What is thought leadership, anyway?
On Thursday January 21, I’ll be holding a class on ‘Everyday Thought Leadership for Entrepreneurs‘…
It’s no-cost, and I’ll be using 3 example businesses to demonstrate the concepts.
The words ‘thought leadership’ may sound on the fancy side, but all they really mean is:
- thinking for yourself
- creating value in a fresh way for those around you
- daring to be even just 10% different
In business, it also means acting on those fresh ideas and creating a business structure that delivers value to your customers. By the way, if you’ve gotten hold of a truly ground-breaking idea that changes the game – and isn’t TOO ahead of its time – your business will more than ‘keep food on the table.’ This is where it gets really fun and rewarding.
And, it’s where the big success stories are going to come, in 2010. Because years ago, when the internet was a baby, it was easy for every ezine, product, or offering to be fascinating and cool. Heck, when TV was new, all the programs seemed worth watching too, right? Well, the Wild West of the Internet is definitely gone, and quality is now rising to the top.
You get to choose what kind of TV program you and your business will be. So, what will it be?
To learn more about everyday thought leadership for entrepreneurs…
Andrea, Great call today … and love every time my focus on content is validated. You’ve motivated me to accelerate bringing alive my new concepts although I’m still challenged by products (will work on the overlapping circles) in the middle of the funnel.
On Twitter I said thanks for modeling how we can use the Twitwall with our tribes, and now I want to add another idea. You emphasized ACTIONS in your talk, and that’s what I’d like to add to all my articles going forward. My thought is I’m not just teaching people more about their home (home owners) or marketing (home professionals) … I want to inspire them into taking action to reinforce what I’ve taught them.
Thanks
Hi Andrea, you’re spot on but in particular when you mention ‘delivering value to your customers’. For me this is the key to great thought leadership – finding a space no-one else owns in your sector/industry and delivering something of value to your customers and prospects beyond merely selling them a product or a service.
In doing so you need to show that you truly understand their world, their needs, their desire for knowledge and offer your insights freely. Look around and show me a thought leader who doesn’t have an abundance mentality. They give this stuff away for free because they know it positions them as the expert in that field and it comes back in spades.
Cheers
Craig