Happy Valentine’s Day!
Love letters are a great way to let someone know exactly how you feel. Whether you believe today is simply an over-commercialized capitalistic run at greeting cards, chocolates and flowers, or that the day embodies the heart and soul of what makes us human and connected, today, I do reflect on the many kinds of love that fill my heart.
I love thoughtful thought leadership.
I love Thinkers that show-up without showing off.
I love Thinkers who sell their ideas without selling their souls.
I love Thinkers who bring ideas into this world without being a jackass about it.
I love Thinkers who present ideas instead of bloating their status.
I love Thinkers who don’t pander for likes, comments and subscribes.
I love Thinkers who know the difference between building a personal brand and self-marketing (they are not the same).
I love Thinkers who build frameworks without being a “market of one.”
I love Thinkers who are quotable and don’t create social media content quotes about their own work.
I love Thinkers who make money because their ideas get implemented/work and not because they simply said something on social media.
I love Thinkers who think deeply before hitting the publish button.
What is the heart of the Thoughtful Thought Leader?
- Knowledge and expertise. A deep understanding of their domain of authority coupled with tangible results.
- Authenticity. Genuine and transparent. This leads to real trust and valuable audiences.
- Relevance. Unique thinking backed with results that create value and relevance.
- Consistency. How well they show up – time and time again. ‘How often’ is as important as the value in that frequency of connection.
- Creativity. How unique is the way that they solve a problem? How creative is the way in which they deliver this information?
- Boldness. Can they take risks, challenge the status quo and does this work drive change and progress?
- Adaptability. The true ability to change and evolve the thinking as the world changes… which is happening at an exponential pace.
- Communication skills. A strong ability to cogently share the thinking in a meaningful and resonant way.
- Credibility. A strong reputation is not defined by followers or subscribers. It how their domain of authority is accepted in the industry that they serve. Credibility and trustworthiness then creates lasting impact.
- Community. Audience engagement matters. Audience commitment to the work is paramount. How does everyone show up to make everyone better?
If you are a Thoughtful Thought Leader, I’d like to get to know you better.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.
Mitch Joel Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.