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
Mar 18, 2021 • 37min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | 300
Over the past three years, Peter and Bill have interviewed hundreds of guests learning their stories, sharing advice, and expanding each other's understandings of the various facets of the thought leadership market. Today we celebrate our landmark 300th episode by looking back at a few of the many great guests that we've had the pleasure of interviewing. We start with Scott Miller, Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership at Franklin Covey, the host of On Leadership with Scott Miller and co-author of Everyone Deserves a Great Manager. Scott explains how he helps clients get up to speed on mixed platforms, why you need to have one established before publishers will seriously look at you and the art and science of speaking. Next from the best-selling franchise Chicken Soup for the Soul and author of other best sellers such as The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, and Dare to Win we sit down with Mark Victor Hansen. Mark shares how he has harnessed the power of licensing for books and beyond. Up next is the "Dean of Innovation" Jeff DeGraff, Jeff is the founder of the Innovatrium, a professor and bestselling author of The Creative Mindset. We discuss forging your own path as a thought leader and how creativity and innovation come from positive deviance. Finally, Peter talks with one of the Top 50 Thinkers in the world Dorie Clark. She is the author of Entrepreneurial You and Reinventing You as well as a business professor at Duke and Columbia University. Dorie shares how she has transformed her standard offerings to the digital world during COVID-19 and how she continues to deliver value in this new medium. Next, we shift gears to our Organizational Thought Leadership series where Bill interviews Melanie Huet, the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding. Melanie shares how she helped transform a hundred-year-old company by understanding the culture, building trust, and helping others realize their role in the change. We wrap up this great compilation episode with Mike Kleinemaß, Digital Marketing & Communications Expert at ThyssenKrupp, a company that deals with engineering and construction of plant technology. Mike explains why building and maintaining a relationship on Linkedin means having two-way conversations that help others solve their problems and provide value. We want to thank all of our guests and especially our listeners for being part of our podcast journey. We hope you'll continue to listen, share, and learn for years to come.
Mar 11, 2021 • 28min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Susan Scott | 299
Today's guest is Susan Scott, the founder of Fierce, a TedX speaker, author of best-selling books Fierce Conversations and Fierce Leadership. Most people understand the importance of having good conversations but most are unaware of how lousy they actually are at having them. Susan explains how her system to have fierce conversations facilitates increased productivity, problem solving, and builds relationships and trust. Susan shares how she codified her content to make it teachable with consistent outcomes regardless of if it is taught by an internal or external facilitator. During the last year of the pandemic Susan has had unprecedented digital innovation! She shares how her team has developed a client facing app, realistic 3d simulations that can be customized to specific scenarios, and soon a digital version of the training that will not require a facilitator. If you struggle to have real conversations, productive meetings, and helpful feedback this episode might be the eye opener you need. Three Key Takeaways: · Thought Leaders need to ensure their conversations are impactful. The topic, the manner it is discussed, and who is invited to the conversation can all affect the outcome for better or worse. · When creating thought leadership consider that organizations might want you to train their trainers and not have you send in a facilitator. · Being able to scale your thought leadership to a digital platform is a must.
Mar 7, 2021 • 31min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Jonathan Raveh | 298
Today's guest is Jonathan Raveh, the head of Thought Leadership at AppsFlyer a company with a mission to help marketers succeed by being committed to accurate data, unmatched privacy and security, open tech-stack innovation, and an unbiased, customer-obsessed approach. Jonathan shares how he spends his days work with 80+ people going over multiple documents helping them write, edit, and develop their thought leadership content. Jonathan walks with them from the first step of coming up with the idea, through helping them establish their voice and values, getting the post onto Linkedin, and even tracking the performance of it after it goes live. Often thought leadership comes from the top down but Jonathan explains why he feels that employees at all levels can have a valuable impact on both the company and the brand. We discuss the top three things that keep people from becoming involved in thought leadership development and why those are excuses that can be overcome. We wrap up the conversation with some advice for up-and-coming thought leaders who might get tapped to develop or lead a team in their own organization. If you want to develop successful content and broaden the scope of the team creating it this episode is full of insightful information you'll not want to miss. Three Key Takeaways: · The difference between thought leadership and content marketing is not mentioning the company. · Every day you have conversations that could be used for thought leadership content. When discussing problems with others remember to think that others are probably having the same issue. · Posting your thought leadership to a platform isn't enough to develop a community. You have to be engaged on both your posts and the posts of others.
