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.

7 Steps to Promote Innovation within Your Company

In today’s competitive environment, companies must cater to the changing needs and wants of the consumer. New, innovative ideas are vital to the growth and success of your business. Maintaining an inspired creative team requires dedication, education, and communication. Here are seven simple steps to foster the growth of innovation in your business:

1. Encourage Ideas
2. Designate Creative Time
3. Have a Submission System
4. Keep Track of Current Trends
5. Combine Need and Technology
6. Implement and Incentive Program
7. Communicate

Encourage ideas
Ideas are the foundation of creative innovation! Encourage creativity and be receptive to all ideas- even if they aren't that great. Employees should never feel embarrassed or afraid to submit their thoughts or creative suggestions. It only takes one idea, good or bad, to be the starting point of something big.

Designate creative time
While it's certainly not cost effective to let employees sit around all day staring into space while they dream up the next great invention, it IS a good idea to set aside some time to let the creative juices flow. Whether it's once a week or once a month, designating a certain amount of time for employees to brainstorm and share ideas is a great way to promote creative thinking.

Have a submission system
Good ideas will never grow into something tangible if there isn't a process to keep track of them, so adopt a system for employees to use in order to submit their ideas. This system will keep submissions from getting lost in the shuffle, and will make sure that they reach the appropriate department that can make the necessary steps to bring the idea to fruition. 

Keep track of current trends
Sometimes good ideas are not altogether new- they are simply inspired by a product or practice that already exists. Keep track of what other businesses in your industry are doing; know what works; know what has already been tried, whether or not it was successful, and why.

Combine need and technology
New and improved technology is being produced at an increasingly rapid rate. However, if it were to no one's benefit, what would be the point? Make sure your team knows where innovation is needed most within your industry, and keep them up to date on current technological trends. This information can then be used to your company's benefit, as your team can effectively combine all this new, advanced technology with the existing needs of your target audience. Be sure to look for technology that can drastically improve efficiency. In times of economic turbulence, improving productivity is the key. 

Implement an incentive program
Use an incentive program (which does not necessarily have to include monetary compensation) to motivate your creative team. Recognizing staff members for innovative thinking can go a long way, and rewards based upon various levels of achievement are always a great way to encourage hard work and promote employee loyalty.

Communicate
Communication is extremely important. Listen to your consumer and be aware of their current needs and wants. Make sure that the lines of communication are open between staff members, C-level leaders, and vendors. When employees are appreciated and acknowledged for bringing valuable innovation and profit to your company, they will be motivated to continue on the path of creative thinking.

If you’re on LinkedIn, you can watch this SlideShare show on “Making the Competition Irrelevant” - http://tinyurl.com/yfxd4xh.

Written by Ruth Netanel of Adgination.

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.