Thought leadership is a form of marketing

By Peter Golden

Principals of corporations and professional service organizations of all kinds can strengthen their visibility, reputation and influence by contributing to public discourse. This includes executives in virtually every area of government, business, industry and the professions.

A thoughtful, well-phrased blog, op-ed piece, Website letter or podium presentation can serve to introduce you to current and prospective users of your services to whom you might otherwise be forgotten or unknown. It can also help you create or influence policy within the domain in which you operate.

Conversely, there are all sorts of reasons to remain out of the public eye, especially when competitive issues or scarce human or capital resources require discretion and or a tight focus on the daily challenges of running your organization. In choosing this course of action, however, you risk being usurped by others who may not possess your resources, yet nevertheless benefit from increased visibility and currency.

Assuming you seek to grow your franchise, or are compelled to speak out by changes in circumstance that threaten your interests, you might well consider exploring ways to communicate and amplify your thinking.

Assuming there are good reasons to project an image of skill, understanding and even authority into the market you serve, it is important to do so with assurance and a firm perspective on: 1) what needs to be said; 2) to whom and; 3) by which means.

Addressing such issues takes thoughtful deliberation and a clear-eyed recognition of the goals you seek to achieve. Public forums are not for the faint of heart or those unclear as to purpose and intent.

Assuming your thoughtful consideration of such matters and a positive decision, do not hesitate to share your thinking with close colleagues, especially those whose knowledge and eloquence can contribute to the work at hand.

Larger organizations, especially those that are publicly held, often include marketing, communications and investor relations managers on their headquarters or regional staffs. But lack of such support should not stymie the executive seeking to create a public presence through written or spoken communications.

The Public Relations Society of America has chapters is most major American cities and similar regional associations often maintain member directories of individuals or smaller agencies with experience in writing and placing editorial content.

None of this, however, guarantees your words will carry authority or create sufficient impact to become memorable and even effective. Such qualities are rarely found, so much so that when present invariably make a positive impression or perhaps even exert influence.

On the other hand, thoughtful, well researched, eloquently written or spoken words are invariably observed, often remarked and more than occasionally acted upon. Thought leadership is a form of marketing, but it also contributes to a vision of the future and a means for others to act in alignment with one's own ideas.

In this way armies are set marching, fleets launched and ideas given currency. Whatever you wish to sell or communicate, you and your organization can only be fully exposed to the marketplace by sharing your unique value with those you would serve. Toward that end, some words of wisdom in the form of a question:

If talk is cheap, why aren't you doing more of it?

Copyright 2002, 2014 The Golden Group.
The Golden Group is a marketing, creative and Web services firm located in the Metrowest area of Greater Boston, Massachusetts.