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Thoughtleading: The Art of Separating Yourself from the Pack
Lately the age-old business dilemma of how to stand out from the crowd has been haunting companies and professional service firms more than ever before. All too many firms nowadays look too much alike, with marketing strategies seemingly unable to distinguish them from their competition. Glossy brochures, snazzy websites, press releases, advertising: when everyone employs the same methods, everyone ends up vying for the same narrow window of client and prospect attention. To escape this marketing black hole, many companies have adopted an uncommon strategy that elevates both principal and firm above the fray. This approach positions the firms expert professionals as thought leaders. Names of superstar thought leaders are not only well known but the stuff of legend: Bill Gates, Tom Peters, Richard Branson, Martha Stewart, to name a few. Rather than abandoning marketing to a marketing department, they inject themselves into the heart of the process, churning out books, articles, conference speeches, media interviews to keep their visibility machines boiling. Amid the resulting excitement and industry debate, they simultaneously personalize their company, expand their products exposure, and deepen both market share and loyalty from their customers. Richard Branson, for example, has taken his Virgin conglomerate literally to new heights by attempting such stunts as piloting an air balloon around the world. Martha Stewart, despite her legal troubles, has made herself and her firm rich beyond words by melting away the branding lines that traditionally divide a companys products from a CEOs personality. These are only two examples of results the process can produce. This capacity to reach beyond traditional marketing approaches is available to us all, a process that only needs to be committed to and then implemented within often-ignored channels. There are two main vehicles to employ: (a) publishing articles and/or books, and (b) delivering talks and presentations. Such center-spotlight marketing attracts attention and recognition from a target market in ways that more commonplace marketing tools cannot attain. Dan Cassidy, President of Argus Consulting Ltd (Concord MA), for example, has published many articles in leading HR and benefits planning journals in the US, Canada and the U.K. Attendant publicity around these publishing credits has led to Cassidy be interviewed by such high-profile media outlets as The Street.Com, Institutional Investor and Wall Street Journal Radio. As a result, Cassidy is known beyond the borders of his own client/prospect community for a higher-level benefits planning expertise. To capitalize on this heightened credibility, he never fails to calls attention to these media credits whenever strategically advantageous occasions arise, such as during a trade show, marketing campaign or in the midst of an actual sales call. Given thought leadership's competitive advantages, taking the plunge would seem to be a no-brainer. Yet many consultants and companies hesitate out of fear that the process will not work for them, or out of ignorance of where to begin. Yet embarking on just two simple stages will get the process moving in the right direction, building confidence as the effort succeeds. Stage One: Publish your ideas as articles in business publications, a seemingly daunting task until this challenge is broken down into baby steps. First compose a list of article ideas that align with your business objectives, asking yourself: Which services do I most wish to promote? What expertise/service do I most want to be known for? Are there services even my oldest customers may not realize my company has to offer? Your answers will translate into publishing ideas. Next, after answering such questions, go searching for an editor who sees a fit for your ideas with her publication. Pitch to magazines read by decision-makers who typically hire your firm or by referral sources that can spread word of month about your firm. Create this list using library directories or by searching the Web. Whats important to realize at this point is that business editors out there regularly depend on professionals just like you to feed them publishable ideas. After all, they only can know what to publish in their pages as a result of input from those of us on the front lines. So dont underestimate the publishability of your day-to-day knowledge, expertise, value or insights. Ideas that might seem mundane may be viewed as among the best-kept leading edge secrets in the business world when you share them with an editor. After you getting published, Stage Two involves speaking at business events. Some engagements may come about because a conference planner read your article and invited you to come and speak about it, but most gigs will get arranged when you actively leverage your published works. Send email announcements to your business e-list, send a news release announcing your published articles, post the article on your companys website, pass out your article to customers, colleagues, prospects, employees, even vendors. Dont sit around and wait for people to see it, instead leap into action, insuring that your work gets read. Build a buzz! At your actual talks, always distribute your article for free, promoting your availability as a speaker too. And when you get offered any kind of speaking gig, dont turn it down! Larry Winget, a highly sought-after motivational speaker, has stated, The very best way to get speaking engagements is to simply go out and speak! Exposure breeds exposure, exponentially growing your speaking schedule. Speaking can then lead to more article assignments as you never know when an editor may be sitting out there in your audience and loving what you have to say. By taking these actions, your credibility, and that of your firm, will leapfrog you over your competitors. Third party endorsements from publications and conference planners will solidly establish you as an author/speaker and a leading thinker in your field, elevating your firms services as well. Once this happens, bona fide thought leadership will have officially arrived. Once that happens, enjoy the ride! About The Author Ken Lizotte CMC is Chief Imaginative Officer (CIO) of emerson consulting group inc. (Boston, San Francisco, Toronto), specializing in transforming consulting firms, law firms, companies and business experts into thought leaders. Author of four books and a popular keynoter, Ken is also President of the Institute for Management Consultants New England, an advisor to Harvard University, co-founder of the National Writers Union and a contributing columnist for the American Management Association. Phone: 978-371-0442. Website: http://www.thoughtleading.com
