Why should you be a ‘thought leader’ in your industry?

As Augment Marketing explores thought leadership strategies, we wanted to deliver ideas that could be used within departments and organizations immediately. We found the following points at Go-To-Marketing Strategies Web site:

According to Go-to-Marketing Strategies author Steven Van Yoder -

• Thought leadership centers on sharing your knowledge and giving your expertise generously and frequently in a  variety of formats.
• Thought leaders position themselves as centers of influence who are always "present" within their target markets. Seek opportunities to be seen, read, and heard on a regular basis by the people who matter most to your  company.

Thought leadership is creating a great deal of buzz. In fact, we're seeing a movement among leaders in respective fields that explore what makes a thought leader in an organization? We discovered some important points:

1. Be accessible and freely share best practices to those in your department or field - in today's competitive economy where every job is on the line, individuals may be afraid to collaborate or offer insight that could help another person in their organization for fear of losing value if they do. The total opposite is true. You can ensure your 'thought leadership status' by authoring documents and getting your ideas in front of people. By holding back, you cannot be successful - no one even knows you exist.
2. Establish yourself as an expert - Anyone who feels shy, timid or afraid to share ideas need not apply. To establish yourself as a thought leader you must be front and center. If you aren't easy with putting yourself out front, start by establishing social media and small speaking engagements within your organization. Once you find your groove, you'll feel more comfortable presenting your ideas to larger audiences. There's no easy way to becoming a thought leader, either way you slice it... it takes time.
3. Deliver value to your organization - Always being aware that the information you bring to an organization should offer some kind of value i.e. increased productivity, better customer relations, reduced inventory, enhanced ROI. The goal is to define the value when presenting your ideas to upper management to be seen as a thought leader. Most high-level executives want the bottom-line right up front.
4. Promote innovation and align with your company's vision - Thought leaders are always aware of innovative new technologies and ideas that can align with the company's vision. This may be in the form of analyzing or introducing new software, new business models or new products. Again, the idea is to lead your peers and fuel innovation and growth that contributes to a sustainable future for the company.

Thought leadership is an increasingly vital driver of business success.The term was first coined in 1994, by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Strategy & Business. The term was used to designate interview subjects for that magazine who had contributed new thoughts to business. There isn't a better time than now to become a thought leader and deliver valuable insight in helping your company evolve.

Trisha Ahlman is the CEO of Augment Marketing Group and has nearly 20 years experience in marketing for corporations and small businesses. She sits on several creative and strategic development boards nationwide. "Inspired by growth" from its inception, Augment's mission is to inspire growth in all businesses large or small when developing strong brands. We believe in inspiring, learning and growing please contact for more information: trisha@augmentgroup.com.