Mar 4, 2021 • 21min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Dan Lier | 297
Today's guest is Dan Lier a best-selling author of The 10 Minute Coach and Is Your Child Wired for Success, sales and leadership expert, and internationally recognized motivational speaker with the experience of presenting over 3,500 customized talks to companies around the globe. Selling your service as a speaker means serving two masters. Dan explains why you need to satisfy both the event planner that hired you and the attendees of the event. We discuss the competitive market, the things you need to provide to stand out, and why having video content is of the utmost importance. Over the last year, speakers have had to make incredible changes to the way they sell, attend, and deliver keynotes. Peter and Dan discuss how pricing has changed, the skills you need for success on camera, and what you can do to add value to your virtual speaking. Three Key Takeaways: Thought leaders must be aware of the needs of both the buyer and attendee of keynote speeches in order to truly be successful. Delivering thought leadership digitally means having to be charismatic in a box, and that takes practice. You can add value to virtual speaking engagements by adding on additional training of your thought leadership in workshops after the event.
Feb 28, 2021 • 29min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Lori Zetlin (Rosmarin) & Eric Zetlin | 296
Today's guests are from S3 - Strategic Speaker Services: Lori Zetlin (Rosmarin), the Founder, and Managing Principal, and Eric Zetlin Managing Director. S3 builds world-class executive visibility programs for global brands and dynamic startups - delivering the right speaking opportunities and the most desirable audiences to our clients. Eric and Lori explain the concept of Earned Speaking and how executives can go about gaining speaking engagements at conferences without having to pay to be a sponsor. They shed some light on what those earned speaking opportunities look like, the matchmaking process they through to line their clients up with the right conference. For the last year, speakers have had their careers turned upside down by COVID-19, Lori and Eric share their experience taking things virtually, why many conferences are getting larger turn outs virtually than they ever did in person and the benefits of not having to travel beyond just the time savings. If you are a speaker looking to increase your visibility and stay thriving in this virtual setting this episode is tailor-made for you! Three Key Takeaways: · Becoming an earned speaker as a thought leader means landing an engagement based on the content of your message and not the size of your wallet. · It can be best to pass on speaking at some conferences. You want to ensure your thought leadership is delivered to the right audience and not simply the widest one. · Virtual conferences are allowing thought leaders to attend conventions nationally and globally that would have been difficult to attend in the past due to time and travel.
Feb 21, 2021 • 30min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Becca Bycott | 295
Today's guest Becca Bycott, the Director of Thought Leadership and Engagement at FiscalNote, a technology and media company that provides information services and software that connects the world to their governments. Becca started her role at FiscalNote during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic working remotely and developing programs that would be offered virtually. Those programs are tailored to give executives an exclusive and interesting experience driving by thought leadership that allows them to interact with others across various roles and industries to identify what issues they are facing and solve problems. We discuss the challenges of creating virtual communities that have the same meaning and sense of togetherness that face-to-face meetings do. Becca shares she gets participants to go beyond attending a meeting to making them active participants in a personal way that will build solid relationships for years to come. This conversation tackles common issues like Zoom fatigue and how to move your social media away from being a one-way street of information into meaningful conversations. Plus Becca shares some great advice for anyone looking to develop thought leadership for their company or organization. Three Key Takeaways: Thought leadership aimed at executives needs to help them put the current news into a larger context of how they can be more proactive in their leadership. Building virtual communities for thought leadership needs to create a sense of belonging for people to share the ideas and problems that mean the most to them. Using social media to spread thought leadership is great but you need to be engaged in conversations and not just talking at your audience.
