics such as likes and shares may not be as important as many think, in fact, they can end up being more of a distraction to the brand in the long run. If you have thought leadership content that needs to get out to your organization but struggle to make it accessible or reach those that need it most this is the perfect episode for you. Three Key Takeaways: The key to making a library of thought leadership content useful is creating a system that allows users to find the content they need with speed and ease. When creating thought leadership for a sub-brand you need to ensure it has synergy with the parent brand to avoid confusion. Authenticity, Accuracy, and Agility are the three As of thought leadership.

Can thought leadership help organize people towards a common goal? The answer is yes! Our guest in this episode is Royal O'Brien, General Manager of Digital Media and Games at Open 3D Engine, an important facet of the Linux Foundation. Open 3D Engine (O3DE) is an Apache 2.0-licensed multi-platform 3D engine. This engine enables developers and content creators to build AAA games, cinema-quality 3D worlds, and high-fidelity simulations. And, because it's "open source," creators can use the engine without fees or commercial obligations. Open source projects create base code and make that code available to everyone. This allows the audience to modify and innovate that code for their own projects, continually updating and adding to the base. Motivating, coordinating, and moving people towards a common goal can be a challenge. Yet, organizing large groups of creative people without restricting or stifling them is the key to Royal's success, and he's managed to do it time and time again. Today, Royal shares the thought leadership that guides his path, shaping the questions he asks about his audience: Who will use this product? How will they use it? How will they change it? and, most importantly, What kind of impact will it make? From those questions, he creates a "flywheel effect," aligning short- and long-term goals, and focusing his attention on creating products that will move his organization into new financial markets. He even discusses how tools like Discord and Game Jams bring people together and unleash their creativity, allowing him to watch for direction and advancements in real-time as his engine is shaped by the community. Royal's advice about community-building can be applied to many communities and industries; anything that encourages creative individuals to work in concert towards a common goal. If that sounds like your org, don't miss this episode! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership can be the key to ensuring that communication between creative, innovative individuals or teams is clear and productive. When building a community, you can use thought leadership to increase inclusivity and make sure everyone's voice is heard. Once you've started a movement, you need to nurture it (both short- and long-term) in order for it to succeed.

Savvy authors know that public relations can be more unpredictable than marketing. So, how do you navigate those treacherous waters and find success? Today's guest is Mark Fortier, founder of Fortier Public Relations. Mark has spent 30 years publicizing hundreds of important books, including 140 bestsellers! Now, he's here to share tips and tricks with us that are essential for making your thought leadership book a success. When taking a book to market, authors often only look at big wins. It's important to get coverage in large media outlets, but what most don't realize is that it's often small, incremental goals that really move the needle. Mark explains how and why it is important to manage expectations, and why you should work to create close relationships in order to help your book's audience grow. He also discusses the ways PR has changed over the years, and how online interviews and podcasts have become an important part of any successful author's portfolio. One of the ways that authors and publishers support a book is by focusing on an existing platform. Mark discusses the importance of creating a pre-established, strong social network (and potential audience) before your book gets published, and offers alternatives if you don't have one in place. It's important to live up to your publisher's expectations, but Mark shares his hard-won wisdom on the things an author should look for and expect from their publisher as well. Three Key Takeaways: Thought leaders publishing their first (or fifth!) book can benefit from the knowledge and experience of public relations firms. Social media is a long term strategy. Thought leaders publishing a book need to start building a large, connected network as early as possible. Thought leaders should seek out a publisher they can work with, and ensure that their publisher truly understands the material's message.

Today's guest is Raj De Datta, Co-Founder and CEO of Bloomreach, a company bringing solutions that are uniquely built to serve digital commerce and marketing professionals. Their mission is to deliver meaningful moments to customers; moments that result in organizational growth. Raj shares Bloomreach's goal to use AI and machine learning for delivering exactly what a customer is seeking. Moment to moment, a customer's needs change — and so should an organization's digital response. With Bloomreach powering roughly 1/4th of e-commerce in the United States and the UK, Raj is often asked "What helps organizations succeed in the digital arena?" In an effort to answer that question, Raj wrote The Digital Seeker: A Guide for Digital Teams to Build Winning Experiences, published by Columbia Business School Publishing. Raj explains that his book is more than a rendition of the typical CEO experience. He discusses the reasons for his research, shares insights, and talks about how organizations can succeed in a digital arena. The academic point of view brings new details to light, and powers a sharper understanding of the fundamentals of success. Raj shares his hopes for the future of the book, and talks about ways the industry could prosper from these understanding. He's got a long-term view on measuring success, and the book is a critical part of elevating his position as CEO as well as Bloomreach's expertise with eCommerce. Three Key Takeaways: Authoring a thought leadership book from the perspective of an academic could open additional publishing options. Having your CEO write a Thought Leadership book is a great way to elevate the profile of a company. Many Thought Leaders underestimate the difficulty of marketing a book. There are complex nuances in getting it published, and you need to think ahead!