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Coaching Seven Personal Characteristics Of A Good Leader How often have you heard the comment, "He or she is a born leader?" There are certain characteristics found in some people that seem to naturally put them in a position where they're looked up to as a leader. Leadership, Self-Development, and the Committment to Growth There is a common phrase that says: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." I know that most of us have heard it. The problem is that we all too often take it, and other so-called "conventional wisdom" as truth. From Failure To Victory; The Cats Out Of The Bag! Did you ever think that all of the great heroes we read about may not have been particularly great men in and of themselves? They may not have been born with any great skills, talents or abilities. But, each of them did have one special quality that we would all do well to cultivate. Reveal the Leader Within A Leader is not a certain type of person or position of power. It is not the one at the top of the golf leader board at any specific time or the person at the top of an organisation. It is YOU. In this article we want to show you how to reveal the leader within. To give you some ideas, methods, tips that will make you think and, if you want to, enable you to reveal the leader within you. 7 Excellent Ways To Improve Your Leadership Skills! Did you know that there are 7 really effective yet powerful ways to improve your leadership learning opportunities? What Makes A Good Leader? Ask Uncle Sam What do the major generals who are leading the war efforts in Iraq have in common with executives and entrepreneurs who are conducting business back home? When it comes to leadership, the answer is probably a lot more than you think. Common Mistakes Extraordinary Leaders Dont Make When people make a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) to follow your leadership, they do it primarily because of one of two things: Your Character or your Skills. They want to know if you are the kind of person they want to follow and if you have the skills to take them further. Yes, there are other variables but these are the bulk of the matter. This week we focus on the kind of skills that cause people to follow your leadership, specifically things that an Extraordinary Leader doesn't do! A Winning Choice for Leadership! "The only way to enjoy anything in this life, is to earn it first." -Ginger Rodgers Leadership and Followership in a Team Setting Many solopreneurs work in a team environment either with their client's staff, or with subcontractors. Having spent over 20 years in a teaming environment before becoming a solopreneur 13 years ago, I know that during the course of any highly functioning team effort, the leadership and followership roles flow back and forth between the members. Building Self Confidence As a hypnotherapist I specialise in helping people to develop confidence and self esteem. Leaders Click It? Into Gear! "Click It" Into Gear! Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 4, Quiet Participants There are many reasons why someone would decline to participate during a meeting. For example, the person may feel reluctant to speak out, may disagree with the approach endorsed by others in the meeting, or may just be tired. Dream Bigger! A number of years ago we created a graphic logo based on the phrase Dream Bigger! We produced buttons and t-shirts. I've signed letters and emails with this phrase. It is more than a short inspirational phrase. It embodies a truth for all of us as individuals and carries extra importance for us as a leader. Stepping Into Leadership and Being The Source Of Your Success Why is it that we often wait until we have achieved a level of success in network marketing before we feel as though we have earned the right to step into a leadership role? Leadership is NOT a position you acquire as a result of having achieved a certain volume or compensation plan position. It is a place you come from as a declaration that guides your decisions and actions. When you are the source of everything that shows up in your life and in your business, your actions will be in sync with this self-declared leadership role. Extraordinary People in Mediocre Times My grandfather used to speak of the days when people drove the world. It was a time when people were proud to contribute and move society and industry forward at full steam. But, people were proud of themselves! However, before he died, one of his observations was that "we have come to mediocre times." The Leader Within Each and every one of you has hidden deep inside a different person a person that is robust insightful originative, a person that you have forgotten that it ever existed. No matter what you believe that person lies within you, waiting for its awakening call. Are You The Most Powerful Leader You Can Be? As someone who teaches, manages, parents or influences you'll probably already be aware that powerful leadership is not just about the boss, it's about the team, irrespective of whether that team is in the classroom, in the office or around your home. Embracing Adversity for Achievement "Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity." -- Lou Holtz Partnership: Choose It or Lose It Charlotte decides to do good. Charlotte is a highly motivated worker. Something has been bothering her lately, something about the structure of the work flow that's causing redundancy, misallocation of resources, costly errors, and diminished productivity. On her own she does a careful study of the situation and convinced that she is on to something, she spends her evenings writing a detailed report that includes her observations, the apparent costs to the system, evidence of mismanagement (she is a bit caustic here), her vision of how the work flow should be structured, along with the steps she feels would turn things around and assure success. In the end, this is a detailed report, meticulously done, twenty-five single-spaced pages, with charts and graphs. Charlotte is proud of her work, the fact that she did this at her own initiative and on her own time, and she is truly excited about making a positive contribution to the organization. Charlotte finishes her report and sends it to the company president. And then she waits. And she waits. Certainly there will be a phone call, a meeting, some acknowledgment of her contribution, a bonus maybe, even a promotion wouldn't be out of the question. Something. But nothing comes. A week goes by. Two weeks. Still nothing. Hope wanes, and a bitterness begins to settle in. Those executives, she thinks, they go off to these programs on partnership or leadership or empowerment; they learn all the right words, but in the end it doesn't mean anything. It's more of the same old arrogance of top management. They really don't care. And this marks the end of Charlotte as a highly motivated worker. She is angry; she has her evaluations (all negative) of the president; she is feeling very righteous -- I did the right thing and what did it get me? -- and she has lost interest in pursuing her productivity project. What's the point? she asks. That's the last time I'll go out of my way for this company, In Leadership, Dreams Are The Stuff That Great Results Are Made Of Leadership is motivational or it's stumbling in the dark. The best leaders don't order people to do a job, the best leaders motivate people to want to do the job.
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