A thought leader is an individual who wants to gain influence from their ideas. The term has a somewhat checkered reputation because many who aspire to thought leadership focus too much on self-promotion rather than actual original ideas. But let’s be fair: All groups of creative hopefuls have their share of untalented hacks. Thought leadership…
Social media is full of experts. They all have opinions. But should you hire them for their expertise, and should you trust them to help you make decisions? The 2×2 shown here is a good way to think about them and their strengths and weaknesses. In the descriptions below, I refer to their “space”: the…
Sure, it sounds attractive to be a “thought leader.” You just hold yourself out as an expert on something and then post a lot on social media and wait for the speaking and consulting gigs come pouring in, right? Not quite. There are a lot of pretenders out there. And there are a lot of…
People who thrive on attention — analysts and “thought leaders” — will tell you about what’s new and on fire. Making long-term decisions based on that is likely a mistake. If you’re not on top of a trend, you’re nobody Imagine for a moment that you are trying to be a thought leader. This includes…
A new year is coming up. Perhaps you want to try to get very well known for something this year — write a book, give speeches, become a thought leader. When people think about you, what will they think? What’s your personal brand? You may want to think very long and hard about that, and…
Some people are awesome at what they do. Other people are just as excellent, but they can write a book about it. Let’s take a close look at what makes the difference. To start, I want you to think about the thing you know that nobody else seems to know, the thing you are passionate…
Some people appear to know everything about a topic area. They’re respected, but they rarely get to be leaders. Other knowledgeable people have enormous influence. What’s the difference? Frameworks. Thinking frameworks. As you learn about a given area, you accumulate knowledge and fit it together in your mind. Eventually, given enough sustained study, you gather…
It’s been a hell of a year, and every month was filled with its share of bullshit. So let’s review 2017 through the lens of the most popular Without Bullshit posts in every month. January: “What’s really wrong with millennials?” asks Simon Sinek Simon Sinek has it all figured out. Millennials are screwed up because…
The PRSA 2017 International Conference is in Boston this year, starting this weekend. My talk on Monday at 5pm is called “How to Think Like an Analyst (or Influence One).” It’s in the Suffolk room at the Marriott Copley Place. I’ll be covering topics including: What is a thought leader? How are thought leaders different…