Ever wondered what it was like to be the Director of Thought Leadership for a major corporation? Many organizations don't define their thought leadership role at creation, leaving the shaping of those responsibilities up to the first person to take the position. That's a tough job! To better understand the first few months in such a role, we turn to Tammy Ammon, Senior Director of Thought Leadership at Acxiom. Acxiom is a corporation that strives to ethically use data and technology to fuel meaningful connections between brands and the people who love them. Like many thought leaders, Tammy had already pursued a long career in product development and marketing. Senior Director of Thought Leadership was the perfect position to blend her passion for storytelling with her deep knowledge of client needs. Even so, her first few weeks in the role were spent defining the position , mapping existing pieces of content, and aiding with branding, marketing, and innovation at the highest levels of the organization. Over time, Tammy realized that content creation, a big component of thought leadership, quickly evolves storytelling and strategy at the highest levels. She explains how she learned to define a brand's story, and find the specific themes that will be helpful to support a compelling rendition. By moving through the organization at all levels, she's learned to maintain a broad view of the company and carry that perspective to her audience. Tammy ends our conversation with advice for those who are new to the role of thought leader in their organization; sharing tips, best practices, and inspiration she learned along the way. Three Key Takeaways: Organizational thought leadership is about making time to learn your industry and understand your audience. Thought Leaders can draw insight by listening in on a wide variety of meetings, networking on Linkedin, and taking part in strategy discussions. As you grow in the role of director of thought leadership, you will need to learn which topics require your time, and which to pass on to your team.

How do you plan for something you can't predict? Today's guest is Lance Mortlock, a Strategy Partner at EY (Ernst & Young) Canada, where he manages a team tasked to drive growth for clients in the oil, power, and mining industries. Earlier this year, Lance authored his first book, Disaster Proof: Scenario Planning for a Post-Pandemic Future. Disaster Proof is a practical and accessible guide for identifying risks, facing unpredictable challenges, and planning for the future. Lance discusses the process of writing an in-depth thought leadership book while also working a demanding day job. Getting the book across the finish line required long hours, the support of his family, and surprisingly, the support of his employers at EY. Employers might be quick to think that writing a book would take away from an employee's daily focus. Not always true! Lance explains why elevating his personal brand elevated his employer, as well. Lance had many years of articles, papers, and industry experience that give business leaders the tools they need to understand a volatile, rapidly changing world. Organizations with long-term thinking will excel in competition, and their leaders will be prepared to handle unexpected challenges. He discusses why business leaders need a wide view, to predict and understand long-term forces that will affect their organization. We wrap up by discussing the difficult and often uncomfortable task of marketing a thought leadership book. Many writers and thought leaders are not used to having to push sales, but it's important to get your text in the right hands. This means shepherding a consistent present on social media, and understanding that increasing book sales requires a slow but continual effort. If you are currently working on your first book, and trying to navigate balancing your day job and marketing your finished text, this episode has a wealth of helpful information. Think long-term - and be consistent! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders don't have to leave their current organization to develop their own brand. Enriching your personal brand can be beneficial to both parties. A book based on your Thought Leadership can stem from the articles and materials you've published in the past, combined with an expanded viewpoint for the future. If you want your Thought Leadership book to be a success, you'll need to create a flourishing social media platform to announce, elevate, and enhance publication.

Does your thought leadership solve global issues? How do you draw attention to a multinational crisis, on a personal scale? Our guest in today's episode is Reilly Brock, the Associate Creative Director at Imperfect Foods. Imperfect Foods is a weekly grocery delivery service on a mission to build a better, less wasteful food system. Through their efforts, they help people save time, money, and the planet. As Associate Creative Director, Reilly has a passion for making the average person aware of the global food waste problem, and giving them options to waste less food. Through his work, he educates customers on ways to increase and improve regional sourcing, utilize food that would otherwise be squandered, and make empowered decisions. They pay attention to wide-scale problems (like the reason Imperfect Foods doesn't sell bananas), so their customers can feel assured that their choices are having a positive impact on the world. Reilly has been delivering his message in long form writing, infographics, and even a podcast, in order to engage different audiences through the mediums they prefer. He, and Imperfect Foods, seek to spread the message that even multinational problems can be solved by individual action. By creating a sense of agency for their customers, Reilly creates excitement, so his audience will further share the ideas. That way, he can create an even broader movement. We close with useful advice for those just starting out in a thought leadership role. Reilly explains why you should determine who your audience is, and just as importantly, who your audience is not. Don't water down your content to reach a wider audience. Focus your efforts where you can have the most impact, and your audience will carry the message forward for you. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership has the power to shine a light on invisible problems, and provide tangible ways the audience can get involved in solving them. Don't dilute your Thought Leadership message! Instead, use different mediums and types of content to reach a wider audience. When creating powerful Thought Leadership, make sure you have evergreen content that draws your audience back — time and time again.

Welcome to this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership! Today's guest is our very own Peter Winick, Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage, a firm that helps thought leaders of all kinds develop strategies for branding, marketing, technology, and sales. The episode begins with Peter outlining the similarities and differences between marketing and thought leadership, particularly as it pertains to sales. While some comparisons can be made, thought leadership targets a small, very selective audience, giving timeless advice directed toward specific challenges. Sales, on the other hand, commonly relies on wide reaching, less focused tactics, marketing consumer products to a broad audience and relying on wide appeal. Peter tells us that the true art of thought leadership means your offerings are unrelated to 99.9% of business problems, but laser-focused on solving the issues of a sharply defined target audience. In that space, your insights and products can deliver solutions that change the client's world. Peter and Bill outline the reasons that seeking a "necessary minority" is important: people who truly need your solutions get maximum benefit from applying your thought leadership. Plus, they discuss reasons that thought leadership practitioners should create touchpoints, low time commitments that display the benefit of their insights, before expecting a potential client to spend valuable time reading a white paper or book. We wrap up our conversation with some great advice for those just starting a thought leadership journey. From reintroducing yourself, to expanding critical relationships, from asking for help, to finding the right cadence for publishing your content, Peter and Bill share a vast amount of experience on thought leadership and sales. This episode is a beginner's guide — and an expert's handbook, all in one! Three Key Takeaways: · Thought Leadership needs to be focused on a small and specific audience where it can truly shine. · Thought Leadership ideas should be introduced in small chunks, leaving discussion of larger offerings for after the audience leans in. · New Thought Leaders should reach out to their network and reconnect, explaining their new venture, their offerings, and the solutions they offer.

