Leveraging Thought Leadership
Peter Winick and Bill Sherman
Welcome to the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast, a beacon illuminating the paths and possibilities of thought leadership. With your guides, Peter Winick and Bill Sherman, we will embark on a journey into a captivating world where ideas converge with strategy and insight.
Where will thought leadership take you?
In each episode, we engage with thought leaders from diverse backgrounds. Whether it's professional keynote speaking, writing your own thought leadership book, investigating the niche expertise of specialized consultants, or crossing mental swords with distinguished academics, our guests collectively paint a vivid mosaic of thought leadership's multifaceted potential.
Through nuanced perspectives and rich experience, our talented co-hosts aim to offer you views of the ways independent thought leaders navigate success, elevate talent, and change company culture – while simultaneously examining how organizations harness the power of thought leadership to catalyze innovation and nurture sustainable growth.
Peter Winick is your guide through the realm of independent thought leadership. For the past two decades, he has helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products. Peter is the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. His clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds and specialties. They include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers' Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business.
With a keen eye for detail, he delves into the intricacies of crafting personal brands, fostering genuine engagement with audiences, and expertly monetizing one's expertise. From the artistry of crafting keynote speeches that resonate with audiences to the strategic deployment of bestselling books as conduits for inspiration and insight, Peter's guests offer a treasure trove of strategies for creating value and impact and driving revenue through thought leadership.
Bill Sherman specializes in the exploration of organizational thought leadership. He examines how companies conceive, curate, and deploy thought leadership initiatives, and how those initiatives benefit the orgs and the people who work within them. Bill listens to the stories and advice of industry leaders and their triumphs within the competitive business landscape. Whether through the dissemination of white papers that shape industry discourse, webinars that educate and engage, or insightful executive blogs that offer thought leadership at the highest echelons of corporate governance, Bill's guests provide illuminating perspectives on the evolution of organizational thought leadership and its pivotal role in shaping industry paradigms and perceptions.
Bill concentrates on organizational consulting and business expertise, investigating organizational thought leadership and its effects, from instructional design and learning product development to marketing strategy and execution, to organizational development and transformational consulting. He enjoys working with business leaders, speakers, authors, academics, and other consultants, connecting their ideas organizational platforms and enterprise-ready product development.
As the series unfolds, Peter and Bill will lead us through a nuanced exploration of the latest trends and advancements in thought leadership. From the transformative impact of technology on communication and collaboration to the evolving preferences of consumers in an increasingly digital marketplace, they will dissect the shifting landscape with precision and insight. Moreover, they will shine a spotlight on emerging modalities that are reshaping the contours of thought leadership, from the ascendance of virtual events as a cornerstone of engagement to the growing influence of social media platforms as conduits for thought dissemination and audience interaction. Through their discerning analysis, they will reveal how thought leaders can adeptly harness these trends to amplify their reach, captivate new audiences, and maximize their influence in an ever-evolving business environment.
Whether you find yourself at the height of your career as a seasoned thought leader, or whether you stand at the threshold of possibility as an aspiring entrepreneur, the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast offers an enriching voyage of discovery.
Join us as we unravel the enigmatic secrets to success in the vibrant realm of thought leadership, where ideas have the power to shape perceptions, drive change, and inspire action. Together, let us explore how you, too, can engineer value, evoke impact, and cultivate revenue through the sheer power of your ideas and expertise.
Welcome aboard.
Where will thought leadership take you?
In each episode, we engage with thought leaders from diverse backgrounds. Whether it's professional keynote speaking, writing your own thought leadership book, investigating the niche expertise of specialized consultants, or crossing mental swords with distinguished academics, our guests collectively paint a vivid mosaic of thought leadership's multifaceted potential.
Through nuanced perspectives and rich experience, our talented co-hosts aim to offer you views of the ways independent thought leaders navigate success, elevate talent, and change company culture – while simultaneously examining how organizations harness the power of thought leadership to catalyze innovation and nurture sustainable growth.
Peter Winick is your guide through the realm of independent thought leadership. For the past two decades, he has helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products. Peter is the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. His clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds and specialties. They include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers' Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business.
With a keen eye for detail, he delves into the intricacies of crafting personal brands, fostering genuine engagement with audiences, and expertly monetizing one's expertise. From the artistry of crafting keynote speeches that resonate with audiences to the strategic deployment of bestselling books as conduits for inspiration and insight, Peter's guests offer a treasure trove of strategies for creating value and impact and driving revenue through thought leadership.
