I am excited.

 I have just read Rob Leavitt’s article based on his impressions as a judge at the ITSMA’s Marketing Excellence Awards, for submissions in the Thought Leadership Marketing category.

 If you only read one article on thought leadership this year , this is the one to read. 

You can view his full article here http://www.reputationtorevenue.com/2010/07/strengthening-thought-leadership-marketing-five-steps-to-excellence.html  but I do cover all his points below because I believe they are worth repeating.

B2B thought leadership gains pace

Most marketers know that while thought leadership is a massive opportunity in the B2B space they also know that what constitutes thought leadership varies widely.  Rob points out that until five years ago thought leadership marketing was mainly the domain of the top consulting firms,.  Few B2B firms took it seriously.

But based on what Rob has seen judging the entries at the ITSMA awards this year, this has changed dramatically.

Not only does he say that the thought leadership submissions reflect a substantial increase in spending but more importantly that there has been a significant shift in the application of thought leadership as a discipline which is reflected in its impacts on customers and market influencers alike.

He goes on to identify five areas in which the best thought leadership campaigns stand out. 

The 5 steps to thought leadership excellence

The reason I am so excited about his analysis is because they reflect what I have been saying on this blog in various posts for over a year.  They are:

1.    Focus and depth: As Rob points out there are lots of companies out there who practice “random acts of content”, including sending out the occasional white papers, articles, videos, blog posts.  His concern is that with little focus or depth they are really providing little value.  Companies or individuals serious about joining the ranks of truly helpful thought leaders need to pick one or a few issues, stick with it, and go deep.

I would like to add to this by saying that to be truly successful, thought leadership should become part of the culture of an organisation.  If one looks at companies who are innovative or have research as their backbone – they don’t bolt these on.  Rather, they are an integral part of who they are how they think and it consumes the entire organisation every day.  Thought leadership should be no different.

2.    Do the research: As Rob points out, a lot of the so-called thought leadership we see is merely opinion based on experience. However, customers want evidence, and evidence usually requires research.

From what Rob has seen in the entries he concludes that the best thought leadership programs are built around serious research, including things like an analysis of existing literature, new customer surveys, and in-depth case studies.

3.    Engage and empower internally: Your organisation and your colleagues are one of the most important keys to your thought leadership campaign.  They are and should be its best ambassadors.

Given the pervasive nature of social media, more and more of your employees are engaging directly with customers, prospects, and other stakeholders online. By engaging and empowering these employees with your thought leadership position you give them something valuable to talk about over and above the obvious product or service specs and sales pitch.  More importantly if you have done your homework you are providing information and insights that hit the right spot with your prospects.

4.    Leverage your best content:  Market engagement today is about pervasive presence and ongoing conversations, not just traditional publishing and speaking. Rob says that customers want to chew over and debate your ideas, often without you and often in the virtual room. To help make this happen, he points out that you need to leverage your best thought leadership content by publishing compelling and appropriate formats across the networks and channels where your customers congregate.

He gives the example of a white paper and how you could leverage that into a short video, a blog post, an article, a customer briefing, etc.

5.    Invest in expertise: Great thought leadership programs are built around experts in the subjects at hand but also experts in research, analysis, publication, social media, and collaboration.

Rob believes that the most successful programs invest in their people in at least three ways:

·         Funding full time staff positions

·         Recruiting for necessary skills and helping existing staff develop the right skills

·         Investing in partnerships for complementary capabilities (including brand recognition, as with prestigious academics, universities, and/or outside media and research organizations).

Finally, and this is something I have trumpeted for a long time, building a successful thought leadership marketing program is a long-term process.

Rob uses the examples of McKinsey, Accenture, IBM, Deloitte who have spent years doing the research, building market presence, and refining what works. The common theme among them is that they pick key customer issues and stick with them.

They dive deep on these issues. And they invest in their people and programs. 

Rob, thanks for some of the best insights on thought leadership I have seen for some time.  I can’t wait to see the ITSMA results for the best thought leadership campaigns.

For those of you who have never read My Name is Scott I suggest you do.  Scott has some refreshing views on the world particularly when it comes to marketing oneself.

In one of his recent posts entitled the ‘Approachable Leaders Handbook to being heard Vol 2’, http://www.hellomynameisblog.com/2010/07/approachable-leaders-handbook-of-being.html he gives six key tips to how you would go about being heard.  The beauty of these tips is that there are some real gems for aspiring and current thought leaders.

