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 16, 2021 • 21min
Public Relations for Thought Leadership Books | Mark Fortier | 340
Savvy authors know that public relations can be more unpredictable than marketing. So, how do you navigate those treacherous waters and find success? Today's guest is Mark Fortier, founder of Fortier Public Relations. Mark has spent 30 years publicizing hundreds of important books, including 140 bestsellers! Now, he's here to share tips and tricks with us that are essential for making your thought leadership book a success. When taking a book to market, authors often only look at big wins. It's important to get coverage in large media outlets, but what most don't realize is that it's often small, incremental goals that really move the needle. Mark explains how and why it is important to manage expectations, and why you should work to create close relationships in order to help your book's audience grow. He also discusses the ways PR has changed over the years, and how online interviews and podcasts have become an important part of any successful author's portfolio. One of the ways that authors and publishers support a book is by focusing on an existing platform. Mark discusses the importance of creating a pre-established, strong social network (and potential audience) before your book gets published, and offers alternatives if you don't have one in place. It's important to live up to your publisher's expectations, but Mark shares his hard-won wisdom on the things an author should look for and expect from their publisher as well. Three Key Takeaways: Thought leaders publishing their first (or fifth!) book can benefit from the knowledge and experience of public relations firms. Social media is a long term strategy. Thought leaders publishing a book need to start building a large, connected network as early as possible. Thought leaders should seek out a publisher they can work with, and ensure that their publisher truly understands the material's message.
Sep 9, 2021 • 18min
Using Thought Leadership to Promote Ecommerce Solutions | Raj De Datta | 339
Today's guest is Raj De Datta, Co-Founder and CEO of Bloomreach, a company bringing solutions that are uniquely built to serve digital commerce and marketing professionals. Their mission is to deliver meaningful moments to customers; moments that result in organizational growth. Raj shares Bloomreach's goal to use AI and machine learning for delivering exactly what a customer is seeking. Moment to moment, a customer's needs change — and so should an organization's digital response. With Bloomreach powering roughly 1/4th of e-commerce in the United States and the UK, Raj is often asked "What helps organizations succeed in the digital arena?" In an effort to answer that question, Raj wrote The Digital Seeker: A Guide for Digital Teams to Build Winning Experiences, published by Columbia Business School Publishing. Raj explains that his book is more than a rendition of the typical CEO experience. He discusses the reasons for his research, shares insights, and talks about how organizations can succeed in a digital arena. The academic point of view brings new details to light, and powers a sharper understanding of the fundamentals of success. Raj shares his hopes for the future of the book, and talks about ways the industry could prosper from these understanding. He's got a long-term view on measuring success, and the book is a critical part of elevating his position as CEO as well as Bloomreach's expertise with eCommerce. Three Key Takeaways: Authoring a thought leadership book from the perspective of an academic could open additional publishing options. Having your CEO write a Thought Leadership book is a great way to elevate the profile of a company. Many Thought Leaders underestimate the difficulty of marketing a book. There are complex nuances in getting it published, and you need to think ahead!
Sep 5, 2021 • 27min
An Overview of the First Year as Head of Thought Leadership | Tammy Ammon | 338
Ever wondered what it was like to be the Director of Thought Leadership for a major corporation? Many organizations don't define their thought leadership role at creation, leaving the shaping of those responsibilities up to the first person to take the position. That's a tough job! To better understand the first few months in such a role, we turn to Tammy Ammon, Senior Director of Thought Leadership at Acxiom. Acxiom is a corporation that strives to ethically use data and technology to fuel meaningful connections between brands and the people who love them. Like many thought leaders, Tammy had already pursued a long career in product development and marketing. Senior Director of Thought Leadership was the perfect position to blend her passion for storytelling with her deep knowledge of client needs. Even so, her first few weeks in the role were spent defining the position , mapping existing pieces of content, and aiding with branding, marketing, and innovation at the highest levels of the organization. Over time, Tammy realized that content creation, a big component of thought leadership, quickly evolves storytelling and strategy at the highest levels. She explains how she learned to define a brand's story, and find the specific themes that will be helpful to support a compelling rendition. By moving through the organization at all levels, she's learned to maintain a broad view of the company and carry that perspective to her audience. Tammy ends our conversation with advice for those who are new to the role of thought leader in their organization; sharing tips, best practices, and inspiration she learned along the way. Three Key Takeaways: Organizational thought leadership is about making time to learn your industry and understand your audience. Thought Leaders can draw insight by listening in on a wide variety of meetings, networking on Linkedin, and taking part in strategy discussions. As you grow in the role of director of thought leadership, you will need to learn which topics require your time, and which to pass on to your team.
