Resistance Is Fertile: How Ethical Resistance Fuels Thought Leadership in Marketing
Resisting the “content-industrial complex” can lead to more genuine thought leadership that builds trust and fosters deeper connections. By prioritizing meaningful exchange and human dignity over exploitative tactics, marketers can support high-stakes decisions and drive true influence in their industries. Embracing resistance offers a path to more authentic and impactful communication.
Finding a Thinking Partner
You need a writer who can also play the role of thinking partner. But that’s tough to find. It’s hard to know what qualifications you want or what questions to ask. Here’s how.
Radical Ideas, Powerful Sentences
Explore how radical thinking and powerful sentences can elevate your thought leadership. Inspired by Hao Jingfang’s Jumpnauts and the sharp prose of Rachel Cusk, we delve into the power of collaboration and the art of compression, offering fresh perspectives to make your ideas resonate more deeply.
Dogs, Cattle, Hedgehogs, and Foxes
Generalists add immense value by bridging gaps and ensuring that different parts of an organization work in harmony. But when generalists try to pose as specialists, they risk creating unnecessary complexity, diluting their true strengths, and eroding trust.
When Disciplines Collide
Many people train for specialization within specific disciplines. Journalism degrees lead to journalism careers, marketing degrees lead to marketing careers, etc. Even when people go to school for something else, career paths tend to create tracks. But collaboration is inherently interdisciplinary. People have to come together to get things done.
The Fiction Edition
Everything is a relationship between elements within a system. Independence is simply a standpoint in such relationships. Interdependence—the relationship between systems. And it is the oscillation of intra-, inter, and independence that makes us whole, whole within wholes.
The Parrots and the Lions
In today’s digital landscape, what’s called “thought leadership” has become a race to the bottom, chasing the lowest common denominator. It lacks two essential ingredients: thinking and leading. Regardless of all the squawking about content, thought leaders do have a choice, however. Join the parrots, or roar at the lions.
Intradependence Day
Everything is a relationship between elements within a system. Independence is simply a standpoint in such relationships. Interdependence—the relationship between systems. And it is the oscillation of intra-, inter, and independence that makes us whole, whole within wholes.
What is the Idea Sled?
Why do so many thought leadership initiatives stall? They often lack the spark of genuine excitement. They aren’t fun. But they can be. Get on the “idea sled” to glide through thought leadership projects with ease, grace, and joy. Thought leadership projects should be fun, fast, and fearless because they tap into excitement about new […]
Voice Lessons
Authorial voice can play a larger-than-expected role in thought leadership on complex topics, even in sophisticated areas such as institutional finance. Voice is carried forward by word choice, sentence structure, rhythm, point of view, and overall approach to storytelling or exposition. Experienced writers also typically have distinctive qualities in their voice, from tone and pacing […]