Bill Sherman specializes in the exploration of organizational thought leadership. He examines how companies conceive, curate, and deploy thought leadership initiatives, and how those initiatives benefit the orgs and the people who work within them. Bill listens to the stories and advice of industry leaders and their triumphs within the competitive business landscape. Whether through the dissemination of white papers that shape industry discourse, webinars that educate and engage, or insightful executive blogs that offer thought leadership at the highest echelons of corporate governance, Bill's guests provide illuminating perspectives on the evolution of organizational thought leadership and its pivotal role in shaping industry paradigms and perceptions.
Bill concentrates on organizational consulting and business expertise, investigating organizational thought leadership and its effects, from instructional design and learning product development to marketing strategy and execution, to organizational development and transformational consulting. He enjoys working with business leaders, speakers, authors, academics, and other consultants, connecting their ideas organizational platforms and enterprise-ready product development.
As the series unfolds, Peter and Bill will lead us through a nuanced exploration of the latest trends and advancements in thought leadership. From the transformative impact of technology on communication and collaboration to the evolving preferences of consumers in an increasingly digital marketplace, they will dissect the shifting landscape with precision and insight. Moreover, they will shine a spotlight on emerging modalities that are reshaping the contours of thought leadership, from the ascendance of virtual events as a cornerstone of engagement to the growing influence of social media platforms as conduits for thought dissemination and audience interaction. Through their discerning analysis, they will reveal how thought leaders can adeptly harness these trends to amplify their reach, captivate new audiences, and maximize their influence in an ever-evolving business environment.
Whether you find yourself at the height of your career as a seasoned thought leader, or whether you stand at the threshold of possibility as an aspiring entrepreneur, the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast offers an enriching voyage of discovery.
Join us as we unravel the enigmatic secrets to success in the vibrant realm of thought leadership, where ideas have the power to shape perceptions, drive change, and inspire action. Together, let us explore how you, too, can engineer value, evoke impact, and cultivate revenue through the sheer power of your ideas and expertise.
Welcome aboard.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 21, 2023 • 18min
Elevating the Event Space | Kraig Kleeman | 519
All right, thoughtleaders – be honest. Have you ever nodded off a little during a presentation? Now imagine a conference filled with rock and roll, choreographed numbers, and comedy. That's a presentation you'd sit up and pay attention to! Our guest today is Kraig Kleeman, the founder and Executive Producer for Rock the C-Suite a production company that brings electrifying original and relevant musical performances to corporate events. In addition, he is the author of The Must-React System: User's Guide to Prospecting C-Suite Executives which provides a strategy for winning meetings with senior executives. Kraig shares where the inspiration for Rock the C-Suite came from and how corporate messaging is better received through the performing arts. He describes the high energy performances he produces that can be the main stage of a conference delivering an audience-focused show that provides researched topics that mean the most to those putting on the event. Before Kraig was rocking the stage he had authored The Must-React System and he explains why when doing outreach leading with value proposition and product benefit language might seem intuitive it actually isn't the most effective method. In fact, providing fact-based briefings combined with smart questions can allow the potential client to map your research to their own experiences and advance you to the next step! Kraig provides great advice for landing meetings with executives and creating high-octane events that any company can take advantage of. Three Key Takeaways: · Conference producers should prioritize the well-being of the audience over the distribution of information. If the audience has zoned out, they will not take in the information. · When crafting content for a conference make sure to collaborate with the event owner to really dial in a deliverable that is effective for them and their audience. · Cold call outreach to executives will have greater success if you lead with fact based research and not value proposition
Sep 17, 2023 • 31min
Designing Data Governance | Lauren Maffeo | 518
Data Governance may not sound exciting - but it's critical! It covers how your company produces, consumes, collects, and destroys data. So, with businesses generating and using more data than ever, why is this role so often forgotten? Our guest today is Lauren Maffeo, Author of "Designing Data Governance from the Ground Up" and an adjunct Lecturer of Design at The George Washington University. Lauren sets the tone for us by explaining what Data Governance is and how too much data is produced for one person or even a single team to own it all. Lauren lays out how you can create data points from subject matter experts around key areas of data your company produces or ingests, such as Sales, Marketing, and Customer Data; each of which can then have sub-sets to provide even more structure. Lauren shares why you need to understand how data works in the subject matter expert's day to day job and how data governance will help them do their job more effectively. In addition, we learn about data dictionaries and the big part they play in data governance and enablement efforts to ensure clarity is provided across domains on the exact meaning of terms that might have different meanings depending on the context. Three Key Takeaways: · The biggest challenge to doing data governance well is having a thought leadership strategy around it to get other colleagues on board. · There is too much data produced today for one person or one team to own all of it. You need to make it a collective effort across technical and non-technical roles. · You can not succeed in sales, marketing, or customer success without data.