Scott makes the point that the world is not waiting to hear what you have to say.  And therein is the rub for thought leaders and it is why I constantly go on about thought leadership being a long-term commitment by the business or thought leader.  To be successful you need to make it part of your corporate make-up and you need to constantly work on your thought leadership position always looking at ways to share your insights.

Let’s look at what Scott had to say.  His five suggestions are as follows:

1.    Align your petitions with the self-interest of your audience. Find out what their success seeds are.

Absolutely - in fact one of the critical success factors of any thought leadership campaign is to understand the interests of your target publics.  Without these insights you run the risk of missing the boat.

Once you have this understanding, you need to identify how you are going to add value to their current understanding/knowledge.  In doing so you should strive constantly to stretch their minds and stimulate new thoughts, views and perspectives.

2.    Give clear direction of what you want people to follow. Make the audience your accomplice.

Absolutely.  Clear, definitive perspectives or insights about your topic make it a lot easier for your audience.  Furthermore if they are involved in the process, the stickiness you create with that target public is enormous – they feel vested in it and thus part of the journey.

3.    Build a listening platform. Demonstrate to the people you want to hear that they have been heard first.

The whole idea of thought leadership is to generate discussion and interest in what you have to say.  To test whether your thought leadership is being received in the right manner so that you can tweak it if needs be, you should, where possible, have a platform for two-way feedback.  This could include: one-on-one or group presentations; feedback forms; independent research; online polls; chat forums on line; feedback mechanisms online; round tables and the like.

4.    Create a dialogue that draws people into the cause. Say things you haven’t said elsewhere.

Thought leadership is exactly that – leading with your thoughts.  That implies they should be new, fresh and provide interesting insights that no-one else has previously given.  To do so, thought leaders need courage, they need to be aware that not everyone will agree with their point of view.  But that’s OK because as a thought leader you want to provoke discussion and debate. 

5.    Invite layers of interpretation around your message. Allow people to add multiple dimensions to your ideas.

The whole idea of thought leadership is to seed an idea, insight, interpretation and then watch and participate as others get involved and share their views.  By provoking and promoting healthy discussion and at times heated debate, it serves to air your ideas and spread the conversation across multiple, interested audiences.  With the power of the web these ideas are global instantly.   

Scott concludes by saying that if you follow this process your voice will be heard.  What do you think?

Thought leadership is not and should not be a marketing or PR tactic – rather it is a culture.  Like companies who innovate, thought leadership too should be a way of doing things.

If it is not a function of corporate culture I can guarantee that most long-term thought leadership positions will not get across the starting line. Alternatively the company produces one or two ‘thought leadership’ campaigns a year that become part of the marketing team’s annual list of objectives and kpis and are ticked off as thought leadership but are really just PR campaigns to drive coverage.

The true test of thought leadership

The true test of a thought leadership campaign is to ask the following six questions.  Does your thought leadership campaign:

1.       Add real value to your public’s lives/decision making/business

2.       Position you as a trusted advisor engendering trust in your brand as the leader in that particular sector/area

3.       Help underpin sales

4.       Provide a content rich platform from which you can write, talk, publish online and share with clients valuable insights

5.       Position your people as the experts and ‘go to’ people in their field

6.       Move your brand from product and sales leadership to market leadership and in the process delivers long-term, sustainable advantage over your competitors.

If not you should be going back to the drawing board.

Thought leadership tops focus for B2B marketers

In 2009 thought leadership trailed behind email as the area of most significant focus for B2B marketers according to MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog.  If marketers are recognising the power of thought leadership and the management consulting industry has been using thought leadership as one of their most important lead generators for over a decade, why haven’t other companies jumped on the bandwagon?

From my experience it comes back to the question of whether it is part of their culture or not.  As I have indicated in previous posts, true, long-term, thought leadership campaigns need to align closely with the values of an organisation and needs to have the buy-in and ownership of senior management.  Historically, the campaigns that do this fly and those that don’t fail, or at best limp along, never quite realising their true potential. 

Thought leadership is about long-term reputation and trust

Unfortunately the pressure on CEOs, marketing directors and the corporate relations team to produce immediate, measurable results is a big dampener on deep-seated, long-term thought leadership campaigns.  The longer-term reputation and trust building resulting from this type of campaign does not satisfy the need for immediate results.