Today, we sit down with the incredibly insightful Jon Levy! Jon is a behavioral scientist and social engineer best known for his work on human connection and decision making. Jon is the founder of the Influencers Dinner, a secret dining experience started in New York in 2009. Twelve thought leaders, tastemakers, and influencers from various industries attend, but do not discuss their professional career, or share their last name - in order to guess, at the end of the dinner, what the other attendees do professionally. What started as an experiment has turned into a world class experience that brings guests from a broad spectrum of fields together to share insights, camaraderie, and a great meal. In addition to being a TED speaker, Jon also has a new book: You're Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence. We start today's conversation with a discussion about the way humans, as a whole, possess a desire to experience something different and unique. Jon explains a bit about the SN/VTA part of the brain, which governs reward cognition, associative learning, and positively-valenced emotions. The SN/VTA engages during unusual experiences, and that response can be used to inspire curiosity and get an audience to authentically engage with your ideas. Behavioral science for the win! The traditional methods for networking have become stagnant and overblown. People "turn off" when they're bored, so how can we create a stronger connection? Jon shares tips about bringing people together for a mutual, unique experience, and how that can create relationships that are stronger than plain ol' humdrum networking. John talks about the enigmas of connection, and helps thought leaders understand why people do the things we do. This is a great lesson on how to tap into those responses by using a little bit of social engineering! Don't miss it! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders can create more interest in their products and ideas by adding a little uniqueness and novelty; raising people's curiosity makes them engage more fully. When designing Thought Leadership courses, think about the frequency of communication, not just the depth of ideas. Trust is a must-have in Thought Leadership, but to gain trust you must be willing to show a level of vulnerability.

Today's guest is Mandy McEwen, the CEO of Mod Girl Marketing, a firm that helps their clients increase brand presence and stand out from the crowd by offering innovative content marketing & social media strategies, and by leveraging the organization's best asset – their people. Many companies are asking employees to engage on the org's behalf through social media, but not everyone really understands LinkedIn's power to increase brand presence. Mandy shares common reasons people struggle to support their company through posts, likes, and comments, and why there's a lot of social anxiety around the topic. Mandy gives advice on ways that managers and leaders can empower their teams, methods for starting or joining appropriate conversations, and ultimately, how your workforce can generate their own content all as part of a daily routine! Getting the most out of any social media platform will mean becoming comfortable with experimentation; employees need support and flexibility with the type of content they provide and how it's presented. Best of all, Mandy explains why even social media "failures" can be successes in disguise - if both employees and the organization are committed to learning from mistakes. Mandy has a great point: Every interaction can be a source of Thought Leadership content! Building content is as simple as having great conversations. You can do it, and your employees can, too! Three Key Takeaways: Getting started with Thought Leadership on Linkedin can be as easy as leaving meaningful comments in industry-related conversations. It might be tempting to use bots or direct messages to blast your Thought Leadership as broadly as possible, but be warned: Such tactics can backfire, driving people away. When developing teams to use Linkedin on an organization's behalf, you have to empower them to share their ideas, coach them on how to get engaged, and give them the thoughtful support they'll need to create great Thought Leadership content.

Today's guest is Adam Bryant, Managing Director at The ExCo Group (formerly Merryck & Co. Americas). The Exco Group specializes in helping boards, executives, and teams unlock their full leadership potential and deliver high-impact performance for their enterprises. Adam is also the author of The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders; a book that focuses on the seven most critical reasons leaders succeed or fail. Adam hasn't always been a Thought Leader. For 30 years, he had a successful career as a journalist, editor, and columnist, primarily at The New York Times. As he honed his communication skills and learned the ins-and-outs of complex teams, Adam focused on the question: "What if we interviewed a CEO for an article and didn't discuss their business background?" Instead, he focused the conversation around the lessons of leadership, culture, hiring, and talent, to see what made high-powered leaders flourish and grow. Over 10 years, Adam interviewed 525 CEOs. Those lessons eventually became a book: The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. In it, he presented the insights and advice he gleaned through those interviews in order to to help others master the steep learning curve of leadership. In today's episode, Adam discusses his skills as a journalist, and how they positioned him to elevate others through the practice of thought leadership. He credits that background with his impressive ability to see patterns, focus on the essence of an issue, and find insights in both challenges and success - and share those gifts with others. If you're feeling blocked, this is the episode that can show you how to find your strengths and bring them into the game! Three Key Takeaways: Non-traditional questions can be a great way for Thought Leaders to gain new insight. Thought Leaders can find strong, accessible examples of leadership lessons in TV and movies. Thought Leadership might start out as a "side-hustle," but if nurtured properly, can take on a life of its own!

