The Ben Franklin effect—or why interviews are a great way to build meaningful connections
Seasoned marketers will probably already know that interviews or discussions are a great marketing tool. [...]
So you want to publish a book: Working with an agent
Many of our clients and spearheads are interested in publishing a book—and why not? A [...]
So you want to publish a book: Understanding self-publishing
There are over 200,000 new books published in the UK alone every year—that’s roughly 500 [...]
So you want to publish a book: Assessing your ideas
Some of our subject-matter expert clients and spearheads have already published books showcasing their expertise. [...]
The art and science of analyst relations – an intro for marketers
Industry analysts are influential. They sway buying decisions, and affect investment decisions. This means [...]
Analyst relations insights for subject matter experts
We are often asked for help by subject matter experts who are being expected to [...]
Analysts on Analyst Relations is essential reading for scale-up CMOs
Industry analysts can make or break tech companies. They are huge influencers of buying decisions, [...]
What title should subject matter experts use?
What’s in a name? Shakespeare’s Juliet mused that a rose would still smell as sweet [...]
The Confidence Paradox
by Alison Jean Lester When my grandmother was suffering with dementia, her go-to question was, [...]
Thought leadership and marketing lessons from advent calendars
You know that advent calendars are big when most news media websites are running ‘Best [...]
Learning in an era of lifelong learning, agile and digital transformation
If there is one constant in our current world, it is the speed of change. [...]
Skills, talent and shortages: what the data from Europe can tell us about women’s role in closing the IT skills gap
There is a huge skills shortage in IT. Tech companies and others are scrabbling to [...]
Using HeyGen to create explainer videos
Is it possible to create great explainer videos without any editing experience or recording equipment? [...]
Revisiting the scene of the crime: Alison Jean Lester’s experience of self-publishing and promotion
Alison Jean Lester’s most recent book, Return to the Scene of the Climb, is her [...]
Lessons from a Himalayan Journal, and Others
By Alison Jean Lester When my late father, James T. Lester, joined the first American [...]
Timing is everything – Meet Chris Newson
Guest post by Alison Jean Lester There’s a joke about comedy that goes like [...]
Personal vs. intimate: achieving authenticity without baring your soul
“Let me tell you about something that happened to me the other day…” How much [...]
Using generative AI to support thought leadership
ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) have now been around for a little while. [...]
Approaching reputation management when working with partners
Corporate reputations take time to build up, but can be lost very fast in a [...]
Thought leadership in the sales enablement mix
Sales enablement is an often-overlooked part of the sales and marketing spectrum. However, it is [...]
Getting the most out of staging a LinkedIn Live event
So you want to stage a LinkedIn Live event but you’re not sure where to [...]
How vocal improv promotes collaboration
Vocal improv, short for vocal improvisation, is the act of creating music or soundscapes spontaneously, [...]
Reputation management in the partnering landscape
We know that there are many factors that can affect corporate reputation. We also know [...]
Navigating proximity bias in thought leadership
Proximity bias is the tendency to favour people, objects or ideas that are closest to [...]
Why thought leaders need to understand (and avoid) proximity bias
As we start to move more confidently through the world of remote and hybrid working, [...]
Applying the say/do ratio in thought leadership
The say/do ratio is a term used to describe the extent to which someone’s actions [...]
Why thought leaders may need to consider ‘nunchi’
In an increasingly global world, far more of us now have to communicate and build [...]
How has the thought leadership skills portfolio evolved?
Your domain expertise continues to grow as you work with clients to solve problems. Getting [...]
How has the marketing skills portfolio evolved?
What are the most crucial skills for marketers to develop? There are many possible answers [...]
Influencers in the reputation landscape
Influencers are people who influence the decisions of others. It sounds simple—but in marketing, the [...]
The value of customer success in reputation build
Personal reputation is everything that is known about you: the value you have created, what [...]
Anxiety and thought leadership – ‘feeling the fear and do it anyway’
We are often asked by subject matter experts about anxiety, and how they can eliminate [...]
Carving out dedicated time and space for creativity in hybrid work
Creativity in hybrid workplaces requires trust. Trust is important for supporting team members to contribute ideas. [...]
Jobs to be done – sharing experience versus thought leadership
If you are a BBC fan, you have almost certainly come across the Great British [...]
How the Marketing Society is driving excellence
The UK-based Marketing Society was founded in 1959, and has grown since then to become [...]