Ask any company which as at its heart a focus on innovation or research and they will tell you that the return on this investment takes years.  A culture of thought leadership is no different but the rewards are immeasurable.  Ask the multinational management consultancies, they know too well.

Every now and then someone stands out for delivering a clear, compelling thought leadership position.   Booz & Company’s thought leadership position on innovation is one such instance.

I need to state up front that I have not met anyone from the business nor have I chatted to anyone in their corporate communication or innovation team - all I’ve had to go in is what I discovered on their website.  This in itself is interesting because I have always been an advocate of openly sharing information with your markets.  The web is a great way for people to find that information and Booz & Company has done just that for me.

Thought leadership in action - the Global Innovation 1000 study

According to their website, the company has conducted the Global Innovation 1000 study every year since 2005.  The research investigates the relationship between how much companies spend on R&D and their overall financial performance. Every year, they reinforce the conclusion that there is no correlation between the two.  You can see the research here http://tinyurl.com/25yz5rz

These findings as well as their analysis of what makes the most successful innovators led The Economist to call the Global Innovation 1000 “the most comprehensive assessment of the relationship between R&D investment and corporate performance.” Tom Peters called it a “provocative, research-based article that is sure to get you thinking.”

Before I start on this blog post I have an apology.  I have been remiss in not posting anything for over a month.  I promised myself that I would try and post once a week and in the main I have achieved that but client matters have got the better of me of late and for a period even my sacrosanct morning exercise regime went out of the window.

I’m happy to say I’m back with renewed vigour and a healthy, new respect for those bloggers who do manage to blog regularly.

Corporate consequence

We live in an era of corporate consequence and there is no better example than BP right now.  Companies are increasingly being held to account not only how they bring their products to market but how they source their materials, their environmental and social impacts and even the way they market their products.  Even the consumer is becoming more responsible in who they choose to buy from and which products they purchase.

Not only is the consumer becoming more responsible but they are also wielding a lot of power in terms of their interactions with their favoured or not so favoured brands.  That power comes courtesy of a wide variety of social media channels online.  The result for many companies is that they are battling to imprint that most valued brand attribute on their publics - trust.

Trust

For years the professional services firms have realised that in order to gain the trust of their publics they had to engage with them in a way that went beyond merely selling them a service.  They had to share openly their insights and their knowledge.  They had to do this over and above the products and services they delivered in order to differentiate themselves and in the process earn the confidence and trust of their market. 

For many, this has been a sound way to establish their credibility underpinning the sales process to these prospects.

In many instances it has been thought leadership best practice.  It has taken time, investment and patience but it has paid off for those who have done it well and for those who have defined a clear position for themselves.

The thought leadership lessons from professional services companies

From within these professional services firms lies the clue for other companies - lessons on how to identify and forge a thought leadership position for themselves; lessons on how to take your thought leadership to market, and; lessons in how true thought leadership can build trust with their target publics and thus the ultimate accolade, brand loyalty.

Today potential customers/clients are less likely to become so unless a high level of trust has been established.

Go back to your values

I come back to a very well known crisis, the Johnson & Johnson Tylenol case.  Few people know that at the time J&J did not have a crisis plan in place.  Instead, in the face of enormous pressure, the CEO used the values of the company to guide his decisions and to this day the way the Tylenol crisis was handled is used an example of how to do it right.

What relevance does this have to thought leadership?

The same principle applies.  Meaningful, long-term thought leadership positions need to be informed by the values of the business.  If they don’t they run the risk of being seen as inauthentic spin and a thinly veneered attempt at a false consumer friendship. 

Marketers are going to have to work a lot harder at winning business because customers are demanding better reasons to buy from you, they are more thoughtful about their purchase and, in many instances they are buying with a conscience.

Well researched, consumer focused thought leadership campaigns have the ability to circumvent these issues by tapping into the real needs of the client or the customer and showing that you care about their lives and the issues they face in their lives and that you are prepared to provide information/services/support/products that show you understand. 

Ken Blanchard is one of the world’s most influential figures on leadership and management.  He is a sought-after author, speaker and business consultant on the topic. 

His book “The One Minute Manager’ co-authored with Spencer Johnson has sold more than 13 million copies.  He has co-authored over 50 books including: Raving Fans, Gung Ho, Whale Done, Leading at a Higher Level, Know Can Do and The One Minute Entrepreneur among others.