Feb 18, 2021 • 22min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Francis Cholle | 294
Today's guest is Francis Cholle, Founder and CEO of The Human Company, which designs, teaches, and implements unique ways to innovate and outperform competitors and achieve accelerated growth. Additionally, he is the Founder and CEO of the SQUIRCLE Academy and author of SQUIRCLE which is teaching a revolutionary method to make better, deeper, and more important decisions. Francis shares how he is helping clients bring their instincts into business to change the way we look at and solve problems. His unique system of gamification that mirrors business allows people to relax and stop overthinking, thus giving better access to the instinctual part of our brain. Having started his career in his 20s in publishing Francis shares his unique view of being an author having experience on both sides of the table. If you want to dig deeper into SQUIRCLE you can discover your SQUIRCLE score by taking this self-assessment. Just text SQUIRCLE to 484848 Three Key Takeaways: · Sometimes to solve unique problems your thought leadership will have to abandon the traditional and rely on your gut instincts. · The gamification of your thought leadership can be a new way for clients to relax and learn your content in memorable ways. · Thought Leadership needs to include concrete data but how you interpret it is what can make all the difference.
Feb 11, 2021 • 20min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | John Warrillow | 293
Today's guest is John Warrillow, the Founder of the Value Builder System and Best-selling author of Built to Sell and The Automatic Customer. John explains how the Value Builder system was inspired by the IP in his book Built to Sell and the errors they made trying to take the software directly to the consumer and why going for a niche audience was a better choice. We explore how a blend of traditional coaching and software tools can be merged together for powerful results and how John is supporting and training his coaches to ensure they are comfortable with both the product and working in this blended world where we cannot always be face-to-face. If you are planning to use technology to aid in delivering your coaching this episode might just help save you time and money by avoiding costly mistakes. Three Key Takeaways: · Taking thought leadership directly to the consumer can be expensive. · Thought leaders need to be able to break their content down into the smallest steps or work with an outside partner who can aid them in breaking it down. · When creating thought leader content to be delivered by others never underestimate the importance of training your advisors.
Feb 7, 2021 • 39min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Helio Fred Garcia | 292
Today's guest is Helio Fred Gracia, the CEO of Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive, teacher of crisis communications and crisis management at the Stern School of Business and ethics at Columbia. In addition, he is the author of Reputation Management and Words on Fire. We start our conversation by discussing how trust is built, lost, and restored. Then how patterns that arise in these actions can be studied to help give us a predictive power to help anticipate how the outcome can change when we intervene in a minor or major way. Helio discusses his work in crisis management and why we need to prepare for a disaster before it happens to ensure a proper response. We wrap up with a deeply philosophical discussion on the works of Aristotle and how his three essentials elements for a speaker to influence an audience remain true more than a thousand years later. Learn what Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are, and why they are the cornerstone and the origin of the name of his company. Three Key Takeaways: · Thought Leaders can learn from studying the patterns that cause us to gain or lose trust, so we can make adjustments and avoid negative outcomes in the future. · The works of thought leaders from more than a thousand years ago are still relevant today. · Thought Leaders need to make plans to deal with disaster before they strike to avoid reacting with an emotional response instead of a well thought out one.
Feb 4, 2021 • 19min
Leveraging Thought Leadership | Rod Robertson | 291
Today's guest is Rod Robertson, Managing Partner of Briggs Capital, guest speaker at forums ranging from the Harvard Business School and the Babson MBA program, and author of two books The Human Vector and Winning at Entrepreneurship. We start the conversation with Rod discussing how he uses thought leadership and authorship to drive business. Why having a published book can be important for clarifying your thoughts. We continue our discussion on authoring and publishing by talking about how a ghostwriter can help you put your thoughts to paper in a more timely fashion than a first-time author. Rod explains why the table of contents of a book is not only a forcing mechanism to give your book structure but as a marketing tool to draw in potential readers. In addition, Rod shares how he used an agency for his second book and why there were more capable of driving the book to the market for him. Our conversation concludes with Rod giving some great advice to the potential first-time author that might be listening. Three Key Takeaways: · Having a book is a great way to solidify your thought leadership and drive business. · Working with a ghostwriter can allow a thought leader to take their book to market much faster than writing it alone. · Books on thought leadership need to have a strong table of contents at least 30% of the chapters speaking to the potential reader.