Sep 2, 2021 • 21min
How to balance a Day Job with Your Passion for Thought Leadership. | Lance Mortlock | 337
How do you plan for something you can't predict? Today's guest is Lance Mortlock, a Strategy Partner at EY (Ernst & Young) Canada, where he manages a team tasked to drive growth for clients in the oil, power, and mining industries. Earlier this year, Lance authored his first book, Disaster Proof: Scenario Planning for a Post-Pandemic Future. Disaster Proof is a practical and accessible guide for identifying risks, facing unpredictable challenges, and planning for the future. Lance discusses the process of writing an in-depth thought leadership book while also working a demanding day job. Getting the book across the finish line required long hours, the support of his family, and surprisingly, the support of his employers at EY. Employers might be quick to think that writing a book would take away from an employee's daily focus. Not always true! Lance explains why elevating his personal brand elevated his employer, as well. Lance had many years of articles, papers, and industry experience that give business leaders the tools they need to understand a volatile, rapidly changing world. Organizations with long-term thinking will excel in competition, and their leaders will be prepared to handle unexpected challenges. He discusses why business leaders need a wide view, to predict and understand long-term forces that will affect their organization. We wrap up by discussing the difficult and often uncomfortable task of marketing a thought leadership book. Many writers and thought leaders are not used to having to push sales, but it's important to get your text in the right hands. This means shepherding a consistent present on social media, and understanding that increasing book sales requires a slow but continual effort. If you are currently working on your first book, and trying to navigate balancing your day job and marketing your finished text, this episode has a wealth of helpful information. Think long-term - and be consistent! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders don't have to leave their current organization to develop their own brand. Enriching your personal brand can be beneficial to both parties. A book based on your Thought Leadership can stem from the articles and materials you've published in the past, combined with an expanded viewpoint for the future. If you want your Thought Leadership book to be a success, you'll need to create a flourishing social media platform to announce, elevate, and enhance publication.
Aug 29, 2021 • 28min
Elevating an Issue Through Thought Leadership |Reilly Brock | 336
Does your thought leadership solve global issues? How do you draw attention to a multinational crisis, on a personal scale? Our guest in today's episode is Reilly Brock, the Associate Creative Director at Imperfect Foods. Imperfect Foods is a weekly grocery delivery service on a mission to build a better, less wasteful food system. Through their efforts, they help people save time, money, and the planet. As Associate Creative Director, Reilly has a passion for making the average person aware of the global food waste problem, and giving them options to waste less food. Through his work, he educates customers on ways to increase and improve regional sourcing, utilize food that would otherwise be squandered, and make empowered decisions. They pay attention to wide-scale problems (like the reason Imperfect Foods doesn't sell bananas), so their customers can feel assured that their choices are having a positive impact on the world. Reilly has been delivering his message in long form writing, infographics, and even a podcast, in order to engage different audiences through the mediums they prefer. He, and Imperfect Foods, seek to spread the message that even multinational problems can be solved by individual action. By creating a sense of agency for their customers, Reilly creates excitement, so his audience will further share the ideas. That way, he can create an even broader movement. We close with useful advice for those just starting out in a thought leadership role. Reilly explains why you should determine who your audience is, and just as importantly, who your audience is not. Don't water down your content to reach a wider audience. Focus your efforts where you can have the most impact, and your audience will carry the message forward for you. Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leadership has the power to shine a light on invisible problems, and provide tangible ways the audience can get involved in solving them. Don't dilute your Thought Leadership message! Instead, use different mediums and types of content to reach a wider audience. When creating powerful Thought Leadership, make sure you have evergreen content that draws your audience back — time and time again.