Today we are excited to sit down with Lisa Bodell. Lisa is the CEO of FutureThink, an award-winning learning company that is transforming the way teams work in organizations. She helps leaders guide teams to build skills that are radically simple and immediately impactful. Lisa defines herself as a "futurist," and is an expert on the topic of innovation. She's been named one of the Top 50 speakers in the world by Thinkers 50, and is the best-selling author of Kill the Company and Why Simple Wins. Lisa explains what it means to be a futurist, and how she brings a compelling message of simplification and innovation to over 100,000 people each year. Lisa also discusses manufacturing strategic luck, and ways to teach others to recognize potential and capitalize on opportunity. It's not ESP - it's science! Teaching these powerful skills is no small task. It may take work before mastery becomes instinctive, but Lisa's innovative process breaks the challenge into many small steps. Through studying these steps and integrating them one by one, a leader can change behavior, overcome difficulties, and move toward greater success. Don't waste your time looking into a crystal ball! Learn how to be a futurist, and predict tomorrow's opportunities - today! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders need foresight as well as insight. Learn how to see the potential in opportunities, and act. Thought Leaders often suffer "the curse of the expert." Breaking down complex knowledge into simple steps can help others master difficult skills. If you are seeking to change behavior with Thought Leadership, simplify the changes you want to see, create small challenges that teach fundamental skills, and build on those skills to achieve high-level success.

Welcome to the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast! Our guest in this episode is Dan Sanchez. Dan is the Director of Audience Growth for Sweet Fish Media, a full service podcast agency focused on B2B brands. Dan is also the co-host of the go-to podcast for marketers seeking to grow: B2B Growth. Many businesses have thought leaders producing content and drawing attention to the company, but how many take the next step and create a program that evangelizes thought leadership within the org? That's the way to create a body of thought leaders, so that everyone in the company takes part in elevating and sharing those insights. Today, Dan talks about the way he started such an evangelist program, kicking off elevated leadership and organically taking Dan's Linkedin connections from 1000 to 10,000 in just 5 months! Dan describes how everyone at his organization was offered a chance to invest in and create thought leadership, so long as they committed themselves to the work for a period of time. Join us as Dan talks about his insights and elevates the conversation, sharing his experiences around developing methods of engaging employees to develop the organization's brand. If you want everyone to join in, you need to find the topics they identify with, and help them share their passion for their organization's insights and good work - though thought leadership! If you want to jumpstart your Linkedin brand, be sure to sign up for the 3-part Sweet Fish video series - it's free! Three Key Takeaways: When creating an interactive group of Thought Leaders, your first step is to engage your employees. Give them reasons to be excited, and they will start acting like thought leaders, too! Learning a pyramid. There may be people above you, but remember, a lot more are looking up at you and could benefit from your thought leadership. Preach! The best way to engage B2B accounts and gain a larger following is by creating and maintaining a thought leadership podcast.

Today's guest is Maura Barclay, a transformational leadership consultant. In addition to being the author of Unbreakable Women, her previous occupations range from firefighter to fitness trainer to military consultant! In this conversation, she shares the ways that her wide variety of previous experiences make her an incredible consultant and coach. Maura has always been interested in building and relying on proven methodologies that can be repeated for reliable outcomes. Learning is only the beginning; a great leader needs to continue to upgrade and iterate their knowledge into stronger, even more functional methods. In her work, she often utilizes check-lists, setting goals and building methods to achieve more Creating a solid list will anchor the methods in your brain, teaching the instinctive left-brain to perform tasks automatically - and guiding you to greater success. Maura uses her powerful and proven neurofacilitation system to help people build new mindset pathways. Armed with this tool, a leader can trust their well-trained instincts, and recognize good intuition, thus breaking bad habits and learning productive ones! If you are tired of second guessing yourself, and want to train your mind to fire all cylinders toward success, this episode has the best tips for you! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership should use a methodology that is reliable, duplicable, and effective. Intuition often comes from past experience. Thought leaders can build intuition by creating habits that recognize good instinct, and build on it. If you want to sharpen your thought leadership content, spend time ruling out the things on which you don't focus. What's left will be your passion!

Welcome to Leveraging Thought Leadership! Today's guest is Stu Manewith, Director of Advocacy and Thought Leadership at Omatic Software. Omatic Software deals in data integration for non-profits, helping them maintain and grow donors and donations. His thought leadership changes lives! Before joining the team at Omatic Software, Stu worked as a fundraising director for non-profits for 16 years. His deep experience gives him an exceptional view of the sector, and taught him to understand the needs of both software vendors and fundraisers. By marrying those two interests, Stu was able to create incredible insights. His work became a turning point, helping non-profits achieve even greater mission impact though using cleaner, more integrated data and finding effective pressure points. Stu talks about the epiphany that made him realize that non-profits could better serve their customers by studying past stories, tracking data points, and comparing the outcomes. Utilizing this process, he's been able to better deploy software into non-profits, helping them create case-studies, assess previous assumptions, and create new, stronger methods of fundraising. In turn, those case studies have shaped informational blogs, webinars, and internal training documents to raise awareness both inside and outside non-profit fields. Thought leadership practitioners often debate the advantages and challenges of top-down versus bottom-up approaches to organizational education. Stu chimes in with his thoughts on why bottom-up has worked better for him and his clients. He uses that approach to learn about customers and their problems, taking those issues to heart. In this manner, he helps non-profits place the customer's needs first, allowing the organization's success to grow naturally from that good work. If you deal often with non-profits, or if you seek to understand the importance of data integration to thought leadership, this conversation offers clarity and inspiration. Stu offers a ton of valuable insights, so you might want to listen to this one twice! Three Key Takeaways: If you want people to listen to your thought leadership insights, be sure to present yourself as a trusted subject matter and domain expert. Never undervalue the importance of listening! Through understanding a client or customer's needs, you gain an intimate knowledge of their problems, making it easier to create custom solutions. Get out those case studies! Study them, challenge the outcomes, and turn that content into blogs, webinars, and other great learning tools.

