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
May 7, 2023 • 31min
Storytelling for Business | David Hutchens | 489
People don't easily connect to abstract ideas, we connect to other human beings. With that in mind, how can a thought leader tell stories that bring your ideas to life? To answer that question I've invited David Hutchens to join me. David is the CEO of Mythos Global, the home of the Storytelling Leader program. He is also the author of Story Dash: Find, Develop, & Activate Your Most Valuable Business Stories… In Just a Few Hours! David has built his career around storytelling for business, and he's come on our show to share some of those insights with our audience. Our conversation starts with David's story; going from copywriter at advertising agencies, to attending the ASTD Expo with his portfolio, seeking an opportunity to write about the things he really cares about – innovation and leadership. David's story gives us an immediate connection to his ideas, and helps him illuminate how others can use tools he's created (like the Taxonomy of Stories and Story Deck) to find the stories they should be telling. These tools were crafted through many years of conversation, hearing the stories of business leaders all over the world. David realized many of those stories had common themes, and could be organized into categories that would give sales, strategy, innovation, thought leaders and more the ability to share stories that motivate and illuminate their audience - stories that they need to tell. While storytelling is important, David also cautions that a leader must also use other tools as well. He shares how his research into highly successful leaders indicates that 30% of a leader's communication should be story-based, while the other 70% can encompass slides, data, didactic lecturing, and other modes of rhetoric and persuasion. David has powerful insights, and keen advice into how leaders and entrepreneurs can use storytelling to break through the noise and reach your audience! Three Key Takeaways: * Build a team. If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, take people with you. * Brilliant ideas don't spread on their own. They need advertising. * Attention is the new precious resource. You have to be thoughtful about how you'll break through the noise and keep the attention of your audience.
May 4, 2023 • 20min
Being a Human Venn Diagram. | Christina Wallace| 488
What does it take to write a book? Or host a podcast? Or to get speaking engagements based on your content? Being a thought leader can be hectic - if you know how to find the audience that needs you most! Today, we've invited the "Human Venn Diagram," Christina Wallace, to share her insights with our listeners. Christina has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is a Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurial Management at Harvard Business School, an angel investor, speaker, and author of "The Portfolio Life: How to Future Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger Than Your Business Card." We start our conversation by learning how Christina got started, writing bits and pieces about her best ideas and sharing them with readers and listeners. These small bits led to a column at Forbes.com, and eventually, Christina became the co-host of The Limit Does Not Exist podcast. Christina shares how each different medium helped her see different facets of her audience's needs, and gave her real-time feedback from her audience. Those details made writing her book easier - and more suited to her audience's needs! Christina explains how each chapter in her book had roots in a podcast episode, and how her written posts acted as the first draft for material that then came to full maturity in the book. Not only did her previous content shape her forward motion, it also proved her talent and value to literary agents and publishers worldwide. Not only had she established a strong audience for her insights - they were actively seeking more! Three Key Takeaways: * You can get lucky by being in the right place at the right time. It takes courage to say yes to the opportunity presented. * Having a library of online content is like leaving an everlasting trail of breadcrumbs that lead back to your services. * Thought Leaders need to proactively tell the story of why they are the expert on the topics they discuss.
Apr 27, 2023 • 18min
Courage in Thought Leadership | CB Bowman | 487
Leaders often think about their legacy, from how they will build it to how it will change the industry for the better. But if others are critical of your great works - when should you consider changing lanes? Today we are joined by CB Bowman, the CEO of Courage Consulting, keynote speaker, host of the podcast Courage to Leap & Lead and now author of Courage to Leap & to Lead: A Roadmap for Redefining Failure into Success. Having a business, podcast, and book with the word Courage in the title would make you think that CB has spent her career following that path - but that simply isn't true! It was only after a conversation with Marshall Goldsmith and other thought leaders that she came to realize everything she had accomplished in her career was due to courage - her own! Courage to Leap & Lead is CB's first solo book authorship, and it's been incredibly well-received. CB shares how others told her that she was courageous, leading her to consider the major events in her life and ask herself, "How did I get here?" By answering that question, she was able to break down her strategies into a teachable 7-step process. If you are not sure about the legacy you're building, or you can't find focus among your ideas, this conversation might give you the courage to make a powerful change! Three Key Takeaways: * A thought leader must be able to pivot, build on their ideas, and recognize the strengths and challenges of their approach. * If you identify with a concept - such as courage - then you need to live with deep respect and adherence to your teachings. * Sometimes, the key to getting the answers you need is to ask the right question.