Moving from anxiety to action: how the Earthshot prize is mobilising clean tech innovators
Around three-quarters of people in the UK and two-thirds of Americans consistently say that they [...]
‘Tis the season to….make resolutions?
At this time of year, as holidays loom closer, it is traditional to consider your [...]
Studying corporate reputation: an invitation
Corporate reputation has been important for a long time. The need to protect his company’s [...]
Further reflections on nurturing trust
A while back, we looked at Andrea Howe’s work on how to rebuild customer relationships [...]
Marius Hauken’s amazing technicolour AI tool set
Do you remember the joy of receiving a new set of coloured pencils as a [...]
Getting creative: is LinkedIn Creator mode right for you?
If you are looking for tools that could help you to grow your thought leadership [...]
Flexibility on a global scale: how medium-sized global companies are embracing hybrid working
Since the pandemic, attitudes to flexible and hybrid working have changed among both employers and [...]
Finding the balance: corporate vs. personal reputation
What is the difference between corporate and individual reputation? Or perhaps a more appropriate question [...]
Celebrating the value shared by Richard van der Blom
A podcast in March 2021 described Richard van der Blom as the Bob Dylan of [...]
When trust is key: supporting creativity in hybrid workplaces
More and more companies are now moving towards hybrid workplaces. Under this model, some people [...]
Personality types, job compatibilities and lessons from the horticultural world
Overheard: a conversation between two gardeners working in a local community. One weeds the flower [...]
The power of a personal editorial calendar—and how to get started
Inertia is a powerful thing. It is what prevents us from getting started on anything. [...]
Crafting an effective LinkedIn headline
What is the first thing that anyone looks at on your LinkedIn account (apart from [...]
Assessing the value of B Corp certification
In May 2022, a non-profit network called B Lab announced that there were now 5,000 [...]
Lessons for thought leaders from from power tools users
Power tools take time to master and are usually handled by specialists. In each household, [...]
More lessons from the garden: seeding, feeding and weeding your network
At this time of year, the thoughts of many gardeners—especially those who grow vegetables—turn to [...]
Mind the gap: five lessons from reputational disasters from around the world
If you search for ‘reputational disaster’, you will find plenty of stories. Some companies have [...]
Flexing the hybrid workplace model: how Sodexo has continued to deliver frontline services during the pandemic
We have heard a lot about how the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in companies moving to [...]
The flexibility to choose: how Novo Nordisk is approaching hybrid working
We have heard a lot about how different companies are embracing the opportunities and challenges [...]
How the ‘call for papers’ ritual performs like Swiss Army knives for event management
We have probably all seen Swiss Army knives: multi-purpose pocketknives with fold-out blades, scissors, nail [...]
Marie Kondo’s six rules for content managers
Few of us can be entirely unaware of Marie Kondo, and her KonMari method of [...]
Will hybrid workplace success depend on growth mindset-oriented cultures?
You may already have heard of mindset, and the work of Professor Carol Dweck, at [...]
Thought leadership for retention marketing
It is generally accepted that it costs around five times more to attract a new [...]
How Linkedin groups help subject matter experts
LinkedIn groups are online communities where professionals can connect with each other, share ideas, and [...]
Six essays from Karen Pierce that are relevant for thought leaders
Karen Pierce is an experienced executive coach based in Arizona, US. Her company’s focus is [...]
Jobs to be done: influencers versus thought leaders
Should your marketing plan involve influencers, thought leaders or both—or are they actually one and [...]
Five takeaways from Andrea Howe’s trust work
Trust is the foundation of almost every good relationship. Whether business or personal, a solid, [...]
Redefining work and recreating value: addressing post-pandemic challenges
It has become something of a cliché to say that the way that we [...]
NEOM’s ambition to be a cognitive city
Joseph Bradley describes himself as an applied futurist, author and cognitive city developer—not necessarily three [...]
In praise of UN Gapminder
Most of us have probably heard of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. They are [...]
Do your partnering efforts need the Channel Institute?
The technology partner landscape is changing fast, including the incoming wave of marketplaces. As a [...]
Measuring happiness—and why it matters
If you search ‘how to be happier’ on Google, you will be presented with well [...]
How subject matter experts could benefits from the jab, jab, jab, right hook technique
Social media is increasingly seen as the place to be, especially for businesses. Most people [...]