Sep 14, 2023 • 20min
From Basketball to Books | Owen Sammarone | 517
The road to becoming a Thought Leader is never a straight one. So going from college basketball coach to book influencer might not seem that odd. Still, the map to get there is fascinating! Our guest today is Owen Sammarone the Founder and CEO of Unleash the Knowledge, LLC; an online, educational community of lifelong learners and avid readers helping authors reach a larger audience. Having a business based around books you might assume Owen has a background in publishing or marketing, but he was previously a graduate assistant with the UConn men's basketball program. Owen shares that while he loved basketball his true passion came from the self-development habits of coaches. Owen began to explore what his coach was reading and listening to, then sharing the takeaways he found on Instagram, nurturing a following of self-development junkies. After Owen was contacted by a heart doctor, seeking to pay for promotion of his new book to Owen's followers he realized Unleash the Knowledge could be more than a social media platform. IT could become a business model. Through this episode Owen shares his journey growing his platform and finding his footing as well as tips you can use to grow your own social media platform! Three Key Takeaways: · In order to grow a social media platform you need to create a niche that works for your audience and provides value. · Certain social media platforms tend to skew towards certain trends or topics. That doesn't mean you can't grow a successful audience outside those bubbles if you are dedicated to it. · Growing a platform requires consistency. You can't just post when you need something from your audience.
Sep 7, 2023 • 18min
Straddling the Worlds of Front and Back of House | Curtis Bateman | 516
There are few thought leaders who work behind the scenes to create, develop, and deploy programs while simultaneously being the face of the brand. What does it take to find success on both ends? Today we've invited internationally recognized presenter, content developer, business leader and coach Curtis Bateman! He is currently the Vice President of International Direct Offices at FranklinCovey, and was previously the President and CEO of Red Tree Leadership before orchestrated a buyout to FranklinCovey. With few thought leaders working both the back and front of the house, Curtis gives us some insights into what it takes to be successful doing both. He tells us about the passion and extra hours that are required to practice what you preach. However creating doesn't have to be a solo job, in fact, Curtis shares how having Brain Buddies can help sharpen your skills. Having a knowledgeable team around you to help research stories and ideas as well as draft or polish content creates a high quality end product. Curtis tells us how being in the market place every day while creating content creates a constant cycle of feedback as content goes out to the audience, gets live reactions, and can be revised based on that input. This system has been used to pressure test everything from their framework to his newest book Change: How to Turn Uncertainty Into Opportunity. Having had a boutique company that exited to FranklinCovey, Curtis fully understands what it takes to position yourself for acquisition. While each instance is different Curtis shares how having principle-based content that matched up with the prospective buyer, having a Fortune 50 client, and thought leaders with significant industry experience that were capable of making contributions inside the new organization all played a role in a successful acquisition. Three Key Takeaways: · Content creation doesn't have to be a single player game. By working with others you can polish your skills and elevate your content. · Taking ideas to your audience and revising based on feedback can give you real time advice on where the market agrees or disagrees with your content. · Exiting a boutique firm for a bigger company means you don't get to touch every aspect of the business anymore. You have to learn to trust others.
Sep 3, 2023 • 26min
From Product Offering to A-Ha!| Martha Orellana | 515
How do you get attention for a product that could be used by millions but few are aware of without having a massive marketing budget? Thought leadership! Our guest today is Martha Orellana, Vice President of Marketing for MrSteam, a company that converts regular showers into steam showers in personal residence as well as gyms and spas. While most people have heard of a steam shower, few would imagine that you could have one in your home or that people have had them for decades. Martha shares the history of MrSteam and the challenges they faced getting people to know they could have such a product in their own home. By targeting and educating architects, plumbers, and designers MrSteam was able to create a chain that not only knew about their offerings but became champions of it! When it came to educating the professionals that would be installing and selling their products Martha went beyond information sessions or bookwork, creating elegant invitations to Camp Feelgood, hosted at high end hotels where they would not only explain the health benefits of steam showers, but spend time in them providing a luxury experience they could then speak directly to when answering questions of future clients. Martha offers great insights into reaching new audiences and differentiating yourself from the pack by using interesting, dramatic, and meaningful tactics. Three Key Takeaways: · When you don't have a massive marketing budget, solid thought leadership can allow you to punch above your weight class. · When getting the message about your offering out you have to target the right audience. By going after the professionals between you and your product you can educate the supply chain and create champions. · Theatric and dramatic visuals can often help grab the audience's attention and allow you to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Aug 31, 2023 • 16min