Apr 23, 2023 • 36min
Thought Leadership and Adult Learning | Manja Horner | 486
As a thought leader, you want to see your content actively helping people, not just sitting on a shelf. But how do you move insight to action? Today, we're going to talk about the intersection of thought leadership and adult learning. My guest is Manja Horner, the founder of Boost Learning Design, where she helps other big-hearted entrepreneurs make a difference - while growing their businesses. Manja tells us how she took her ideas from imagination to actualization, by presenting her insights in ways that showed they were relevant to her audience's needs. In order to do that, thought leaders have to take a step back and put themselves in their audience's shoes. What do they need to know? What problems are they trying to solve? And, most importantly, how does your content address and resolve those challenges? Creating learning that will enhance learning and skills is a difficult task, but creating thought leadership that changes mindsets and behaviors is even tougher! Manja explains why you have to ask questions, and how to encourage your audience to think in larger terms about possible solutions. Furthermore, by helping them develop empathy through role-play, she helps those who are "stuck" to develop a real growth mindset. Additional Resources: During the conversation, Bill and Manja discuss the Wired 5 Levels series; a textbook example of tailoring your ideas to various audiences. In addition Blooms Taxonomy is discussed; you can read more about it here! Three Key Takeaways: * Adults learn by doing. The faster you can take someone from information to application, the better. * When you have even 10 minutes of a learner's time, think about getting them to apply new knowledge to their situation. * There is a fine balance to knowing your audience because it can be easy to create content that is too complex or even too simple and lose them either way.
Apr 20, 2023 • 16min
Thought Leadership for Future Thinking | Joseph Press | 485
"Office shock" is the term for an abrupt, unsettling change in where, when, how, and even why we work. Over the last few years, we have seen an abnormally large number of these events, So how are thought leaders working to be prepared for an uncertain future? To get a better understanding of how to thrive in unpredictable times, I've invited Joseph Press to join me. Joseph is the Co-Founder of Make Our Future, a global consulting cooperative dedicated to transitioning organizations to more sustainable and equitable practices. Joseph takes us inside the pages of his new book Office Shock: Creating Better Futures for Working and Living, which focuses on leaders in organizations that have a need to contribute and change both their business practices and culture. The success of Office Shock hinges on it touching a nerve with those leaders, helping them to realize they have an opportunity to make the changes that are needed to build a better future for everyone. Once they do, Joseph's insights help leaders become ready for any changes the future has in store. Joseph shares why leaders need to think outside the box, going back to creating things and focusing on engaging others in collective action. Only by approaching this task humbly and with a sense of empathy and desire to connect with others who are different from you can we hope to create new connections, learn, and innovate. Three Key Takeaways: * Leaders need to be willing to remove themselves from present thinking and be more willing to think outside the now in order to be prepared for the future. * In order for your ideas to successfully reach their audience they have to strike a nerve in a way that moves them to action. * Leaders need to be self-aware and look inwards to understand their strengths and weaknesses before they can hope to have meaningful connections.
Apr 16, 2023 • 26min
Building Your Own Thought Leadership Brand | Scott Jeffery Miller | 484
When you've spent decades behind the curtain, building brands and platforms for other thought leaders - what does it take to step into the spotlight and create your own? Our guest today is Scott Jeffrey Miller, Senior Advisor, Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey, as well as a best-selling author, and host of the hit podcast On Leadership with Scott Miller. Scott discusses the ups and downs of his journey into thought leadership, and what it's like to be on both sides of the fence. Scott has unique insight into what it takes to create a thought leadership platform - both for others, and for yourself! While you can hire talented people to help get your thought leadership off the ground, ultimately you are responsible for your own elevation, through social media, productization, research, and everything else - and that means you need a strong strategy to get your insights recognized. To be successful, you must have a deep understanding of your audience; what they need, what their problems are, and how you can help them. Scott explains how to look beyond simple demographics, and get to the real pain points your content can solve, so that you can connect with them in a meaningful and trustworthy way. We wrap up the conversation with Scott providing key advice for anyone seeking to become a thought leader. He shares where to start, what other successful thought leaders have in common, and what you'll need to do in order to reach that level of success. Three Key Takeaways: * Strategy is constantly changing. In order to keep up you have to be constantly taking in new data and pivoting in real time. * Have an abundance mindset! Put your ideas out into the world for free while building deeper content that can be paid for by those who need it. * If you want to start building thought leadership, here's your checklist: Read often; post often, and be prepared to play the long game.
