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
Dec 16, 2021 • 25min
The Two Roads of Thought Leadership | Niko Canner | 360
There are two popular roads that can be taken when building a consulting firm. The first is intense specialization; becoming the gold standard in a particular domain. The other is to have a more general focus, relying on a broad variety of topics that can be combined and recombined to solve many different problems. But what happens when the truth of your brand lies on both roads? Niko Canner is the Founder of Incandescent, a firm which has many talents: it serves as a thought partner to leaders of large enterprises on strategy, organization and innovation; advises founders on the development of their ventures; and partners with foundations and non-profits engaged in systems change. Prior to founding Incandescent, Niko was co-founder and Managing Partner of the consulting firm Katzenbach Partners. In our conversation, he recalls his struggles to properly but concisely describe their firm to the market, and how many potential buyers walked away without properly understanding their value. Niko also shares how the term "Breakthrough Organizational Performance" was the key that let them go to market as both specialists and generalists, and find buyers competing for their attention. Niko shares the conversations that took place prior to that acquisition, how to find a good fit for both acquiring and acquired company, and explains the factors anyone hoping to see their firm acquired someday should be considering now. Three Key Takeaways: In order to successfully market your thought leadership, you need a platform that is succinct and resonates. If your thought leadership brand is too general, you can get lost in the crowd. Get too specific, and you could become irrelevant to most. Find the path between! When looking to have your thought leadership firm acquired, you need to establish a relationship and prove that you are a good strategic fit to your buyer.
Dec 9, 2021 • 20min
How to Sharpen Your Thought Leadership | Everett Harper | 359
Today's guest is Everett Harper, the Founder and CEO of Truss. Truss is a software company that works with teams to design, build, and scale software and tech infrastructure to give them the tools they need to excel. Everett is also the author of Move to the Edge, and Declare it Center, a book that helps people lead organizations, solve problems, and sustain company growth with effective practices for complex, uncertain, and unpredictable environments. Many CEO's want to write a book about their experiences, but doing so can be an expensive and time-consuming process. How do you know it's the right time to write a book? What insights and experiences should you share? In Move to the Edge, and Declare it Center, Everett discusses a moment of disquiet in 2020 that compelled him to write - and how that moment has gone on to inspire others through his book. Everett also describes the process Truss uses with their clients, interviewing not only the leaders of a project but also software operators, end-users, and partners, in order to gain the widest view of complex problems. With that information in hand, they create an infrastructure to help the designers of a software system understand the needs of its end users, and keep both involved throughout the entire entire development cycle. Three Key Takeaways: Nobody knows everything, and not knowing can feel frustrating. Great thought leaders manage that feeling and find a way forward. Complex problems don't always have linear solutions. Thought Leaders can make amazing discoveries by keeping an experimental mindset. A good thought leadership book can get you recognized, and bring your insights respect - giving you an edge on the competition.
Dec 5, 2021 • 36min
Thought Leadership in the Content Playground | Ashley Faus | 358
Have you ever had to onboard a new hire, or explain a complex task to a colleague not in your field? How can you get a novice up to speed without giving them a doctoral-level lecture? Today's guest is Ashley Faus, Content Strategy Lead for Software Teams at Atlassian. Atlassian is a software development company that creates tools which are used worldwide to unlock the potential of high-functioning teams in the workplace. We start our conversation by discussing frameworks for thought leadership, content, and broad ideas, and how building a content framework can make even complex ideas accessible to learners of all levels. Ashley goes on to share the four pillars of her framework: Credibility, Profile, Prolific, and Strong Depth of Ideas. She explains how frameworks can be a tool to assess areas of specific challenge or difficulty, and how to use them to create a stronger focus to improve. In addition to her four pillars, Ashley shares how she arrived at the idea of the "Content Playground," and how she builds on her experience in content marketing to turn ideas and inspiration into learning journeys. An audience can be engaged by allowing them to choose their own path through content, discover insights that speak to their personal perspective, and grow through the novelty of play. Ashley explains that trust is an essential quality of thought leadership, and that to be a great leader, you must be open, honest, and vulnerable. Organizations, too, need to manifest those traits, remaining consistent and authentic in their actions and messaging, so that audiences understand and believe in the brand'. Three Key Takeaways: A well-built framework can be a great way for others to more easily grasp the core of your thought leadership. Thought Leadership can be used for content marketing, but that should not be its main goal. Thought Leadership is a long-term play, unlike most marketing, and should be constructed and utilized to withstand the rigors of time.
