Maybe you don’t have to worry about thought leadership (Part I). Every market needs followers that mass-produce and race to the bottom on price or distribution. Thought leadership doesn’t always matter. If every company tries to be a thought leader, we just end up with noise.
For example, do people buy packaged chocolate from the thought leader in the chocolate industry? Not really. Most of the time, people buy chocolate based on preferences or price. Maybe they find artisanal chocolatiers, but that’s more about niches and reputation.
Same thing with commodity financial products such as checking—thought leadership, not so much. Ease of access and ability to get my attention, yes.
It’s not the same story for the firm that has a transformative understanding of cocoa processing. That firm thrives by delivering insights to chocolate manufacturers. Nor is it the same story for financial innovators who can solve for “broken” in payments, issuance, servicing, etc. Or those firms that offer a new and better way of transacting, investing, borrowing, etc. They thrive by delivering insights that help identify and fix what’s broken.
Which one sounds more like your company?
If you’re a financial innovator or a company that has chosen not to be a follower or is deciding that you’d rather not be a follower anymore, that’s where I can help you.
I’ll post Part II tomorrow.
