Strategic Storyboarding

Thought Leadership At The Taco Stand

I've been reading a lot about Thought Leadership. And it got me thinking. It can happen anywhere and at anytime. I'm recognizing it more and more even in casual conversation. You see, a thought leader doesn't have to match what you might think. He or she just has to be out ahead of the curve…communicating to whoever will listen. Just yesterday while having a breakfast burrito at my local taco shop, I overheard a confident declaration on between two gentlemen. I believe that if more people listened we might to this thought leadership that perhaps the foreclosure rate would not be doubling before our eyes. A: "You aren't really considering taking out a bank loan to pay for your entire house! That's not a smart move…" B: "Well…how much do I need to take out in order to get a house?" (Remember this conversation is taking place in super expensive Marin County.) A: "Let's say you want to buy a house for $200,000…. B: "Hey, wait a minute. You must mean a cardboard shack, not a house." A: Yeah…well. OK. You want to buy a deluxe cardboard shack for $200,000. If you take out a bank loan for the full amount, you'll end up paying $300,000 or $400,000 over the life of the loan. That's stupid. Not a smart move." B: "What should I do?" A: "Well…put $100,000 down. Keep some change, like $100,000 of your own cash, just to live on. Then borrow the rest from the bank. But be sure to make an extra payment at least once a year…." The conversation went on like this as A gave a step-by-step financial planning discourse to B. Why did this stand out in my mind and put a big grin on my face? A was approximately 11 years old. Behind his thick, black-rimmed glasses was an attitude of intelligent certainty. In fact, he was 100% confident in his research and opinions. B was the same age, wearing a striped T-shirt and cut-offs. Both had ridden their bikes to grab a burrito. I left them deep in conversation. I am completely convinced that A is now and will always be a Thought Leader in any field he chooses. He is committed to doing the research, testing out his opinions, investing time and money and communicating his findings. I did overhear him say that he was removing his investments from a particular bank because the interest rate was insufficient to cover the service charges. Smart guy. I suspect he will be a leader in financial planning, mortgages and strategic investments. For the rest of us. But then, to be certain, I'd have to be a psychic thought leader. And I haven't perfected that. At least not yet. But while I'm working on my intuition, here's several tips for how you can declare yourself a thought leader in your field. Investigate common problems in your field. If you know what the problems are, you can be sure that people want to solve them. Then, you're not just solving interesting problems--you're solving problems that really matter to people. Of course that brings us to step 2. Know channels to reach people in your field. If your field has an association, a magazine, blogs, and websites that people rely on--you're in business. Now you know how to reach the people who will be interested in what you have to say. Read and participate in these channels. Become an active voice in the blogs. Provide comments as issues unfold. Stay at the cutting edge by seeing, hearing and reading what's on peoples' minds. Dialogue. Stay in conversation. Answer comments. Interact. People like to interact and when you do, you can find out what is really really important to people. Contribute generously. Give away information. Give away articles. Give away tips and techniques. Reports. White papers. You name it. Be opinionated. In the wash of endless information and technical data, an emotional opinion is a welcome relief. Tell people what you wish someone had told you! Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I like the concept of modeling. So if you want to model thought leadership, look to the person or people who stand out in your field. Perhaps there is no one. that's OK. More room for you. Perhaps there is someone. Then, see what they're doing. Do they have an active blog presence? Do they post one, two or more times a day? Or a week? Are they churning out books like hotcakes? Not everything that every thought leader does will work for you. Design your own strategy for building your leadership presence in your field. The single biggest thing to remember is to solve problems that people recognize they have and want to solve. Once you are clear on this…you can join my new friend at the taco shop. And hold court. 'Til then.