Author: Tim Prizeman
Publisher: Panoma Press
Reviewer: Charles Nixon, chairman at Cambridge Marketing Colleges
The thought leadership manual fits neatly into the current discussion about content marketing and curation. Today, we all blog and produce content which is aimed at improving our SEO and enhancing the position of authority that we hold within our sector. This is particularly important for the B2B sector, where the standard use of social media has limited impact, and evidence reinforcing rational discussion is essential. Therefore the positioning of organisations through their content is becoming increasingly important.
One of the important aspects raised by the book is that in order to be a thought leader there is a lot of thought required. The point of having ideas is sound, but in order to be recognised as being a leader there needs to be a lot of ideas, well publicised in order to gain the authority desired in its market. It is a crowded market and we are constantly being bombarded by new ideas from all directions, but only some have the quality to establish the originator as an innovator and leader.
The author, Tim Prizeman, provides an interesting list of what makes a successful thought leader. He rightly points out that it isn’t always someone with technical authority, as they are often hidebound by jargon. Rather, it is people who have a passion and want to express this for a particular purpose. In order to make the world a better place or their industry more effective, thought leaders are able to get their message out to a wide audience and so must be good at networking.
Not all people attempting to be a thought leader possess this skill set and this leads to an interesting discussion about whether or not you’re an expert, a ‘bluffer’ or a thought leader. For some companies being a technical expert is fine, but this doesn’t necessarily denote thought leadership.
The book is written in a very practical style and obviously comes from someone who has practised what he preaches many times. It is a good guide to the creation of a process for thought leadership, but that in itself doesn’t help you to create those earth-shattering ideas in the first place.
Star Rating: 4/5