Aug 22, 2021 • 25min
Narrowcasting and Bespoke Thought Leadership | Peter Winick | 335
Welcome to this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership! Today's guest is our very own Peter Winick, Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage, a firm that helps thought leaders of all kinds develop strategies for branding, marketing, technology, and sales. The episode begins with Peter outlining the similarities and differences between marketing and thought leadership, particularly as it pertains to sales. While some comparisons can be made, thought leadership targets a small, very selective audience, giving timeless advice directed toward specific challenges. Sales, on the other hand, commonly relies on wide reaching, less focused tactics, marketing consumer products to a broad audience and relying on wide appeal. Peter tells us that the true art of thought leadership means your offerings are unrelated to 99.9% of business problems, but laser-focused on solving the issues of a sharply defined target audience. In that space, your insights and products can deliver solutions that change the client's world. Peter and Bill outline the reasons that seeking a "necessary minority" is important: people who truly need your solutions get maximum benefit from applying your thought leadership. Plus, they discuss reasons that thought leadership practitioners should create touchpoints, low time commitments that display the benefit of their insights, before expecting a potential client to spend valuable time reading a white paper or book. We wrap up our conversation with some great advice for those just starting a thought leadership journey. From reintroducing yourself, to expanding critical relationships, from asking for help, to finding the right cadence for publishing your content, Peter and Bill share a vast amount of experience on thought leadership and sales. This episode is a beginner's guide — and an expert's handbook, all in one! Three Key Takeaways: · Thought Leadership needs to be focused on a small and specific audience where it can truly shine. · Thought Leadership ideas should be introduced in small chunks, leaving discussion of larger offerings for after the audience leans in. · New Thought Leaders should reach out to their network and reconnect, explaining their new venture, their offerings, and the solutions they offer.
Aug 19, 2021 • 23min
Behavioral Science And the Art of Thought Leadership | Jon Levy | 334
Today, we sit down with the incredibly insightful Jon Levy! Jon is a behavioral scientist and social engineer best known for his work on human connection and decision making. Jon is the founder of the Influencers Dinner, a secret dining experience started in New York in 2009. Twelve thought leaders, tastemakers, and influencers from various industries attend, but do not discuss their professional career, or share their last name - in order to guess, at the end of the dinner, what the other attendees do professionally. What started as an experiment has turned into a world class experience that brings guests from a broad spectrum of fields together to share insights, camaraderie, and a great meal. In addition to being a TED speaker, Jon also has a new book: You're Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence. We start today's conversation with a discussion about the way humans, as a whole, possess a desire to experience something different and unique. Jon explains a bit about the SN/VTA part of the brain, which governs reward cognition, associative learning, and positively-valenced emotions. The SN/VTA engages during unusual experiences, and that response can be used to inspire curiosity and get an audience to authentically engage with your ideas. Behavioral science for the win! The traditional methods for networking have become stagnant and overblown. People "turn off" when they're bored, so how can we create a stronger connection? Jon shares tips about bringing people together for a mutual, unique experience, and how that can create relationships that are stronger than plain ol' humdrum networking. John talks about the enigmas of connection, and helps thought leaders understand why people do the things we do. This is a great lesson on how to tap into those responses by using a little bit of social engineering! Don't miss it! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders can create more interest in their products and ideas by adding a little uniqueness and novelty; raising people's curiosity makes them engage more fully. When designing Thought Leadership courses, think about the frequency of communication, not just the depth of ideas. Trust is a must-have in Thought Leadership, but to gain trust you must be willing to show a level of vulnerability.
