Had a great “Thinking about the Future” session last weekend in Lafayette, LA with my friends at Innisbrook, a group of agency owners and communications professionals. The topic of thought leadership came up, and one member wryly remarked that we need more thought implementers than thought leaders. So, do we even need thought leaders?
Seems like it. My anecdotal observations suggests we are seeing a lot more time, attention, and energy devoted to thought leadership. In my own experience, my last futures consulting firm had a “thought leader” position. The publishers of my next book on values are counseling me on developing my thought leadership on the topic. In strategy sessions with clients, the topic is coming up more and more frequently.
Why? Makes sense, actually. I’m tempted to say that re-intermediation is displacing, or at least accompanying the disintermediating effects of the web and communications technologies. In simpler language, perhaps, the more thoughts we have, the more leadership we need? Even more simply, there is so much information out there, we’re not sure who to believe, which creates an opening for thought leadership. So, pick your topic, craft your strategy, and start leading thought in your area of expertise. Or alternatively, you can just be a thought implementer. Andy Hines
About Andy Hines
[...] groups and they’ve gotten a terrific reception. And also, a great strategic move in terms of thought leadership. It reinforces the value of communications in trying to get across ideas about the future, or [...]