Thought Leadership Isn’t About Ego — It’s About Generosity
Can I convince you that thought leadership is generous? When I lead workshops about thought leadership, the groups usually fall into one of two categories: people who are eager to improve their thought leadership; and people who are, frankly, not interested in thought leadership at all. Recently, I talked to a group that fell into […]
The Power of Play
This week, my eight-year-old went to surf camp (one of the very fun rites of passage of living in a beach town). On the first day of camp, I watched a team of coaches herd the huge crew of neon-rashguard-clad kids onto the beach, through a round of stretches and warmups, and then out into […]
How to Practice Thinking Like a Thought Leader
Are you a thought leader? Yes, you. (Hi! 👋) If you’re thinking, “No way” or “Who me?” this is for you. If you’re doing good work, it’s not a huge leap to start reflecting on that work and sharing your insights. Thought leadership is helpful for your own learning — and a generous act that […]
How to Understand Your Intellectual Heritage — and Define Your Thought Leadership Legacy
This week, an email subject line caught my attention: “Insights on BCG’s 60-Year Intellectual Heritage.” The newsletter celebrated BCG’s founder’s birthday and listed ten big ideas from the firm since its founding 60 years ago. I’m always interested in how professional services firms market their ideas. And the concept of “intellectual heritage” stuck with me. […]
3 Thought Leadership Best Practices
In a sea of similar content, how will you make your thought leadership stand out? Hint: the answer is not to order up something interesting from ChatGPT. Instead, consider how you could follow three thought leadership best practices to level up your thought leadership and create more memorable content. Think “barbecue content” When I […]
Keep Showing Up: Building a Consistent Thought Leadership Practice
In an ongoing attempt to spend less time on my phone, I’ve been doing some Internet Experiments. Namely, a month ago, I deleted Instagram (my #1 time-sucking app) from my phone. Instagram was the only personal social media I had left. I stopped using Facebook years ago. I left Twitter when the Elon sagas started. […]
7 Words or Less: How to Simplify Complicated Ideas
Have you ever felt like your brain was full of spaghetti?. Your thoughts are jumbled. You have too much going on. You have good ideas, but they take a long time to explain. People’s eyes glaze over in the middle of your conversation. Most of the thought leaders I work with face this problem. They […]
Can AI Write Thought Leadership Content for You? [NOPE]
Can AI write thought leadership for you? Short answer: No. Long answer: Let’s look back at how content has evolved online, then do a couple of experiments to see how savvy AI writing tools have become. A short history of bad content (aka ‘sludge’) When I think about AI writing, I don’t have to look […]
3 Kinds of Thought Leaders
What kind of thought leader do you want to be? When you reach a stage in your career that you’re ready to share your work, the easiest first step is to promote what you’re doing. To share the good news, shiny awards, and proud moments. I think of this first stage as “ads and accolades.” […]
How to Explore a NEW Idea
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Or, in this case: Can an established thought leader pivot to explore new ideas? Today, I want to think about what happens when you add a new idea, layer, or dimension to your tried-and-true thought leadership. When you’re an experienced, established thought leader, your audience knows what […]