Today's guest on our podcast is Jayshree Seth, Chief Science Advocate at 3M. Jayshree works to raise awareness and appreciation of science and how it aids us in our everyday life. Her first book, The Heart of Science: Engineering Footprints, Fingerprints, & Imprints furthers conversation around science advocacy, thought leadership, and inclusive progress. In one of our most fascinating conversations to date, Jayshree shares the process she uses in the lab, and talks about the similarities between that process and the ones great thought leaders use. Through analytical thinking and empathy, she determines what people think about science, where the gaps and barriers are, and ultimately, how to overcome them. One challenge of working in a scientific field is overcoming the stereotype that scientists are elitists; unrelatable and hard to understand. Changing people's perspectives on science is a huge task, and one that Jayshree is tackling on multiple fronts. Today, she talks about how her podcast series, Science Champions, speaks to educators and young students about science - in terms everyone can understand. She was also featured with other scientists in the documentary Not the Science Type, shattering stereotypes and inspiring young women and minorities to get involved in STEM. Jayshree fights "science apathy" by focusing on science's relevance to everyday life. By giving her work a human context, she is able to inspire, inform, and influence those around her to action. Today's chat is a great one, and we hope all of you are inspired to listen in! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership needs to identify people's problems, find the gaps, and develop methods to solve those issues. If you are going to advocate with thought leadership, you need to be passionate as well as informed. Mentoring is an important part of thought leadership. Our experience and hindsight can help others avoid or overcome essential challenges.

Is there a difference between activity and productivity? Both make you busy, but only one makes you fulfilled!. Our guest on today's episode is Garland Vance, the co-founder of Advance Leadership, a firm that helps leaders accomplish more and stress less. Garland is also the author of Getting' (un)Busy, a book that takes you through the 5 steps to overcome "busyness" and live with purpose, productivity, and peace. The conversation is an insightful and active one, with Garland sharing how his own "busyness" caused him significant health problems. This sparked his initial research, hoping to discover ways that he (and others) could accomplish more while doing less. He discovered ways to identify and focus on important tasks, and how a positive "ripple effect" could elevate everything else. Garland's business mode, delivering content through coaching and keynote speaking, was upended over the last year by COVID-19. Like many others, he needed to retool his content to reach a virtual audience. Always an innovator, Garland doesn't simply talk for an hour and then disappear; he has found ways to make a 500-person Zoom call feel like a personal learning event, and he knows how to make each guest feel like the center of attention. Garland also talks about the fact that "busyness" doesn't qualify speed or skill. He assesses the 20 best practices of highly productive people, and why they aren't overwhelmed with "busyness" - because they practice habits that make real differences! Combined with the 5 steps in his book, Gettin' (un)Busy, he shares insights and ways you, too, can deconstruct bad habits and design the life you want to live! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders are easily overwhelmed with "busyness," which can affect personal life and even health. Focus on the tasks that matter, and accept that you can't do everything all at once. Productivity and activity are not the same thing. Garland's thought leadership helps focus on productivity, and ways to fulfill life's greater purposes. Taking a Thought Leadership keynote into a virtual presentation requires additional work, and there are simple ways to make the experience personal and create genuine connection with your audience.

Today's guest on our podcast is Dolores Hirschmann. Dolores is well known for organizing TEDx conferences, and is also the author of Clarity First, a recently published book that helps people find the clarity they need to grow their business. She has deep experience in marketing, and has blended coaching into her unique approach for helping businesses scale. We are so excited to spend some time talking to her! Dolores uses her time as a TEDx organizer to delve into the way many brilliant minds lack the succinctness needed to deliver their message. Too often, great leaders get tangled in the details, and can't connect in a way that gets others to lean forward and buy-in. By applying her knowledge of coaching skills to marketing tactics, she has enabled countless leaders to read between the lines of conversation - and strike upon the best ways to share the parts of their leadership that really matter most. However, clarity isn't the only struggle. Even leaders who instinctively grasp clarity often still struggle to make an impact. Some fight the fear of failure, and others find themselves facing fear of success and "what-happens-next?" Dolores discusses the way these fears are two sides of the same coin, and how to overcome them. In today's conversation, we explore self-worth, self-doubt, and how to change your mindset. You can create a new way forward, build your confidence and assuredness, and give yourself the permission to succeed. If you have ever had the nagging fear that you weren't enough, or that you were just muddling through when you could be winning, this episode can help you realize and accept your full potential. You can do it, and Dolores Hirschmann's Clarity First can get you there! Three Key Takeaways: If your Thought Leadership lacks clarity, the greatest potential of your insights will be hidden behind a messy message. Once you find clarity in your Thought Leadership, you need to take action to create impact. Even things you consider failures can drive success! Take a moment to study challenges, learn from them, and use those lessons to shape a better way forward.