Apr 13, 2023 • 19min
Simplifying Complex Ideas Using Thought Leadership | Jeffrey Wheatman
Cyber risk and cyber security are very important, and the field is filled with experts. So how can thought leadership elevate your work in a way that connects with a larger audience? Today our guest is Jeffrey Wheatman, Cyber Risk Evangelist for Black Kite, a company that is disrupting traditional third party risk management practices worldwide by providing cyber security experts with greater visibility. While the topics that Jeffrey talks about are of the utmost importance, many people just don't have the technical knowledge to understand the details - and risks. Jeffrey explains that through thought leadership, he is able to convey complex ideas in a language that helps people connect the dots, and puts the material into a context they can clearly understand. Part of his thought leadership includes speaking at conferences and other events. Jeffrey shares why he speaks about topics such as executives who don't understand IT and understanding risk in 3rd party ecosystems, instead of focusing on the services Black Kite offers. By speaking to the issues in an authentic way, he is able to build a relationship and get potential clients thinking of what they need to solve the presented problems, which ultimately leads them back to his services. In addition to speaking, Jeffrey uses LinkedIn to spread his thought leadership message. He discusses his target of posting at least once a day and how he judges the success of each post. He also talks about why it is important to take part in the discussions others are having, offering support and why it's alright to be contrary to the original idea. Three Key Takeaways: * You need to find and embrace your own voice, with its quirks, because that authenticity will draw in an audience. * Thought leadership comes down to being able to say something short and pithy, that makes people lean in and say "I've never thought about that before." * Take what you know and compartmentalize it, so that you can share it in a way that it land with the largest audiences
Apr 6, 2023 • 17min
Strengthening a Brand with a Book | Michael Tuggle | 482
If you had nearly 30 years of experience building brands like American Airlines and Pepsi, wouldn't you want to share all the great insights you'd developed? Our guest today is Michael Tuggle, the President of Tuggle Creative Inc, Chief Creative Officer of Something Else Strategies, and co-author of The Voice Of The Underdog: How Challenger Brands Create Distinction By Thinking Culture First. After having worked with Mike Sullivan (President and CEO of LOOMIS), bringing a strategic advantage to challenger brands for over 10 years, Michael knew that it was time to share his insights with others. Michael discusses what it was like working with his partner for more than 6 months of writing, and another 12 months of editing, in order to bring their book to life. We learn the process used to create the architecture of the book, how the chapters were decided and ordered, and their process: writing notes before letting the creative impulse take over. He also discusses the case studies and stories they included, to make the information more accessible. Spending 18 months putting a book together can come with a huge opportunity cost. Michael explains how self-publishing was only one part of their business model. While most will buy the book and use the information to the best of their ability, some will seek a deeper dive into the content, and will hire him to bring that content to their teams and organizations in scalable ways. Our conversation has great advice for both challenger's brands and would be authors. Three Key Takeaways: * Writing a business book is an efficient way to drive business and build credibility. * The time cost of writing a book can be large, but if you can pick up a handful of new clients it will be well worth the investment. * When writing a book don't edit yourself as you go. Allow the insights to come out then edit it later.
Apr 2, 2023 • 31min
Thought Leadership, Research, and Getting Your Data Right | Mike Ilecki | 481
You're doing research for your thought leadership? Great! But how do you know that you're asking the right questions? Today, we sit down with Mike Ilecki, Vice President of Public Opinion Research and Thought Leadership at Ipsos, a multinational research and consulting firm that delivers reliable information and true understanding of society, markets, and people. People's perception is often their reality and how perception of the world is constantly changing. With that in mind Mike helps us understand how organizations need to invest in multi-year longitudinal research that tracks not only what the audience thinks and feels now but over time as it changes. Big businesses cannot hope to take the right stand on issues if they are only asking the important questions once. Just as perception changes so too does how people communicate. The method used to capture the data is as important as the questions asked. Mike takes us into the various methods of conducting research and why the method has to match the demographic you are seeking. Because of this it is best to start with the end in mind. Who is it you are trying to communicate with and what are you trying to communicate to them? We also discuss what thought leaders should be aware of when working with research partners. Mike brings his experience of the topic to the conversation explaining that thought leaders need to break out of the box of their organizations point of view and allow the research partner t consult on what the landscape actually is. By learning the right questions to ask and how to ask them you can construct a solid platform to take your message forward with a wide angle view of the topic. Three Key Takeaways: * Thought leadership can be used to better a business and more importantly better the world we live in. * Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. When you step out is when you experience new things, learn and grow. * In order to take the right stand on the issues that matter you have to understand how both your customers and the population in general feel about those issues.
Mar 30, 2023 • 18min
From Concept to Cash Flow | Michael McFall | 480
Do you think that all you need to be successful is a great idea? Well, think again. The million-dollar idea is a myth. Even with a great insight in hand, you still have to take it to market and prove it has value. To discuss what it takes to become a success, we've invited Michael McFall, the co-Founder and co-CEO of BIGGBY Coffee. He is also the author of Grind: A No-Bullshit Approach to Take Your Business from Concept to Cash Flow and has a second book coming soon, entitled: Grow: Take Your Business from Chaos to Calm. Together, these books cover what you'll need to know to go from startup to steady cash flow. Michael talks about his start as a minimum wage barista working in his partner's coffee shop, and how that relationship grew to a partnership. That partnership launched a company that now has 340 locations with more than 100 more, coming in the next twelve months! Having spent the last 27 years helping others launch businesses, Michael felt it was time to take that accumulated knowledge and codify it in his first book. He explains how revenue is the guiding principle, and you have to have the right mentality to take a product to the marketplace. In addition, Michael shares how you have to understand your own, personal strengths and weaknesses. When you do, you can find ways to supplement your weaknesses, and leverage your strengths. This episode is packed with advice for entrepreneurs, new and established, to elevate and help them become stronger leaders. Three Key Takeaways: * A business book can be a method of self-selection. If people read it and agree with it then they might be a good fit to work with. If they don't, then it's best they move on. * Leadership means turning authority over to others, allowing them to grow into leaders, themselves. * Revenue generation is the guiding principle. You have to sell. If you are not comfortable with that you might not be suited to entrepreneurship.
