Why Smaller is Better
Better things are happening in private communities than the big public social networks. I’m experiencing constructive dialogue, meaningful insights, deeper affinity, and higher resonance in places like invite-only Slack channels, mastermind or other learning groups on Mighty Networks etc., newsletters, and even Telegram or WhatsApp groups. What I like best: It becomes harder and harder […]
From Order-Takers to Strategic Partners
Marketers in complex industries like institutional finance have many inner demons to wrestle. Here’s what I mean. The conventional expectation is that marketers need to straddle the line between the client and the industry. They aspire to bring relevant trends, client insights, and industry knowledge to the table. But the reality is more nuanced than […]
Writing for the World You Want
Are you serious enough about thought leadership to take your topic seriously? Once upon a time, writing gurus used to say we should write for people at a 10th-grade reading level. Then it went down to 8th. Then 6th-grade reading became the threshold. Recently, I’ve seen people seriously proposing 5th and even 3rd-grade reading levels […]
Why Your ‘Why’ Matters
Founders, innovators, product managers: When you’re building something new, it’s easy to start ignoring the why. It’s even more likely that you forget to be vocal about why. Then you finally have something ready for investors or the market—but you feel like you’re starting at zero again. Your idea of what is new and better […]
Ensuring Your Startup’s Voice is Heard
Startup founders have to be careful not to use “build mode” to hide from “communicate mode.” Here’s what happens. Many founders, especially for complex B2B products, are engineers, not advocates. They pour their heart and soul into development, but shy away from the spotlight. But if you innovate in silence, you’re missing out. You need […]
Making the Case for Change in Financial Marketing
When your buyers are financial institutions, whatever you sell is probably something they already use to do something they already are doing. Much of the time, your “competition” isn’t your competitors. It’s inertia. You have to get buyers to ask, “When is good enough no longer good enough?” As a result, your marketing needs to […]
A Call for Compassion in Marketing
Marketing drifts so quickly into cruel and dehumanizing language. Pain points. Targets. Just try to explain how words like that reflect compassion or a belief in human dignity. For example, no, B2B buyers are not usually in pain. It’s a bit odd to fetishize or hope for pain. Even worse, your offering is not a […]
How Core Questions Lead to Clear Horizons
It’s funny how the four core questions startups need to get traction and grow are the same questions you have to answer in planning a thought leadership strategy. I’ve noticed that startups who can answer them with ease also transition with ease to planning and creating thought leadership. I’ve noticed that startups who can’t answer […]
Crafting Tomorrow: How AI Will Change the Stories We Tell
Imagine you want to see a version of Star Wars where the rebels suffer a definitive and final defeat. Imagine you want to watch Succession but with Shiv coming out on top. Imagine you want to read a version of a company’s marketing material that answers your specific questions and objections or that makes an […]
Claiming Your Space
At one level, you don’t own your thinking if you’re a thought leader within a company. The IP belongs to your employer. But you still build your reputation. You still have the freedom to carve out a space in which you care. The key to that self-sovereignty even within employment is establishing your ownership of […]