"thought leadership" or "thought capital"

As regular readers of this blog will know, one of my particular areas of interest is the development of professionals' reputations and how thought leadership can help as a tool in this process.

In an earlier post ("a compelling piece of thought leadership"), I proposed that a lot of 'thought leadership' that is published probably does not deserve that soubriquet as its content neither challenges current thinking nor does it offer new solutions to existing issues.

This prompted one reader to get in touch to ask, "if it's not thought leadership, is it worth producing at all? After all, if I'm producing what my competitors are thinking, how does that show my clients that I am the better professional to engage?"

There is a simple answer to this question, and that answer is yes, your "thought capital" is worth producing. Let me explain...

Developing thought leading materials can be an expensive process, not only in terms of the potential cash costs of researching and gathering data or launching the end product, but also in terms of the time and intellectual capital that you need to invest. The end result can be a remarkable study that shows you to be at the cutting-edge of thinking in a particular field and a professional whom it is worth engaging if you are looking for the best and (often, as a result) the most expensive solution to an issue.

But before embarking on researching and publishing your thought leadership, consider this: how deep an insight do your (potential) clients really need about this particular topic? Do they need to see you as the guru in this particular field or are they just looking the reassurance that you understand this issue and all its implications and that you can 'sort it out' for them?

If it is the latter, then the thought capital that you produce may not need to break new ground or find new solutions. Instead, it may only need to be an explanatory piece that guides your audience through the issue and its pitfalls, showing how you have thought it through from their perspective and, possibly, resolved it for other, similar organisations. Or it may be a measured opinion piece examining how a market has moved as a result of new legislation, new competition, new technologies or new regulation. And while you may consider that your opinions do not alter dramatically from those of your competitors, consider this: you, not they, have taken the time to provide your audience with this thinking and this in turn may have given them sufficient reassurance that you have the expertise and professionalism to provide them with the service that they need.

So while thought leadership is the holy grail for those seeking guru status, do not discount thought capital, as it forms the foundation stones in building your reputation and so developing your business.

the Heresiarch
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