Aug 15, 2021 • 31min
The Intersection of Thought Leadership and Social Selling | Mandy McEwen | 333
Today's guest is Mandy McEwen, the CEO of Mod Girl Marketing, a firm that helps their clients increase brand presence and stand out from the crowd by offering innovative content marketing & social media strategies, and by leveraging the organization's best asset – their people. Many companies are asking employees to engage on the org's behalf through social media, but not everyone really understands LinkedIn's power to increase brand presence. Mandy shares common reasons people struggle to support their company through posts, likes, and comments, and why there's a lot of social anxiety around the topic. Mandy gives advice on ways that managers and leaders can empower their teams, methods for starting or joining appropriate conversations, and ultimately, how your workforce can generate their own content all as part of a daily routine! Getting the most out of any social media platform will mean becoming comfortable with experimentation; employees need support and flexibility with the type of content they provide and how it's presented. Best of all, Mandy explains why even social media "failures" can be successes in disguise - if both employees and the organization are committed to learning from mistakes. Mandy has a great point: Every interaction can be a source of Thought Leadership content! Building content is as simple as having great conversations. You can do it, and your employees can, too! Three Key Takeaways: Getting started with Thought Leadership on Linkedin can be as easy as leaving meaningful comments in industry-related conversations. It might be tempting to use bots or direct messages to blast your Thought Leadership as broadly as possible, but be warned: Such tactics can backfire, driving people away. When developing teams to use Linkedin on an organization's behalf, you have to empower them to share their ideas, coach them on how to get engaged, and give them the thoughtful support they'll need to create great Thought Leadership content.
Aug 12, 2021 • 21min
Matching Journalism with Thought Leadership Consulting | Adam Bryant | 332
Today's guest is Adam Bryant, Managing Director at The ExCo Group (formerly Merryck & Co. Americas). The Exco Group specializes in helping boards, executives, and teams unlock their full leadership potential and deliver high-impact performance for their enterprises. Adam is also the author of The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders; a book that focuses on the seven most critical reasons leaders succeed or fail. Adam hasn't always been a Thought Leader. For 30 years, he had a successful career as a journalist, editor, and columnist, primarily at The New York Times. As he honed his communication skills and learned the ins-and-outs of complex teams, Adam focused on the question: "What if we interviewed a CEO for an article and didn't discuss their business background?" Instead, he focused the conversation around the lessons of leadership, culture, hiring, and talent, to see what made high-powered leaders flourish and grow. Over 10 years, Adam interviewed 525 CEOs. Those lessons eventually became a book: The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. In it, he presented the insights and advice he gleaned through those interviews in order to to help others master the steep learning curve of leadership. In today's episode, Adam discusses his skills as a journalist, and how they positioned him to elevate others through the practice of thought leadership. He credits that background with his impressive ability to see patterns, focus on the essence of an issue, and find insights in both challenges and success - and share those gifts with others. If you're feeling blocked, this is the episode that can show you how to find your strengths and bring them into the game! Three Key Takeaways: Non-traditional questions can be a great way for Thought Leaders to gain new insight. Thought Leaders can find strong, accessible examples of leadership lessons in TV and movies. Thought Leadership might start out as a "side-hustle," but if nurtured properly, can take on a life of its own!
Aug 5, 2021 • 20min
Using Thought Leadership to See the Future | Lisa Bodell | 331
Today we are excited to sit down with Lisa Bodell. Lisa is the CEO of FutureThink, an award-winning learning company that is transforming the way teams work in organizations. She helps leaders guide teams to build skills that are radically simple and immediately impactful. Lisa defines herself as a "futurist," and is an expert on the topic of innovation. She's been named one of the Top 50 speakers in the world by Thinkers 50, and is the best-selling author of Kill the Company and Why Simple Wins. Lisa explains what it means to be a futurist, and how she brings a compelling message of simplification and innovation to over 100,000 people each year. Lisa also discusses manufacturing strategic luck, and ways to teach others to recognize potential and capitalize on opportunity. It's not ESP - it's science! Teaching these powerful skills is no small task. It may take work before mastery becomes instinctive, but Lisa's innovative process breaks the challenge into many small steps. Through studying these steps and integrating them one by one, a leader can change behavior, overcome difficulties, and move toward greater success. Don't waste your time looking into a crystal ball! Learn how to be a futurist, and predict tomorrow's opportunities - today! Three Key Takeaways: Thought Leaders need foresight as well as insight. Learn how to see the potential in opportunities, and act. Thought Leaders often suffer "the curse of the expert." Breaking down complex knowledge into simple steps can help others master difficult skills. If you are seeking to change behavior with Thought Leadership, simplify the changes you want to see, create small challenges that teach fundamental skills, and build on those skills to achieve high-level success.