How Green Mountain is contributing to the world’s most sustainable data centre nation
Norway’s government has an ambitious target: to become the world’s most sustainable data centre nation.[1] [...]
The knowledge management paradox – wildflower meadow or designed landscape?
Wildflower meadows and verges were everywhere in 2021. Many councils are chosing to seed verges [...]
Are you getting the most out of LinkedIn recommendations ?
One of Linkedin’s most significant, and yet under-used features is the ability to receive and [...]
Taking cloud commerce to the next level: introducing interworks.cloud
interworks.cloud describes itself as a cloud brokerage platform. It is, effectively, an intermediary, helping traditional IT [...]
How Everflow supports partner marketing with laser-sharp focus on performance tracking
Everflow is a partner marketing platform with a difference. It has a focus on tracking [...]
Managing the challenges of hybrid workplaces
At the beginning of the pandemic, there were predictions that this was the end of [...]
May Day, but not as you know it
You may know of May 1st as International Workers’ Day or simply Workers’ Day. It [...]
Leadership lessons from gardening
Nurturing is an important part of leadership, including thought leadership. However, it often goes unsung. [...]
Six reasons to engage on Goodreads
Whether you are an avid or would-be avid reader or an author in search of [...]
Delivering energy efficiency: best practice for data centres
Between 2010 and 2018, the number of compute instances in the world increased by 550%. [...]
Sharpening your listening skills through improv: practice suggestions
We have previously said that improv could have a place in business, and particularly to [...]
Improving the effectiveness of data centres: the Data Centre Alliance
The Data Centre Alliance, or DCA is UK-based but operates across Europe. It is a [...]
Encouraging Europe’s data centre operators towards climate neutrality: the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA)
The European Data Centre Association (EUDCA) describes itself as representing the interests of commercial data [...]
Ten noteworthy attributes of self-reliant buyers
A recent study by Televerde suggests that at least 80% of customers’ decision-making happens before [...]
How we developed the Purple Dragons Cloud Computing Carbon Footprint Index
One of the biggest issues in driving or supporting improvement of any kind is how [...]
Comparing the market: the different faces of data centre sustainability
Sustainability is one of the biggest issues facing data centre operators. There are huge concerns [...]
Trust, trust and more trust: key takeaways from the roundtable on supercharging internal communications
It is interesting that few companies have yet embraced artificial intelligence (AI) for internal communications. [...]
Using the Promotability Index to work on your self-development
Most of us know that we need to do some work on our self-development. However, [...]
FT Longitude’s approach to thought leadership governance
FT Longitude is on a mission to ensure that its clients’ thought leadership is genuinely [...]
SidelineSwap: the online marketplace for sports gear
Sports gear is expensive, as any parents of aspiring athletes will tell you. It is, [...]
Small but perfectly formed -how Crossflow Energy is disrupting wind power use
Unless you are a devotee of small providers of renewable energy solutions, you may never [...]
Re-thinking how we account for climate change and sustainability
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting has grown in popularity in recent years. About 90% [...]
Emotional intelligence in marketing: why empathy is crucial for marketers
For the first time in most of our living memories, we – as a human [...]
Analytics in alternative medicine: the importance of data-driven acupuncture
Few people would dispute the importance of evidence-based medicine: that is, treating people in ways [...]
Does Envato live up to its claim “The leading online community for creatives”?
In August 2021, Hubspot announced it had partnered with Envato, the “world-leading online community for creative [...]
Unlocking your storytelling instincts: how improv can help
Improvisational theatre, or improv, is great entertainment, but does it really have a place in [...]
Energising internal communications with chatbots
We are probably all used to the idea of chatbots being beneficial for customer communications. [...]
Getting to grips with climate change: how Amazon’s Climate Pledge could accelerate change
Earlier this month Mateo Dugand, EMEA Regional Lead for Sustainability at Amazon Web Services (AWS), [...]
What is Web 3.0 and how will it impact your engagements?
Web 3.0 is the term used to describe the latest incarnation of the internet, following [...]
Understanding blockchain
Blockchain is the technology behind digital and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. However, what exactly is it [...]
Can distributors seize the Xaas opportunity?
Distributors play a vital role in keeping the lines between software publishers and hardware manufacturers and [...]
Making the web more accessible
It is estimated that about one billion people in the world have a visual or [...]