Dec 2, 2021 • 21min
Thought Leadership Books and Digital Assets | Dr. Sharon Lamm Hartman | 357
When you can't gather in person, how do teams manage strategic planning, maintain role clarity, and build both alignment and consensus? Today's guest on our podcast is Dr. Sharon Lamm Hartman, the Founder and CEO of Inside-Out Learning. She talks to us about the content of her book, The Authenticity Code: The Art and Science of Success and Why You Can't Fake It to Make It, and how she helps clients, professionals, and leaders to be real and authentic no matter what communication obstacles they may face. Having a published book codifying your thoughts and processes can be a useful tool as a thought leader. Yet, in our present environment, buyers often have different expectations of virtual programs and how they will put forward the information and insights in the book. Sharon helps us understand those expectations, and talks about the ways thought leaders can both meet and exceed them, giving your thought leadership book even more staying power. Further, we explore the way relationships develop differently in a learning environment than in a typical working one, creating stronger teams and closer community. In addition to utilizing virtual programs to support her book, Sharon's also added the power of an easy-to-use app to her arsenal. The app guides readers through the 5 habits and 15 steps of her thought leadership, standing beside them every step of the way. It provides easy access to her content, and quick reminders that keep leaders on track. Buyers of the book unlock the app, and receive information about 1 habit and 3 steps for free. Then, the remainder of her content is accessible as an additional unlock, providing access to a community of leaders on the same journey. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders need to be real and authentic in their work, both with clients and in content creation. If you are moving your thought leadership programs into a virtual model, you need to ensure they are engaging and interactive in order to meet buyer's expectation. Developing a companion app is an incredible value add to any thought leadership book.
Nov 28, 2021 • 33min
Human-Centered Thought Leadership | Ethan Beute | 356
We are assaulted by digital pollution on a daily basis: spam calls, fake e-mails, harassing chats, phishing scams, and worse. With all the noise, how can thought leaders create a message that our audience wants to hear? How do we make them understand that our outreach is important? To help answer these questions, we've turned to Ethan Beute, the Chief Evangelist at BombBomb; a company that uses video messaging to build better business relationships. Ethan is also the co-author of Human-Centered Communication: A Business Case Against Digital Pollution. This book is a great read for anyone who needs to generate attention, build trust, and create engagement online! Discover the pitfalls of "digital pollution," and how it negatively impacts our ability to reach potential customers. Listen in, as Ethan shares insights about Human-Centered Design, and how it breaks through the noise to reach customers, and make sure the message they hear is deeply relevant to their needs. He discusses his job as Chief Evangelist, telling us how he is a staunch advocate for Human Centered Design. Learn why boasting about your product instead of addressing people's needs, emotions, and challenges, can cause your audience to stop listening. Some content modalities come easily, while others require greater amounts of study and even coaching. Ethan explains how he began by using his strong command of short-form writing, and over time, has mastered the ability to host his successful podcast, The Customer Experience; communicate with his audience through a video format; and even take the stage for live events. This is a great episode for anyone struggling to ensure that their brand doesn't get lost in the noise. Three Key Takeaways: · Thought Leadership built on Human-Centered Design should focus on desirability, feasibility, and viability. · Spreading your Thought Leadership through short personal video messages can have greater results than mass e-mail blasts. · While evangelizing your Thought Leadership, focus on your client's problems, not the product you are trying to sell.