His success as an author has seen him inducted into the Amazon Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 best-selling authors of all time.

While he has received many awards and honours for his contributions in the field of management, a little known fact is that he received The Thought Leadership award by Association of Learning Providers.

I interviewed him about his views on thought leadership and he had some great insights to share with some handy hints and tips for aspiring thought leaders.

1.    Ken, as a pre-eminent global thought leader on leadership and management what tips can you give other aspiring thought leaders?

The first thing you have to do is to determine your leadership point of view—your thoughts about leading and motivating people. Your leadership point of view relates to who you are as an individual. It grows out of who influenced you, what your purpose is, what your values are, and what people can expect from you. This is important because research has shown that the most effective leaders have a clear leadership point of view and they’re willing to share it with others. 

 2.    What are the key differentiators that have positioned you as one of the world’s most sought after experts on your topic?  

 I really don’t know. I think my popularity is more the result of a blessing I’ve received than a strategy I’ve implemented. I guess I’ll have to leave that question for others to answer.

 3.    Are there any defining moments that signaled when you broke through the ranks of the thousands of other ‘experts’ on management and leadership and became a ‘go to’ person and a thought leader in your space?

Without a doubt, William Morrow’s 1982 publication of the book I wrote with Spencer Johnson, The One Minute Manager, was the event that drew a lot of attention to me and the work I’d been doing in the leadership arena. The publication of several other bestsellers—Leadership and the One Minute Manager, Raving Fans, Gung Ho! and others—also helped to establish my name as a thought leader.

 4.    You have written and co-authored 45 books and have been inducted into the Amazon Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 best-selling authors of all time.  How important have these books been in positioning you as a thought leader?  And, what advice would you give to companies striving to become thought leaders in their sector where a book may not necessarily be appropriate?

Actually, I think I’ve co-authored more than 50 books at this point, but who’s counting? All kidding aside, as I said earlier, the books have probably been instrumental in establishing the Blanchard name. I want to emphasize here that with the exception of a couple of books, I do all my writing with coauthors. I’ve had the privilege to work with an amazing assortment of writers and they all deserve a lot of credit for their contributions.

As for how to become a thought leader in a sector where publishing a book is not feasible: I suggest that people use all the other forms of information technology available to get their message out—film, radio, blogs, television, newspapers, etc.  You can also be so good at what you do that your customers become your sales and marketing team. A good reputation and word-of-mouth advertising is more effective than most marketing campaigns. The bottom line, though, is that you have to get the word out somehow. You can have the greatest, most innovative thoughts in the world, but if nobody hears about them, they’re worth squat.

 5.    You have been quoted as saying:  “I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I’ve had in my life is that the more I give away, the more that comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works.”  This seems to be the antithesis to the culture in a lot of businesses today where the focus is more on holding information, knowledge and insights close their chests.  Is this your experience, and if so, how do you believe companies can overcome this?

I think it’s sad that some people still don’t know that their role as leaders is to serve, not to be served. The truth is, if you want love, you have to give it away. If you want money, you have to give it away. If you want success, you have to give it away. We’ve found over the years that when you focus only on success, you will never reach significance, and that’s where the real results and satisfaction are. But if you focus on significance—generosity, service, and loving relationships—you’ll be amazed at how much success will come your way. Take Mother Teresa. She couldn’t have cared less about accumulating wealth, recognition, and status. Her whole life was focused on significance. And what happened? Success came her way. Her ministry received tremendous financial backing, she was recognized all over the world, and she was given the highest status wherever she went. She was the ultimate servant leader. If you focus on significance first, your emphasis will be on people. Through that emphasis, success and results will follow. 

 6.    In a world where content is readily available and easily accessible at the click of a mouse what will be the key things that differentiate companies/ products/ brands in the eyes of their target audiences over the next decade?

What sets companies/products/brands apart is delivering Legendary Service. This goes way beyond merely good customer service. It’s service that’s so outstanding that it inspires customers to tell stories about your company. The best companies in any industry—for example Southwest Airlines in the airline industry, Chick-fil-A in the quick service restaurant industry, and Nordstrom in retail—have empowered their employees to make decisions on a day-to-day basis that serve customers at the highest level. These frontline people are not bogged down at the bottom of a red-tape filled management hierarchy. They can use their brains and creativity to make customers happy. That gives energy to the whole organization, and it’s what creates the kind of legendary reputation that sets a company apart.