If one voice can reach a wide audience, what about a hundred voices in unison? Think that would get some attention? You'd be right! Our guest on today's episode is Joe Sullivan, the co-founder of Gorilla 76: a firm that specializes in helping mid-sized B2B manufacturers modernize their marketing programs. Joe is also is also the host of The Manufacturing Executive Podcast, celebrating a year's worth of content helping manufacturing leaders find the right growth strategy for their organizations.. In our conversation, Joe shares how Gorilla 76 helps their clients find the right audience. He discusses having a focus on clients that can be helped efficiently, profitably, and with expertise in their challenges. By developing a deep understanding of the decisions involved in purchasing, manufacturers can create and capitalize on the strongest opportunities for growth. Amazingly, Joe isn't the only thought leader at Gorilla 76. Along with his partner, Jon Franko, Gorilla 76 is striking out in a new direction - encouraging and supporting thought leadership created by everyone in the company! Joe details how the skills and experience of many like-minded voices help them create content that proves the company has varied, deep expertise in many subjects - and they're eager to share that knowledge in order to help others! Measuring the success of thought leadership in marketing and sales is a difficult task, even with great analytical tools. Joe helps leaders avoid getting caught up in the routine of "counting likes and shares" without stopping to fully understand what the data is saying. It's easy to be overwhelmed by statistics, and great leaders need to focus on the most important information, and weed out the rest. Thought Leadership is a long game that feeds your sales pipeline, but first, a leader needs to build trust and become established as an expert in their domain. If you want to add thought leadership to your B2B company, or grow innovation across your entire organization, this episode is full of great advice for you. Three Key Takeaways:· Be sure that your thought leadership is tailored to your audience, and addresses their specific challenges and needs. Don't allow metrics and stats to rule your actions. Thought Leadership that connects with a narrow, but well-researched focus will have a higher return than broadcasting to a wide, but uninterested, audience. Podcasts and blogs are a perfect way to give your thought leadership a voice and build community. Just remember, these methods require focus, time, and commitment. They are not a magic wand to bring short-term sales.

Our guest today is internationally renowned business leader, Doug Conant. Doug is the best-selling author of The Blueprint, an eminently smart and practical guide to leadership that contains 6 content-rich steps to creating a richer, fuller, more elevated professional life. With more than 40 years of leadership experience at first-class companies like Campbell Soup and Nabisco, Doug now focuses on Thought Leadership as the Founder and CEO of Conant Leadership. In today's episode, Doug shares his passion about his life's work in Thought Leadership, and how he implemented positive, meaningful change at Campbell Soup Company. Years after he began, he chose to leave the corporate world and move into Thought Leadership full-time, using his experience and expertise to help leaders world-wide. Doug tells us about his legacy of contribution, and the ways in which he is inspired to transcend the ordinary and elevate new, innovative ideas. Doug talks to us about his book, The Blueprint, and how following a few simple steps can help leaders "up their game" by focusing on ways to constantly elevate their interactions. Doug and Peter discuss the need to take time for reflection and study; how to know what matters most; and how to change small things to get big impact. Great leaders are pragmatic about where they spend their time, focusing on the things that matter the most in order to see the biggest - and best - return for their efforts! If you've been looking for ways to increase your focus and bring innovative ideas about leadership into your life, this is the episode for you! Three Key Takeaways: Leadership is "sacred ground," where you affect people's lives and livelihoods, and great Thought Leadership should improve the quality of leaders in order to change a myriad of lives. Thought Leaders need to be meditative about their time and their goals, focusing on the things that matter the most! When seeking to improve as a Thought Leader, seek out role models, pay attention to those who had a profound positive impact on you, and actively follow the leadership they've shown - as you develop your own path!

When an issue is too important and too big for a single leader or team member to own? How can massive organizations tackle challenging issues in a manner that is beneficial to society? Our three guests in this episode are Surya Kolluri, Jeanne de Cervens, and Brian Forbes. They join us to discuss their critically important study: The Pandemic's Perfect Storm. This study examines COVID-19's impact on Gen Z and Millennials, and delivers some surprising results. Surya Kolluri is the Managing Director at Bank of America, where he structures and leads their Thought Leadership, with a focus on retirement, longevity and social impact. Jeanne de Cervens is a public policy strategist and advocate, with a deep understanding of complex legislation and regulations. In the past, she has worked at both Transamerica and Georgetown University. Brian Forbes is the current Director of Thought Leadership and Strategy at Transamerica. He oversees that organization's research and sales enablement programs, and focuses on healthcare costs, caregiving, and retirement. Our three guests recall how they crossed paths within various research groups and institutions before coming together to examine the impact of the pandemic. They discuss the population groups that are most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and give us their insights about ways to position thought leadership to better serve the people who are most affected. Our guests explain why large corporations are collaborating on these issues, and why society's interests outweigh the need for prestige or monetary gains. Previously established relationships between organizations allow for broader teamwork, and create more leverage for the message. We shed light on the ways Bank of America and Transamerica sponsored the work being done at Georgetown University. This study, and its success, would not have been possible if our guests had not previously established a relationship between themselves. Further, we discuss the importance of building relationships with individuals from other industries who share our passions. This can bring a myriad of viewpoints to the table, benefitting society as a whole. Collaboration can increase the credibility of a project, allowing it to reach a wider audience. If you want your organization to be more collaborative, this episode is for you! We chat about how to find solid, inter-corporational partners, ways to create mutually beneficial engagements, and how to make an impact on topics too big for one person to take on alone. Three Key Takeaways:· How Thought Leadership collaboration can create solutions that reach beyond a single organization. Successful Thought Leadership needs to include establishing and nurturing relationships outside your organization. Ways that thought leaders can go beyond research, and bring effective, meaningful results to your constituents.