Aligning the Goals of Publisher and Author | Katie Anderson | 514
Publishers often look at books as seasonal, but an author needs to look at their book as a long term investment. What should you be thinking of a year before publishing, and how can your book help your business - even years after it was released? I've invited Katie Anderson, internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant, speaker, and founder of Katie Anderson Consulting to join me. At the time of this recording, Katie was celebrating the three year anniversary of her book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning. Katie's journey into thought leadership literally took her around the world, from California to Australia and then to Japan, where she had the unique opportunity to partner with Isao Yoshino, a 40-year Toyota Motor Corporation leader. This time spent together became the fuel for her book, Learning to Lead, in which she weaves together Mr. Yoshino's heartwarming and deeply reflective stories of personal discovery and organizational history, and offers her own unique perspective, with the intention of helping others learn to lead and lead to learn. In the year leading up to publishing the book, Katie had a lot of big decisions to make. Katie shares how she was introduced to traditional publishers both big and small, but ultimately chose to self-publish. We learn the importance of having the goals of the publisher align with those of the author, and how an author can maintain control over the message and look of the book. Now, three years after publishing, Katie shares the impact the book has had on her business and what she did to ensure it found its way into the right hands. She talks about sharing stories from the book and doing so from the heart, without a focus on selling units, but with a passion for the lessons that can be learned and the impact and value the book can have for others. Three Key Takeaways: * You need to have a full understanding of the purpose of your book. Allow that purpose to influence the choices around publishing, look, and feel. * There needs to be complete alignment between a publisher and author. If you can't find that perhaps another publishing method would better suit you. * When self-publishing it is still important to hire professionals to do the work you are not good at. This will ensure a polished end product.
Aug 27, 2023 • 35min
Elevating Thought Leadership in Any Size Organization | Dr. Karthik Nagendra
You need top talent to start a thought leadership function in your organization. But what if that talent already exists in your org? Whether you are responsible for starting a thought leadership function at a startup, or at a large company, you need to have the right talent, the right org support, and the right metrics to define success. In today's episode, we're chatting with Dr. Karthik Nagendra, Founder and CEO of ThoughtStarters, the first thought leadership marketing company in Asia. He's also the author of The Thought Leader Way: Leading Your Business with Thought Leadership in an Altered World, which details his experience and journey as a thought leader, and offers mental blueprints for helping new thought leaders and their teams excel. Karthik takes us back to 2007, when he first started doing thought leadership at a startup in an emerging field. He shares how an assessment they created boosted the profile of the organization, and shaped the engineering industry as a whole. Moving onto larger corporate thought leadership roles, Karthik shares how he helped stand up thought leadership as a research wing. He worked to identify internal subject matter experts and help them "come out of the shadows" and share their knowledge and passion. This partnership led to co-created white papers and other content that elevated organizational awareness while increasing their credibility. We also discuss category creation and the need to continue to look forward, finding new ways to solve old problems. Karthik discusses how we often keep doing things the same old way, even if that way might not be as effective as it once was. He explains how he's helped take salespeople down a journey of exploration and experimentation, to a point where it influences their peers to seek newer methods as well. This episode tackles thought leadership from both a large and small scale, and offers advice for leaders, sales teams, marketing, and researchers alike! Three Key Takeaways: * When starting a thought leadership function look internally for experts who are eager to share their knowledge and passion. Then give them a platform to do so. * The buy-in from senior leadership is key when starting thought leadership. If they don't believe in working for the long game, then thought leadership won't be effective. * If you are asking poor questions you are going to get poor answers. And if you are creating thought leadership from those answers, people are going to think you're a poor thought leader.