 7.    Are there any companies or campaigns that stand out for their thought leadership? 

I just mentioned one: Southwest Airlines. Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest, and Colleen Barrett, the president emeritus, had a clear vision of what they wanted their organization to be. They designed the company around three values: Warrior Spirit, Servant’s Heart, and Fun-Loving Attitude. Southwest is the only airline company that has made money year after year and it’s because they value their people as much as their profits, and they know how to treat people right.

Yes you heard right.  It could have gone down well as a good April Fool’s joke but sadly it isn’t.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not a smoker, to the contrary, I’m anti smoking.  But this has nothing to do with smoking, rather it has everything to do with the rights of individuals to choose, the rights of brands to be brands and the rights of businesses to responsibly produce and market their brands.

If the government can get away with this the question has to be where does it stop?  Are we going to be drinking no name beer and wine in the future and how about no name fast food?

What right does a government have to single handedly turn a perfectly legal industry into an amorphous, plain vanilla mass?  Have they really thought this through?  What happens when businesses close shop in Australia as some inevitably will and potentially thousands of jobs are lost? 

I am well aware of the reasons about reducing health risks to individuals and the burden on the health system, etc.  But for it to come to this is a gross admission of failure on the part of the government to address the issue.  Alternatively it smacks of the influence of an inordinately powerful, small health lobby group with their own grant-driven agendas.

This is heavy handed governance as its worse – it is nothing short of draconian and a government that resorts to draconian measures is a desperate one.  It is a government that has either lost touch or one that is putting up a smokescreen to hide other shortcomings.

When did Prime Minister Rudd and Minister Roxon ask the Australian public about this and what were their views?   As a non-smoker violently opposed to smoking I am appalled by this action and I would hazard that there are many more people out there who, like me, see this an assault on our civil liberties.

I truly hope that the industry takes the government to court on this one and wins.

Will the Australian public roll over on this and let Big Brother take further hold over what we can and can’t do in our every-day lives?  Time will tell.   

What are your thoughts on this?

      Gary Bertwistle is one of Australia’s foremost thought leaders on creativity. In 2001 Gary designed and built The Ideas Vault, Australia’s first ever dedicated creative space, designed specifically for the generation of better ideas.

In early 2007 Gary self-published his first book entitled ‘The Keys to Creativity‘. The year finished on a high note with Gary being named 2007 Speaker of the Year for TEC (The Executive Connection), the world’s leading CEO membership organization.

Gary’s second book ‘Who Stole My Mojo?”, was released in June 2008.  In June 2009, ‘What Made You Think of That?‘ was published and Gary’s latest book, The Vibe, has just been published.

I interviewed him about his views on thought leadership.  It is long but only because he has some great insights to share and has been abundant with his advice in this regard.  This is what he had to say:

1.)    Gary, over time you have built a position as a thought leader on marketing and creative thinking.  What tips can you give to aspiring thought leaders out there?  

“My advice to aspiring thought leaders would be to develop your own content. Too many so called thought leaders are just parroting what they’ve read or heard, whereas a true thought leader espouses. To be a true thought leader you have to have original thoughts and this only comes from taking the time to be silent and to look, see, listen and really hear what’s going on around you to be able to form an opinion that can truly help take people and organisations forward. Thought leaders aren’t those who just repackage what everyone else has said. They must have an angle and a new approach, idea, concept or innovation, that can truly lead.

“The piece of advice I would give to any thought leader is that they need to design or develop their own style. There’s no point trying to be the next Matt Church or Craig Rispin. They need to be themselves and the essential part of being a thought leader is to decide who that really is. They may be mentored by others, benchmark others and even admire them. However they must be their own self. If appearing somewhere in order to sell their own ideas or thoughts and they leave the stage or board room, people must know that it was them and not just another person mimicking or parroting others. Most powerful thought leaders have their own style, their own thoughts, their own method of presentation and their own personality and drivers.

“My last piece of advice is something that I have learnt in the last 5 years, particularly since I have done so much writing, is to disconnect. Thought leaders MUST disconnect from the real world, technology and noise, in order to fully observe and hear. Thought leaders aren’t the guys rushing through an airport with a crackberry locked to their ear trying to push through crowds to dive into the back of a taxi. Thought leaders are the guys who have got their crackberry in their back pocket and are slowly meandering through the airport, listening, watching, thinking, pondering and dreaming about “what if”? Thought leaders take the time to disconnect and think to themselves “imagine if”! 

