Belonging vs. Business
If your definition of status differs from a given peer group’s definition of status… These observations don’t just apply to kinship or tribal dynamics. They apply to what choices we make and how we avoid excessive homogeneity or groupthink in business. The final wrinkle to all this…in business, if your peer group isn’t your buyer, […]
Making the Case for Change in Financial Marketing
When your buyers are financial institutions, whatever you sell is probably something they already use to do something they already are doing. Much of the time, your “competition” isn’t your competitors. It’s inertia. You have to get buyers to ask, “When is good enough no longer good enough?” As a result, your marketing needs to […]
A Strength Training Analogy
At first, it was impossible. Then it was difficult. Now I can do it multiple reps and multiple sets. I’m not just talking about 100kg+ back squats. Many of the same concepts apply to the heavy lift of messaging and thought leadership. I can think of several other analogies, too, but I’ll just leave it […]
How Effective Thought Leadership Guides Financial Choices
The most powerful thought leadership influences the way people understand a particular topic, issue, or challenge. The higher the stakes of the topic (as in institutional finance where reputations and many billions of dollars can be at stake), the greater the need to make sense out of complexity and provide context. This principle also means […]
How Core Questions Lead to Clear Horizons
It’s funny how the four core questions startups need to get traction and grow are the same questions you have to answer in planning a thought leadership strategy. I’ve noticed that startups who can answer them with ease also transition with ease to planning and creating thought leadership. I’ve noticed that startups who can’t answer […]
How Thought Leadership Makes Marketing Everyone’s Ally
Marketing can build relationships with department heads in many areas of the business by including them in the planning and development of thought leadership. It establishes a partnership in which marketers listen to and solicit input while helping other departments sharpen their messaging and play a part in building a company’s reputation. For example, in […]
Leading Against the Odds
Remember…no one is making you play the “ask for permission” game. Barbara: (indignant) It is THIS behavior why we would never let you lead us in a crisis. Ava: Nobody “lets” me do anything. Yet here I am… doing things. That’s why I’m a leader. Abbott Elementary, S3 E 11. It’s already a great line. […]
I Thought They Knew Best: Turns Out, Not Really!
I’m really embarrassed. Recently I reached out to two of my LI contacts to congratulate them on recent news. No agenda—just appreciation. What I noticed was messages like the one in this screenshot, dating back several years ago. If you’ve read some of my other posts, you’ve probably noticed I’m quite vehement about formula-mongers and […]
Claiming Your Space
At one level, you don’t own your thinking if you’re a thought leader within a company. The IP belongs to your employer. But you still build your reputation. You still have the freedom to carve out a space in which you care. The key to that self-sovereignty even within employment is establishing your ownership of […]
Seeking Authenticity in a World of Manufactured Goals
The world is full of fake goals. Fake goals are those that are artificially induced, goals that are not your own, but you somehow end up believing they are or should be yours. You get stuck in goalishness. There are the goals some influencers try to convince you to have so that you buy their […]