Aug 20, 2023 • 33min
Building a Business from Book to Exit | Michael Bungay Stanier | 512
Thought leading is a busy life! You write books, travel for keynote speaking, network with other experts and create lots of content. However, that means your business is limited to your personal time! So, what can you do to help your content sell itself? Our guest today has excelled at everything "thought leadership," including the ability to remove himself from the day to day of a business he built. Michael Bungay Stainer is the best-selling author of The Coaching Habit, a renowned keynote speaker, and Founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that provides training to enterprise companies. With Michael's newest book How to Work with (Almost) Anyone: Five Questions for Building the Best Possible Relationships having just hit the shelf we start our conversation discussing the phases of a book launch and how marketing a book is more than marketing just the book. He shares how a book can become the gateway to your larger ecosystem. Michael gives the pros and cons of traditional and hybrid publishing as well as why you need to treat your book like starting a business, giving it at least 2 – 3 years to flourish and grow. In addition to being an author Michael knows the keynote speaking side of the business sharing how at the best of times focusing on speaking can be lucrative, ending with standing ovations and nice hotel rooms. However it can also mean hundreds of days on the road, airport delays, and fatigue. We learn the criteria Michael uses for saying Yes to a possible gig and how speaking can fit into your business model. Books and speaking are powerful tools for spreading thought leadership but how can your business go on without you writing and speaking? As the Founder of Box of Crayons, Michael ensured the company benefitted from his best-selling books and reputation, but also ensured the sales training could stand without him. He shares both the B2B and B2C strategy that is allowing him to work 1 hour a month for Box of Crayons without the company falling apart in his absence. This episode is a master class on everything a thought leader needs to know to ensure not only the success of their personal brand, but the company they someday will leave behind. Three Key Takeaways: · It is really hard to write a book. Except compared to marketing a book. It's really hard to market a book... except compared to getting people to read a book. · Hybrid publishing means you are the executive editor of your book. You get to call it what you want and give it the look and feel you want. · As time goes on you need to watch the market and see if your target avatars have changed. When they do you may need to update your content and offers to accommodate their growing needs.
Aug 17, 2023 • 18min
Becoming a Legendary Podcast Guest | Dana Lindahl | 511
You've been invited as a guest on a podcast! How exciting! But... what now? What should you say, and how do you use this opportunity to shine a spotlight on your best ideas? Our guest today is Dana Lindahl, the Founder and CEO of Legendary Podcasts, an agency that helps clients get booked on podcasts, so they can increase their visibility, brand, and legacy! Being a guest on a podcast can be of tremendous benefit to your thought leadership. Dana explains how most clients are seeking to increase their exposure, create brand awareness, and generate leads. Many believe being on a podcast with a larger audience is the way to do this but Dana clarifies why a smaller audience is the one that needs to hear your message the most can have more impact. Getting booked on a podcast often means doing a quick call beforehand to ensure what the guest has to offer fits the needs of the host's show. We discover how a shockingly low number of potential guests have taken the time to listen to the show they are seeking to be on. Dana tells us why this is a critical mistake that can lead to the guest being passed over. The host/guest relationship needs to be a mutual one where the guest is providing valuable information to the host's audience. If both ends are not getting something out of the interview it might not be the right fit. Finally, Dana takes us beyond the podcast interview to the benefits that can blossom afterward. A guest appearance is more than a way to reach a larger audience it is a unique networking opportunity where the host and guest can find further ways to work together, share their network, and help each other. However, if only one side is doing the work the relationship will fail leading to missed opportunities. If you are looking to be a guest on podcasts, you'll want to check out this link where Dana has collected valuable information you can put to use in your quest to become a legendary guest! Three Key Takeaways: * A podcast that directly speaks to the audience you want to reach most is more powerful than a larger more general audience. * When seeking to be a guest on a podcast research both the show and the host. Listen to the previous episode to identify how you can provide value to their audience. * The value of a podcast doesn't have to be one-and-done. The episode can be repurposed into blog posts, infographics, and sound bites continuing to provide content for weeks.
Aug 13, 2023 • 18min
Allies and Ambassadors | Morag Barrett, Kerry-Ann Stimpson, Jacqueline Jodl and Haylie Wrubel | 510
We've all heard the saying, "many hands make light work." Can collaborating help thought leadership content reach scale and create greater impact? In today's episode, we discuss the critical impact of allies and ambassadors in thought leadership. We highlight valuable conversations from past guests that truly understand that collaboration with influencers and others can significantly elevate a brand or idea. Morag Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Skye Team. She helps us define what allies and ambassadors are and how they can help take ideas to scale or even create a movement that would be unachievable alone. Kerry-Ann Stimpson, Chief Marketing Officer at The JMMB Group shares how the influence of a corporate brand can be expanded by working in tandem to build personal brands of the employees. We learn how this creates new ways for the audience to interact with the brand while increasing confidence and trust in both brands. Jacqueline Jodl, Senior Vice President of Global Youth & Education, and Haylie Wrubel, Director of Global Unified Champion Schools discuss the importance of allies and ambassadors to the Special Olympics. They share how they seek out thought leaders that are sharing message which run parallel to their own, then co-create content to reach a larger audience with the message. Three Key Takeaways: * Personal brands can be good for corporate brands. Don't feel the need to micro-manage employees who are building their own brand. Instead, work with them to align the goals of the individual with the organization. * Allies and ambassadors often create a greater level of trust in a brand. People trust individuals faster than organizations. * Having brand ambassadors is a great way to be better in tune with what is being said about your brand.