If you've ever felt creatively "stuck in a rut," and innovation seems out of reach, this is the episode to cure your woes! Our guest today is Dr. Chitra Anand, an award-winning Communications & Marketing executive with over 20 years in the technology industry. She's an extraordinary leader, and has spent time as the head of Communications for Microsoft Canada, Director of Marketing at TELUS Corporation, and Director of Operations at Open Tex. She is also the author of The Green House Approach, a book filled with insights about innovation, creating compelling storytelling in business, and fighting complacency in the workplace. The Green House Approach is a mindset shift; a change in the way we approach thinking, and gives strong advice about "breaking out" and challenging current structural norms. Bill and Chitra reminisce about her career in various tech companies, and discuss the way she implemented thought leadership to educate customers about new trends - long before "thought leadership" was a commonly used term! Plus, Chitra illuminates the many contrasts between content marketing and thought leadership, and how your organization needs both if you're going to thrive. Chitra is leading a new movement in the workplace: Intrapreneurship! Today, she tells us what the term means, and how Intrapreneurship can drive innovative thinking and build new, better ways of conducting business. Chitra gives thoughtful advice for those looking to include "Intrapreneurship" in their organization. This is a great episode, sure to change your mindset and leave you with great ideas. Give it a listen! Three Key Takeaways Thought leadership means building new ideas and concepts; content marketing means leveraging an existing product or service. Thought leadership that forces clients to question old, staid habits, and identify behavioral shifts that can move an organization forward. Good thought leadership creates trust, and trust builds business.

Today's guest is Jim Kouzes the coauthor with Barry Posner of the award-winning and best-selling book, The Leadership Challenge. He's also the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. Jim tells us about his first meeting with Barry and how they quickly became best friends. That friendship and their complementary skills and interests led to writing The Leadership Challenge which has sold more than two million copies worldwide! Jim's focus on the applied and Barry's emphasis on research has allowed them to develop the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) a standard 360 leadership assessment. Jim explains the process of creating LPI and how real-life examples play heavily into the ability of clients to grasp the concepts. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many people work and think. Jim discusses the changes in leaders and what employees look for in leadership due to the pandemic and whether we can expect these changes to subside as we move forward or if some of them will become the new norm. If you want a deep understanding of how evidence-based research can become applied skills you can use in daily life this is a great episode for you! Three Key Takeaways: When collaborating on Thought Leadership try to work with those who have complementary skills and not competing interests. Your Thought Leadership should not include anything you cannot factually demonstrate. Real-life stories of how your Thought Leadership has worked can help others understand the principles of your content.

Tom Schwab is the Chief Evangelist Officer and Founder of Interview Valet, which helps hosts find great guests for their podcast. He is also the author of PODCAST GUEST PROFIT which gives step-by-step systems from taking your podcast from obscure to acclaimed! With more than 2.1 million podcasts out there you are probably curious as to how to get yours heard. Tom gives us strategies for getting the most out of your podcast, how to hit the right audience, and why big numbers don't need to be a priority. In addition, we discuss the pros of being a guest on the bevy of podcasts that exist. Tom explains why you should try being a guest 20 or 30 times before starting your own. Then he breaks down why being a guest might be better for some than putting in the time and money to become a host of their own show. If you chose to be a guest you'll want to hear the advice Tom has for ensuring you maximize the potential of your appearance. Tom compares being a podcast guest to being invited to the host's home for dinner. If you have a podcast this episode will help you reach new heights. If you want to be a guest it will make sure you don't arrive empty-handed. Three Key Takeaways: When producing a thought leadership podcast hitting the right audience is more important than hitting a large audience. If you are going to be a guest on a thought leadership podcast ensure you research the host and their audiences before you sign on. The greatest benefit of being a host or guest of a thought leadership podcast is the relationship you can build.

Our guest is Tom Kolditz, the author of Leadership Reckoning and Director of The Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. The Institute's two-fold mission is to create a powerful and widely available leader development experience and improve the quality of leader development in higher education everywhere. Tom shares how many universities include the development of leaders in their mission statement. However, he explains that few have any focused programs to bring about that mission. Many focus on what Tom calls "leadertainment" which has no lasting benefit. We discuss Tom's book Leadership Reckoning, which outlines the failure of higher education. In addition Tom defines leadertainment and reveals how to measure outcomes and design programs to improve leadership development. Tom informs us about the upcoming classification system from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that is compelling Universities to listen to the problems being presented. Afterwards, he gives insight into how it will aid them in moving towards better programs for leadership development. If you want to understand how Universities can develop better leaders and why they are currently struggling to achieve that, you'll want to listen to this episode! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership needs to include methods of measuring outcomes. In addition, you should be tracking goals in order to truly understand its effectiveness. Thought Leaders often have big ideas, but you have to cultivate the right conditions for the ideas to take root and grow. Your thought leadership should include a system of checks to ensure that a client is progressing. These checks should also account for movement backward.

