Thought leader
{{short description|Entity recognized as an intellectual authority}}
{{otheruses}}
A thought leader has been described as an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field.{{cite web|last1=Prince|first1=Russ Alan|last2=Rogers|first2=Bruce|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/russprince/2012/03/16/what-is-a-thought-leader/|title=What Is A Thought Leader?|website=Forbes|date=March 16, 2012|access-date=July 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807162442/https://www.forbes.com/sites/russprince/2012/03/16/what-is-a-thought-leader/|archive-date=August 7, 2020|url-access=limited}}
A thought leader is a person who specializes in a given area and whom others in that industry turn to for guidance. As the term implies, a thought leader leads others in the thinking around a given topic.{{cite web|last=Biderman-Gross|first=Fran |title=Council Post: What It Really Means (And Takes) To Become A Thought Leader|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/04/19/what-it-really-means-and-takes-to-become-a-thought-leader/|access-date=July 28, 2024|website=Forbes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419111604/https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/04/19/what-it-really-means-and-takes-to-become-a-thought-leader/|archive-date=April 19, 2023|url-access=limited}}
Meanings
=Go-to expert=
From the perspective of a thought leader as the 'go-to expert', being a thought leader means to consistently answer the biggest questions on the minds of the target audience on a particular topic. Thought leaders are commonly asked to speak at public events, conferences, or webinars to share their insight with a relevant audience. In a 1990 Wall Street Journal Marketing section article, Patrick Reilly used the term "thought leader publications" to refer to such magazines as Harper's.{{cite news|last=Reilly|first=Patrick|url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/thought-magazines-weather-ad-storms/docview/398185791/|url-access=registration|title='Thought' Magazines Weather Ad Storms|date=November 9, 1990|publisher=Wall Street Journal|id={{ProQuest|398185791}}|via=ProQuest}}
In the previous decade, the term was revived and re-engineered by marketers.{{cn|date=January 2022}}
Criticism of the phrase and concept
The phrase "thought leader" is identified by some writers as an annoying example of business jargon.{{cite web | title=Attention Thought Leaders and Evangelists: Your Business Jargon Is Annoying | website=NFIB | date=2015-12-03 | url=https://www.nfib.com/content/resources/start-a-business/attention-thought-leaders-and-evangelists-your-business-jargon-is-annoying-71825/ | ref={{sfnref | NFIB | 2015}} | access-date=2022-03-30|publisher=National Federation of Independent Business}} Kevin Money and Nuno Da Camara of the John Madejski Centre for Reputation at the University of Reading's Henley Management College write that the nebulous nature of the phrase (the unclear nature of "what is and what is not thought leadership") contributes to its reputation among cynics as "meaningless management speak."Kevin Money & Nuno Da Camara, Comment: Is thought leadership a cutting edge strategy or meaningless management speak? Financial Times (December 2, 2007). Some writers, such as Harvard Business Review contributor Dorie Clark, have defended the phrase while agreeing "that it is very icky when people call themselves thought leaders because that sounds a little bit egomaniacal."Why the Term "Thought Leader" Isn't Gross, Harvard Business Review Ideacast (Dorie Clark interview by Sarah Green Carmichael) (October 1, 2015). New York Times columnist David Brooks mocked the lifecycle of the role in a satirical column entitled "The Thought Leader," published in December 2013.David Brooks, "The Thought Leader", The New York Times, December 17, 2013.
A parody on the term was published in 2016 by Pat Kelly of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's comedy radio program This Is That. In the process of the discussion, imitating TED talks, Kelly elicits responses from the audience that exemplify the effect he describes as the result of applying well-known marketing techniques to achieve the impression of being an erudite speaker.{{Cite web|title=This deconstruction of all TED Talks is itself the ideal TED Talk|url=https://www.avclub.com/this-deconstruction-of-all-ted-talks-is-itself-the-idea-1798248208|access-date=2022-01-12|website=The A.V. Club|date=10 June 2016 |language=en-us}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|last=Brosseau|first=Denise|date=February 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xcfAgAAQBAJ|title=Ready to Be a Thought Leader?|publisher=Wiley/Jossey-Bass|isbn=978-1-118-64761-5}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Frick|first1=Karin|last2=Guertler|first2=Detlef|last3=Gloor|first3=Peter A.|url=https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.1160|title=Coolhunting for the World's Thought Leaders|journal=COINs13 Conference|date=August 6, 2013}}
- {{cite news|last=Acharya|first=Nupur|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303936704576397170403905388?mod=googlewsj|title=Infosys, Tata Brands Beat Google and Apple|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=January 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006130330/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303936704576397170403905388?mod=googlewsj|archive-date=October 6, 2019|url-access=subscription}}
- {{cite web|last=Myslewski|first=Rik|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/25/thought_leadership/|title=Apple tops Google as UK 'Thought Leader'|date=November 25, 2009|website=The Register}}