Visit Thought Leader Zone’s Scoop.it page for this article and more recommended reading.
Have you ever used Scoop.it? It’s a “curation platform e-zine,” which in plainer English is a site where individuals can curate or edit their own content and put it into an online magazine. The new Scoop.it site for Thought Leader Zone is http://www.scoop.it/t/thought-leader-zone and will be regularly updated.
One of the featured stories there now is about the “sacred cows” of thought leadership, which links back to the article at the site www.sourceforconsulting.com. Fiona Czerniawska, co-Founder of Source for Consulting, says that clients think thought leadership is one of the most effective ways in which a consulting firm can market itself. One third of organizations use thought leadership as a criteria for deciding which firms to invite to tender for their preferred supplier lists, she explains.
In this piece, Czerniawska also sets out to slay a few thought leadership “sacred cows,” such as the following common misconceptions:
- You have to have an opinion on everything.
- It’s a one-way conversation.
- Primary research drives good content.
- Everyone should agree with your conclusions.
- You can save money by offshoring your research.
- Less is always better than more.
- New channels save money.
- You have to be the fount of all knowledge.
Some of her ideas are controversial, some are counterintuitive, but all are spot on. Take time to read the piece and then consider this question: Are you holding onto some thought leadership “sacred cows” that need to be put out to pasture? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help!
This “Thought Leadership” is just a tag, it means almost nothing.The expertise in any field was always measured by practical results at cost. Methodology feeding back on observation has set the course for the scientific era. Some of this paradigm goes back to ancient times.
Though Leadership is a marketing banner. Why? Because who vets the thought leader? All the ones I see are self-pronounced,self-declared. Are we going crazy? This is not any kind of valid title.
It’s just more “puff” for the advertising world, which nows how overwhelmed most individuals are in the modern world. The thing people want is to understand. If marketing can slap a label on a group or person who is a Thought Leader, how easy it all becomes. The one-eyed man, in the land of the blind, is king.
I agree with your point about measurement, Evan. Practical, tangible, measurable results determine the success of any Thought Leadership strategy. Thanks for taking time to comment. Connie