ABPR ’s Post

Someone recently asked me, “hey, what to you is thought leadership?” Now, there are some common definitions for it that go in the marketing domain. But they wanted my view, so, as a pure play content & literary professional, I went with what it really means to me. Over time, I’ve seen ‘thought leadership’ become a buzzword in every industry. But for me, it has never been about the loudest voice in the room or the slickest marketing campaign. Thought leadership, at its core, is about offering a unique perspective that challenges the status quo and inspires others to think differently. It’s not about regurgitating popular opinions or jumping on the latest trend for the sake of visibility. Instead, it’s about sharing insights that might not always be popular, but are necessary for progress. It is quite akin to writing an essay, where you craft nuanced narratives, and dive into complex topics, guiding your audience to a discovery. And not just handing them pre-packaged solutions that, often, are just empty words. When we think about impressions and engagement, it is also imperative to identify the end. And the end is leaving a lasting impact and not offering instant gratification. It’s about prompting others to think things they might not have considered. After all, what credit is it to a leader if their acumen, experiences, and challenges don’t provide a vision or a path to others. It is not a tool to a quick win, it’s a way to shape people’s perspectives. And most importantly, it’s about staying true to your voice and values, even when the path is uncertain. Makes sense? #thoughtleadership #contentmarketing #leadership #engagement #content

Thought leadership is not: X How-to content X Echoing a popular, mainstream, or expected narrative X Hot takes with no substance (e.g., naming problems without proposing solutions) Thought leadership is: ✔️Presenting new or novel ways of looking at a topic ✔️Articulating a positive future and pointing to a path that leads there ✔️Leading people to think about topics in new ways There's a lot of content out there calling itself "thought leadership" without the POV to back it up.

CEOs must successfully address key make-or-break factors to grow and evolve. These include, leveraging technology and digital tools to stay competitive, refining the approach to talent management and inclusivity, strategic planning, innovation, and leadership resilience. All are essential for CEOs looking to grow their businesses & transform themselves in 2024 & beyond. Be sure to take the quiz to see how you understand how employees rank the top six factors that could most improve their engagement at work. https://lnkd.in/gqCet4Jd #leadership #2024vision #evolve #success #overcomechallenges  

Bad thought leadership focuses on what's already so. Great thought leadership posits what's to come. A lot of leaders like to chime in on current trends and call it thought leadership. Sure, maybe they add a little color and support for a trend from their own experience, but that doesn't differentiate them. It really only shows how their choices support the existing paradigm. And it's boring as hell. One of the reasons I loved writing thought leadership pieces with Cristene Gonzalez-Wertz was because we recognized what's so and worked with industry leaders to anticipate what was coming next. The thing about anticipating upcoming trends is: it doesn't matter if you're wrong. It matters that you're proactively making choices toward a future beyond the status quo. Industry leaders are five steps ahead because they CREATE trends. Writers play a critical role in this, probably more than most people realize. Our words are our wands. Writers and editors excel at using our words to make magic. We're deeply experienced in waving our wands and designing the future we (or our SMEs) want to see. We create trends by speaking them into existence. Our work plants those ideas into the consciousness of others, sparking the fire for a trend to catch on and enrolling others in what's possible. To me, that's what puts the leadership in thought leadership. You're making risky assessments about the future and backing those risks with research. You're extrapolating the data and exploring how your choices today will support your success in an unsure future. You're making choices that are informed by data but aren't the obvious next choice. And we can all do it. We just have to become okay with guessing wrong sometimes. Want to create this kind of thought leadership? I'd love to help your organization become an innovation-first voice in your industry. Let's connect! #thoughtleadership #thoughtleaders #innovation #techadvancements #futureleaders #futurefocused #writingtips #writing #contentmarketing

The three Ps of thought leadership are critical when developing your content strategy. Leaders should offer an original data-informed perspective, provocatively challenge the status quo, and predict future trends. https://bit.ly/3SEKVVV

TIME Reveals the 2024 TIME100 Most Influential Companies in the World. Today, TIME reveals the fourth annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, highlighting businesses and leaders shaping our world. Of the 2024 TIME100 Companies list, TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs writes: “TIME100 Companies is more than an index of business success. It is an argument for what business influence looks like in 2024. At a time when leadership in other sectors is battered, surveys suggest that many look to corporate leaders first for direction….each show us how companies can provide new models and new inspiration for the future of humanity.” To assemble the list, TIME solicited nominations across sectors and polled its global network of contributors and correspondents, as well as outside experts. Then TIME editors evaluated each on key factors, including impact, innovation, ambition, and success. See the complete 2024 TIME100 Most Influential Companies list: time.com/100companies read more below: TIME #influentialorganizations #leadership #business https://lnkd.in/gQKi2pHV

Thought Leadership Sharing the Why Behind Your Expertise Let's talk about it for a hot minute, A thought leader isn't only spitting facts, it's also sharing the part BEFORE you spit them out. In a field where controversy, polarisation and untruths grow larger everyday, I think it's incredibly important to share the WHY behind your idea or work. Couple of things for you to keep in mind: 👉🏼 Understand your subject matter deeply with real-world examples and experiences Support your ideas with evidence, statistics, and tangible outcomes. 👉🏼 Avoid vague statements; provide actionable steps 👉🏼 Don't HOARD your expertise; show your methods and share your "secret sauce" openly (with discretion). Implementing this in your content strategy for your business SHOWS. You know what people ACTUALLY mean when they say "3 things to achieve XYZ lists don't work anymore?"? It's recycling old information into your own template. There's no original idea involved and just repeating what is out there. "3/4/5/6 things to" lists can still work in my opinion, it's a matter of how novel your info is and how you present it. ~ Q #contentmarketingtips #marketinginsights #leadershipdevelopment #thoughtleadership101 #brandstrategy #marketingstrategy #beyourownleader #innovativeideas #standoutcontent #authenticthoughts #zigwhenotherszag #unpopularopinions #leadershipjourney #businessgrowthtips #marketingmindset #contentstrategy

Being a thought leader within your niche doesn't always mean reinventing the wheel. Sometimes, good advice is just good sense rather than the latest insight on the latest development. This Passle article discusses the benefits of keeping yourself informed on both seasonal and evergreen thought leadership and how it can benefit your perspective. #ThoughtLeadership #GoodAdvice #Perspective

Marketers get pressured to publish thought leadership content, but they're not 100% sure what good thought leadership is. So they wing it. - They interview internal SMEs - They interview external SMEs - They write articles and eBooks - They don't worry about keywords (𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘌𝘖 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴?) These marketers THINK they're "doing thought leadership," but really they're: - Doing random acts of marketing - Publishing run-of-the-mill interview articles - Failing to cement the company's differentiated point of view Does this resonate? If so, you're not alone. 𝗜𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 (𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 Chris Walker) 𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹. You'll learn: - WHO should be the face of thought leadership at your company - HOW thought leaders can develop leading thoughts - WHAT role marketing plays in thought leadership Check your inbox on Thursday when my newsletter drops. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/eDH3gw3r

You must build thought leadership by providing unique and honest perspectives on your industry. Typically out of fear (not wanting to upset the wrong person/organization), this is where most corporate content falters. These companies straddle the line and produce bland content that doesn’t say anything. You mustn't be afraid to have an opinion. Your company exists because there is a problem. Spell out that problem and call out the culprits. What’s the change that needs to happen? How do you see that change occurring? Give fresh perspectives, be original and don’t be wishy-washy.