Today's guest is Melissa Davies, Founder, and CEO of Wieseways Consulting, author of How Not to Act Like a BLEEP at Work, and founding member of the Global Institute for Thought Leadership. Melissa is a Dynamic Facilitator, Educator & Executive Coach with a global perspective. Melissa walks us through the path she took to become a thought leader having first had a career as an educator in Canada and The Middle East before landing in the States to use her global insights to understand people, gain their trust, and provide a unique perspective to complex problems. When seeking to improve leadership or teams we often seek to introduce change. Melissa talks about being intentional with those changes, using performance management, and being mindful of the culture you are intending to introduce and the possible negative implications of those changes. Our conversation concludes with a look at how COVID-19 has affected training. We will no doubt return to in-person training on some level, the virtual method is here to stay. Melissa shares how the structure of presentations should change to keep the attention of an at-home audience. Three Key Takeaways: When seeking to introduce thought leadership, find what your audience has in common at their core and understand why they do things the way they do. When using thought leadership to build new processes analyze the positives but also what negative impacts these changes might have. When delivering thought leadership online keep your presentations to 20 – 25 minutes before moving to discussion and activities.

Today's guest is Jim Adler Founder and Managing Director of Toyota AI Ventures, a standalone early-stage venture capital fund that invests in startups working on A.I., robotics, mobility, and more. We start the conversation with Jim describing what Toyota AI Ventures does and what its mission is. From we get into how they help startups take their idea to scale when to introduce processes and how to find a balance that allows creativity and growth. Jim shares how Toyota AI Ventures bridges the gap between global enterprise and startup, which is an important step. If an investor is too involved it can stifle innovation that happens early, but if they are not involved enough the startup could end up lacking the ability to recruit, build company culture, or find clients that see the value in their idea. Next Jim shares the success story of Joby Aviation, his first meeting in a canyon to see their air taxi in flight, going to bat for them, and their goal of saving one billion people an hour each day! We wrap up discussing the qualities Jim looks for in a startup, separating signal from noise, and how to take advantage of the hype cycle! If you have a startup and are seeking knowledge on how to attract investors this is a must-listen episode for you! Three Key Takeaways: It is important to build thought leadership processes around the areas you are weak in, not just your strengths. When working with a startup your thought leadership should add value to the areas they need help with but not overshadow their creative energy. All leaders should be thought leaders. Thought Leadership is a team sport.

Today's guest is Jody Grunden, a visionary accountant with over 20 years of experience that has helped pioneer innovative changes to his industry. Jody is the co-founder and CEO of Summit CPA Group, author of Digital Dollars and Cents. Jody takes us back to 2013 when he arrived at a conference to speak only to have a series of events go wrong that ended with him giving his presentation off the cuff while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and becoming a huge success! Since that fateful event the Summit CPA Group has undergone a lot of changes. We discuss why they've moved to focusing on creative agencies and how thought leadership has become their only form of marketing, and how they are teaching other firms their methods. Getting your thought leadership off the ground is often time consuming and expensive. Jody shares his experience getting things off the ground, what it took to find success, and how he got his business partner on board with his ideas. If you are looking to develop your own thought leadership or are struggling to find your audience this is a wonderful episode filled with excellent advice! Three Key Takeaways: When delivering thought leadership don't use jargon the audience might not understand. Speak in the vernacular of your audience. Even if your thought leadership might be useful to a wide audience, find a space to become a specialist in. Become a resource to that market so clients come to you for advice. No one will ever care more about your thought leadership than you. You have to have passion and conviction in your delivery to get clients to see you.

Today's guest is Sandra Smith, Founder, and President of Smith Publicity a marketing company that focuses on authors and expert promotions. Many things have changed in the last ten years and publicity is no different. Sandra walks us through some of the big changes authors should be conscious of and why their social media presence and what they share are more imperative now than ever before. When it comes to success for an author, selling books seems like the logical focus. We discuss why selling books is great but getting the attention of your industry is even better. Sandra explains why authors don't need to be overly concerned with metrics and how the shelf life of business books is much longer than it used to be. Sandra goes on to explain why authors should start a conversation with a publicist before they start writing. Getting a firm grasp on why you want a narrow audience, how your release date isn't that important and the benefits of hiring a publicist outside of your publisher can save time and money down the road. If you are thinking about writing a business book and want to ensure success this episode is a great place to start! Three Key Takeaways: You need to be sharing your thought leadership content and cultivate your social media presence all the time not just when you have a book coming out. Authors often get fixated with the metrics around the publication date of their book but thought leadership books often do better in their second year than their first. Getting media attention for your thought leadership is good but you have to make sure you have content and systems in place to monetize the spotlight.

Today's guest is Christopher Brace, a global executive successful at building highly effective integrated marketing teams across complex organizations to drive awareness and product sales. We start our conversation off by discussing how you can emotionally bond customers to a brand of consumer product and how these same techniques can be used to create an emotional connection to an idea. Christopher shares how he gets his customers to tell the stories that connect them to a brand, how he is able to fast track focus groups to get to the emotional core, and how that information can be used to tell a story that can inspire and ultimately alter behavior. It takes more than simply getting people emotional to create loyalty, you first have to dislodge customers from old ideas before they'll accept the new ones. Christopher walks us through that process and why you have to be careful to not attempt to change too many behaviors at one time or you risk people digging in and not budging at all. This episode is a fascinating look at how emotion can rule our choices over rational thinking and how thought leaders can use that for a positive change! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership that connects on an emotional level allows you to engage people in your brand's story and inspire them to action. Research into what clients like or dislike about your thought leadership content has to move beyond rational thinking and into the emotional realm in which we often make choices. The average person is only capable of changing three behaviors at a time. To avoid clients resisting change ensure your thought leadership does not attempt to change many habits too quickly.