Nov 21, 2021 • 33min
Creating Meaningful Brands with Thought Leadership | Emmanuel Probst | 355
Every day, we are berated with advertising for products and services trying to convince us to switch to their brand. What makes us take pause and pay attention is no longer the fear of missing out. Audiences want to find meaning in the products they buy and activities they take part in. So, how can you convey to your customer that your brand has meaning? Our guest today is Emmanuel Probst, Global Lead of Brand Thought Leadership at Ipsos, where they are passionately curious about society, markets, and providing a game changing understanding of the world to help clients make faster, smarter and bolder decisions. He is also the author of Brand Hacks: How to Build Brands by Fulfilling the Consumer Quest for Meaning. In this book, Emmanuel shows us how to use simple hacks to create and grow brands that deliver meaning — even with a limited budget. We ask Emmanuel, "What is the quest for meaning in branding? Why do people care about some brands and almost instantly forget others?" and his answers deliver! Emmanuel helps us understand why customers are seeking meaning and why companies need to focus on creating long term strategies that incorporate feelings of nostalgia, joy, and empathy. That's what makes people want to come back year after year. Next, we move to discuss how thought leadership connects to branding and how the thought leader needs to inject a level of self into their work regardless of where it can be found. We study how academics and practitioners often have a large gap between each other, when in fact they can learn a lot from each other. Emmanuel teaches us to bridge that gap and bring complex ideas to customers in simple, intuitive, and relevant ways. We round out the conversation with Emmanuel's thoughts on why thought leadership works at Ipsos, and how true leadership involves listening to what the market wants to learn, hear, and monetize. From there, they help the customer answer the questions of "So What?" and "What Now?" by giving them ideas that are relevant and actionable to the market. This is a great episode for everyone interested in brand-building. Listen in! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders need to help clients create a brand that has meaning, in order to create customer loyalty. The fear of missing out brings short term results, but creating a positive emotional connection with a brand will make consumers invest for the long term. Great thought leadership ideas shouldn't be complex! Find ways to make your concepts quick and easy to understand.
Nov 18, 2021 • 19min
Working Less and Making More with Thought Leadership | Joe Sanok | 354
Working 40 hours has been accepted as the "standard work week" since Henry Ford implemented it almost 100 years ago. What would happen if we focused more on the outcomes that we wanted from our labor, instead of focusing on the time it takes to accomplish them? Could we learn to work less and do more? Our guest today is Joe Sanok, host of the popular The Practice of the Practice, the #1 Podcast for counselors in private practice and one of the top 50 podcasts worldwide! Joe has gone from working as a full time physiologist to teaching others how to structure their practice in a way that will increase ROI and reduce time spent working. Joe's also is the author of Thursday Is the New Friday: How to Work Fewer Hours, Make More Money, and Spend Time Doing What You Want. Today, Joe shares his story; from working at a Community College, to building a strong and profitable side practice that made more than his full time job. Learning how to leverage his gifts helped Joe make the journey to becoming a thought leader, starting a podcast, and helping others think differently about mental health in the workplace. In addition, Joe is helping counselors in private practice build their business and their brands. We discuss how to effectively use your time, why you should find clients that are the right fit for you, and ways to outsource the things you are not good at. It's possible to build healthy teams by asking the right questions! Finally, we wrap up by discussing Joe's book Thursday Is the New Friday, which offers exercise, tools, and training to help people create the work schedule they want — and the results they need: less work and greater income! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders can accomplish more by outsourcing less important tasks, or things they are not good at, in order to focus on important matters. By specializing your thought leadership, you can be a more effective help to your clients and outpace your competition. It's easier to convince clients to buy into your Thought Leadership when you can clearly explain the way your fee will save the client time and increase their ROI.
Nov 11, 2021 • 16min
Becoming Resilient Through Thought Leadership | James Harold Webb | 353
The word Redneck tends to conjure up a certain image in most people's minds. When you hear the word do you think Director of Radiology and author? Our guest James Harold Webb is a self-proclaimed redneck who despite the obstacles that stood in his way went to college became a radiology technologist, then Director of Radiology at a hospital in Dallas, and now is the author of Redneck Resilience: A Country Boy's Journey To Prosperity. James shares how his simple upbringing in Mississippi was actually the bedrock of his work ethic and resiliency, watching his parents overcome various challenges in their personal and professional lives implanted the idea that he too could always find a way to overcome and rise up. We discuss the origin of his book Redneck Resilience and what exactly is the meaning of resilience. After many telling him he should write a book he started jotting down notes and stories realizing that he wanted the lessons he learned to be able to be passed onto his children and others that would benefit from them. James has faced a large amount of personal strife, from a brain tumor to a cancer diagnosis for both him and his wife. These personal experiences have changed how James views problems and stress as well as how he works, closing the door to business at the end of the day to focus on what really matters in life: family. James shares personal stories of resilience and shows how regardless of your origin you too can get back up after being knocked down and find a new path forward. Three Key Takeaways: Writing a book for your Thought Leadership does not have to be part of a business plan. It can be to leave a legacy. If you are being told to put your Thought Leadership into a book, start by writing your thoughts and stories for 30 - 60 minutes a day and see if it meshes together. Resiliency in Thought Leadership means finding an alternative path when the road gets blocked.
