Thought Leadership
The past 30 years of the consulting industry indisputably show that professional services firms that attain thought leadership on a topic gain a significant marketing advantage. When a firm attains thought leadership—i.e., when it develops, codifies and markets powerful ideas and approaches to solving a particular business problem—it captures the attention of business executives who are open to new ideas on how to improve business performance. They will embrace ideas that they understand, that have “proof points” (in the form of companies that have successfully adopted them) and seem practical.
However, attaining thought leadership is not easy; if it were, every firm would be recognized widely for some area of expertise. Simply pouring a significant amount of money into marketing doesn’t mean a firm will achieve thought leadership. Thought leadership is only attained after systematic and careful investments in research, analysis and the clear and compelling communication about the nature and resolution of an important business problem—whether that problem is merging the information systems of two organizations, dealing with the ramifications of new government legislation, or creating new growth strategies.
To help firms develop intellectual capital and attain thought leadership on specific topics, The Bloom Group orchestrates and manages three sets of activities, as illustrated in the figure below:
Research – Both primary and secondary research, including in-depth case studies of organizations that are leading and lagging in practice on the issue at hand (to understand the importance differences between good and bad practice); and often survey research to validate that many organizations are struggling with the issue (to establish the relevance of an issue).
Analysis – Extensive synthesis of research data, working with clients’ subject matter experts to identify patterns in the way organizations are addressing the issue, looking rigorously at what separates successful resolution of the issue from unsuccessful resolution. The solution to the problem emerges from this analysis, which (with case examples underscoring the answer) establishes the concept’s validity to the marketplace.
Writing – Translating the analysis of research data into what we refer to as a “keystone research paper.” This is a comprehensive document that clearly and compellingly articulates the client team’s thinking and point of view on the issue. The keystone research paper serves as the source for content to be used in subsequent marketing activities that typically include articles, press pitches, and conference and sales presentations.
For more details on our philosophy on and experiences in intellectual capital development and the atainment of thought leadership, read about some of our client work or download our white paper, "Competing on Thought Leadership: The Seven Hallmarks of Compelling Intellectual Capital."