2.)    You have written numeous books, how have these helped position you as a thought leader in your field and what advice would you give to companies striving to become thought leaders where books may not necessarily be appropriate?

“Having now written 5 books and in the process of mapping the 6th, I would say that books lend credibility to thought leaders. Once you publish your thoughts you’re putting them into the marketplace for all to be reviewed.

“It’s all very well saying it but when it’s put in writing it’s there for prosperity for evermore.  Having your perspective in writing can lend an enormous amount of credibility to you as a leader, speaker, author or entrepreneur. For whatever reason, books seem to be business cards on steroids. However, from my experience it’s the second and third book where you truly get credibility. The first book is nice, but you join the masses. Thought leaders for me are the people who over a period of time have amassed enough thoughts and their own point of view to be able to land that thinking to a number of publications.

In today’s world books are not the only tool that business or leaders can use. Many thought leaders are using social media particularly well through blogs, tweets, podcasts and vidcasts. The book is purely the tool to help you get the word out.

“Organisations and business leaders can do just as good a job by truly investing in original thinking and using all the tools outlined above as the methods to share your thoughts as a leader. Blogs, tweets, Facebook, LinkedIn, DIGG, podcasts, vidcasts are all fine but if you’re not sharing innovative thinking that helps me as the follower to think differently or be better at whatever it is that I do, then you fail to add value and all those things are a waste of space. Too many companies are loading up with podcasts and blogs, which have no value and are a waste of time.”

3.)  A lot of what you advocate centres around stimulating and sharing ideas but there are plenty of companies out there who don’t share their knowledge or insights with their target publics.  What advice would you give them?

“In my last book The Vibe, I outlined one of the greatest trends that’s happening in the world right now and is becoming even more prevalent since the book was published. Today’s brands need to be generous.

“Generosity is a key driver for any thought leader or organisation wanting to lead.  You can’t just sell a service or a product. You have to go above and beyond that and provide the extras.

“Provide the overs. The overs come in the form of information, advanced notice, freebies, alliances, promotion or insights. If you aren’t sharing your knowledge or insights with your target audience then you run the risk of leaving yourself open to attack from a competitor who does. Today it’s an expectation from your target audience. The buyer of any product or service expects the extras.

“One of the greatest exponents anywhere in the world right now is Apple. They have free tutorials, free advice, free public problem solving, free applications, free upgrades, free business shopping, specialists and so the list goes on. I only buy a computer once every 12 to 24 months, and in the meantime they super-serve me and make me the loyalist of Apple tribe members by constantly being generous with their information, time, insight and products. Which is why they have just been voted the most admired companies in the world yet again.” 

4.)    In the preamble to your latest book “The Vibe” you mention that only a few brands make an authentic connection with their customers.  What are the key things companies should be doing in order to make that connection?

“In order to make an authentic connection with your customers you must do two things. First thing is to create a true perception of what separates you from everybody else. Today it’s not good enough for me to know you and your name or what you do or how you do it. I need to know why I should buy from you and not from somebody else. I must have a succinct perception in my mind that separates you from your competitors and makes me move from knowing you to wanting to do business with you. Do this well and once I’ve done business with you I will want to stay with you even if somebody does it quicker, faster or cheaper.

“The second part of the question centres around the authenticity of the story. Today people aren’t just buying products, they’re buying into the story. They’re buying into why you do what you do.

“Too many business websites have their first two pages outlining what they do and how they do it. Put your hand over their logo and it’s no different to their competitors. The people who truly resonate, get the first call, build the perception and build true loyalty with their customers and clients, will be the ones who have told their story. Why the company was set up, why you do what you do, why you have the sorts of people around you, working for you, and why you think what you do can change, help or benefit the organisations you work with.

“Once you’ve worked out the why you exist then outline: 1. Why we should do business with you; 2. How you do what you do; 3. What you do. People are buying stories and too few people tell the story let alone even know what their story is.”

5.)    What will companies need to do from a marketing/communications perspective to differentiate themselves from the competition over the next decade?

“In the next decade two things will need to happen for companies to truly take advantage of their marketing communication. Firstly you need to get the fundamentals right, by clarifying who you are targeting as a customer or client, and what you do (that is what category you occupy). This is very important.

