Brett Bruen in PR Week: Putting More Thought into Thought Leadership
It’s amazing what passes for thought leadership these days. A spot on a sparsely attended panel. A webinar that nobody watches. A blog that no one bothers to read. If you are reaching so few people and having a negligible impact, can it really be called thought leadership?
Most of the time it’s purely a vanity exercise. Executives want to see themselves on stage, on screen and online. Yet, such small, superficial engagements actually can increase the reputational risks they face. So, I think it’s about time to rethink what smart thought leadership looks like.
Frequently, these exercises only serve to highlight that there are not many people following your company’s “lead” on an issue. If few people show up or engage with your content, it can hardly be portrayed as influencing anything.