The thought behind ‘Thought leadership’

Aug. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- As is the bane of our industry marketers and advertisers follow many more trends blindly than they set. What is popularly believed to be a creative and original domain of work is fast falling prey to mindless ‘inspired ideas’ and following trends of apparent success.
The latest victim of this is ‘Thought Leadership’.  A concept that inherently has so many attributes of innovation, knowledge and ownership built into it is becoming a catch phrase for marketing consultancies and marketers to sell old wine in a new bottle. True thought leaders are as rare as an original thought in today’s world.

Our friends at Wikipedia simply define “Thought leader” as: business jargon for an entity that is recognized by peers for having innovative ideas. Thought leaders often publish articles and blog posts on trends and topics influencing an industry.

Well, it’s time to get the jargon out of the business here and try and understand this phenomenon which is clearly here to stay. If understood correctly and used judiciously it could even be a highly advantageous lever to propel brands to an elevated state of respect firmly and relatively permanently.
A simple Google search and you will find hundreds of pieces offering tips on tactics to become a thought leader. Most of them will ask you to win awards and write journals or publish blogs!! But what about the basic fundamentals that individuals, companies or brands need to understand before even foraying in that territory?
Everyone wants to be a thought leader and everyone wants to sell that as their unique proposition. But what seems to be missed out is the basic premise that to be a thought leader the minimum basic you need is to have a ‘THOUGHT’ and hopefully a thought that is your very own. Or at least a thought that has an original take on something that already exists.

So what is the thought behind thought leadership today, if all brands in a category want to be thought leaders then who is going to follow? And without followers can there really be a leader? This brings us to the second requisite of thought leadership. A thought leader is followed and replicated. If that does not happen then there is no leadership.
A thought leader offers innovative ideas that add value to the recipient materially or intellectually. If the thought offered does not relate or add tangible value to the recipient’s life, it is not worthy of leadership. A thought that evoke reactions like ‘so what?’, ‘Good but what’s in it for me?’ is best discarded at the first opportune moment.

Thought leadership demands knowledge and credentials. A thought leader must demonstrate his depth of knowledge, experience and track record in the area of leadership that he desires. Thought leaders do not always have to be market leaders but it sure helps. If one can demonstrate success through the same thoughts that he promotes it is most convincing. So practice what you preach and practice it well enough to succeed. Endless brands dabble with attempts to establish thought leadership in areas that they themselves have not practiced to their best capabilities.

Thought leadership is more credibly gained in areas and domains that are integral to your business or personality. Attempting to gain leadership in areas which are not an intrinsic part of your business offerings is a guaranteed to fail sooner or later.
And off course patience and perseverance go a long way. Short cuts to work ones way to leadership is not just a bad idea but also a disrespectful one. Thought leadership is indeed a strong and long term prospect for creating brand respect. However, as with all impactful things there are risks to consider, honesty to adhere to and serious effort to be put in.