“Next, what perception do you want to create? Concentrated into one single concept or word that summarises why you are different from your competitors.

“Then thirdly work how you will infiltrate my world in order to alert me to this information. Unfortunately too many organisations are skipping the fundamentals and get caught up in how to spend money and how to communicate the message without working out what their message is. They have no story, they have no fundamentals taken care of. All they have is a logo on an invoice so people know who to pay. This is not having a brand. A brand only happens when you have told your story and built your perception.

“The second thing you need to happen is that as people’s buying, lifestyle and communication habits change, brands will need to be on top of this. The old saying “if you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you always got” summarises it well, but today what you’ve always done may not be good enough.

“Brands in every size, in every industry, in every category need to be aware of the changing face of brand where stories, authenticity, being generous, building a tribe and being more than a brand are currently influencing the way people make buying decisions. As a thought leader this is your bread and butter because you are the person who is slowing down, thinking, pondering and imagining “what if?” You are the person will observe these changes to bring them to the attention of your followers.”  

6.)    Which individuals or companies do you look up to as thought leaders in their industry and why? 

“Unquestionably marketing and brand guru Seth Godin who wrote Purple Cow, All Marketers Are Liars, The Dip, Meatball Sundae and so on, is a thought leader.

“In terms of companies, Apple are unquestionably a brilliant organisation with ticking all the boxes I’ve outlined so far. But that organisation is only as good as their leader and there is no question that Steve Jobs is a thought leader in not only in computers but also in the entertainment and animated film industry.

“Another company that I greatly admire who I think are doing it very very well are the Nespresso Coffee people. They’ve quickly built a brand new category and established a foothold in an area that previously didn’t exist, and they’ve built a very cool, very successful and very funky brand that has longevity.

“These thought leaders are doing it in a way that makes it very difficult to penetrate their category. All things that I’ve talked about above have been done extraordinarily well by Apple and Nespresso.

“And finally, I know it’s a little out of left field but someone else I admire as a thought leader is Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. He’s been on the top of his game for many years now, having been the creative genius behind Chanel, Fendi, and now his own brand. He’s just gone back to Chanel. He has amazing philosophies and is unquestionably a thought leader in his industry. He is admired by many of the most creative people in the world, and I truly think he is someone who blazes his own trail regardless of what anybody else thinks.”

Robert Middleton is a marketing thought leader.  He gives away a lot of wonderful free information and ideas and he clearly solves lots of people’s marketing challenges.  It was one of Robert’s posts many years ago that kick-started me down the path to writing my book Brand Stand: seven steps to thought leadership.

In a recent newsletter, Robert talks about how he made a mistake when he stopped marketing his Infoguru marketing brand and goes on to define what he means by Infoguru.  The reason I include it here is because there are some very strong similarities between his Infoguru definition and my views of what constitutes a thought leader.  But I must admit that Infoguru sounds a lot sexier and more memorable than thought leader.

Robert had this to say:  “As an InfoGuru, you need to approach marketing differently. You can’t market yourself like a consumer product or a commodity service. You need to stand out as an InfoGuru who leverages your information, expertise and wisdom to attract clients looking for results, not hype, improvement in their condition, not empty promises.

“InfoGuru marketing uses writing, speaking and the Internet to leverage that information, expertise and wisdom to educate and to demonstrate immediate value to prospective clients.”

I love this part of Robert’s definition.  Why? First because it is client focused and second because it talks about educating and demonstrating value.  Tie that to what he says in the previous paragraph about improving the client’s condition and you have the genuine intent of a thought leader or thought leadership campaign.

Robert goes on to say that an InfoGuru is in fact many things:

·         They possess practical information which they should apply wisely

·         They are business professionals who help their clients get results and improve their condition in a way that makes a real difference

·         They educate, inform, explore, and collaborate to gain engagement from their prospective clients

·         They don’t use hype, pressure or manipulation; they don’t have to

·         They market their services though writing, speaking and the Internet - all mediums suited to convey information efficiently and with impact

·         The most successful InfoGurus gain attention and notoriety for their expertise, insights and results.

Robert’s list of famous InfoGurus include: Tom Peters, Marshall Goldsmith, Alan Weiss, Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Jay Abraham, Peter Drucker, and John Gray.  Some of whom are listed in my book as recognised thought leaders.

So what’s the verdict?  Is an Infoguru a close cousin to a thought leader or is it in fact something entirely different?