Nov 7, 2021 • 28min
Lessons from a Decade in Thought Leadership | Amelia Folkes | 352
Ten years ago, the term "thought leadership" did not exist. Yet, the principles of thought leadership were being practiced, shaped, and refined by pioneers in the field; people whose great ideas literally shaped the road for all others. Our guest today is Amelia Folkes, Senior Manager of External Relations at Workiva. Previous to that, she worked at Emerson Automation Solutions and State Farm, where she worked to implement changes that made the world a safer place - through practices and insights that we now recognize as true thought leadership. Changing an organization's culture can take years of effort. Amelia explains how she did it: by positioning brands as more than just vendors. She taught her companies to become solutions providers and partners to their customers, and level up the organization's voice. In this way, she created earnest relationships, and helped her brands gain the trust and loyalty of their audience. Relationships are important, but the hardest work of thought leadership is finding a way to take those values to scale. Amelia discusses the use of both broad and narrowcasting, and the ways she works to position Workiva at the front of the ESG (Environmental Social Governance) frontier. Through her work, their clients themselves become integral thought leaders on the topics of sustainability and diversity. We finish our conversation by discussing the importance of establishing your voice, and creating key messages. Amelia explains that it's important to maintain consistent messages across multiple platforms, from social media to personal relationships. This helps create an echo chamber that, over time, will move into broader and broader audiences. This episode is an exploration of the way thought leadership has changed over a decade. Listen in, to learn some of the fascinating history, and to discover ways to define your voice, stay on message, and grow your reach for the next decade of thought leadership! Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership needs to create trust in the things you are doing or selling. In order for thought leadership to take your client's voice to the next level, you must focus on storytelling and influence. It takes time for thought leadership to become part of the mind of your audience. Repetition and consistency are crucial.
Nov 4, 2021 • 18min
Thought Leadership for Working Mothers | Dr. Whitney Casares | 351
Being a working mother means juggling a lot of balls. Stress, overload, and exhaustion can make work a nightmare and in turn create an unhealthy home environment. Is it possible to simply let go and focus on the important things one at a time? Today, we sit down with Dr. Whitney Casares, a private practice pediatrician and mother. It was the combination of these two life paths that led her to write The New Baby Blueprint: Caring for You and Your Little One and her newest book The Working Mom Blueprint: Winning at Parenting Without Losing Yourself. Whitney discusses the significant changes to the pediatric approach that have occurred in the last decade, and how doctors are becoming more involved in the physical health of parents as well as the mental health of both parent and child. Whitney shares her experiences as a working mother trying to manage a time consuming career while figuring out how to care for a colicky newborn. She touches on her challenges with postpartum, and later, anxiety for both mommy and daughter. She created revolutionary ways to overcome these experiences, so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics approached her about writing books to give advice to the large population that struggles with similar issues. We wrap up by exploring the way Whitney uses her books as credentials; allowing her access to organizations and corporations. There, she talks health, strategy, and awareness about the working mothers' needs, and how businesses can make simple changes that will save them time and money - and improve their working mothers' lives. If you are concerned about your company's approach to mental and physical health, this podcast is an eye-opener. Listen in, and learn about simple changes you can make to retain working mothers and help them flourish. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership that comes from personal experience can be incredibly powerful. Thought Leadership needs to help organizations be proactive about creating a happy and healthy workplace. Using thought leadership to make small changes that accommodate working mothers can shape both careers and organizations.
