Thought Leadership as a Competitive Advantage

Posted by | Michele Sachar

As I reflect on the inaugural Global Thought Leadership Institute symposium, what stands out to me is that most of the attendees came from consulting firms, primarily large global firms that have traditionally underscored the importance of “Thought Leadership” for decades. In order to differentiate their brands and executives from those of the other consulting firms, they invest heavily in research and content, and then leverage this content across multiple channels to amplify their messages.

It is not surprising that the consulting industry dominated the attendee list. For years, consulting firms have understood that promulgating unique perspectives based on thorough research builds credibility and trust in their brands. With frequent publications, brand awareness and mindshare increase, increasing the likelihood that these firms will be considered when clients solicit consulting advice and bids. The quality of thought leadership can no doubt influence companies’ selection processes and buying decisions.

But does this business pattern hold true for companies other than consulting firms? Should other professional services firms or even corporations invest in Thought Leadership? I found one of the most fascinating panels of the symposium to be the one in which Wade H. Maxwell, Director of Corporate Strategy at ExxonMobil, and Diane Hoskins, Global Co-Chair of Gensler, spoke about the thought leadership that their respective companies produce. The ExxonMobil Global Outlook: Our View to 2050 informs both internal and stakeholders. The Gensler Design Forecast identifies key trends impacting the future of design. These publications are the gold standard of Thought Leadership.

I strongly believe that Thought Leadership should not be the sole province of industry leaders. As strategy consultants, we often see that Thought Leadership is used as a tool to create competitive advantage. For example, several years ago, my firm was running a war game for an established player in the HR space. Our client was interested in identifying how it could better fend off competition from an upstart that was growing in size and eating away at its share of the market. As we conducted our research into this competitor, we identified that they employed economists on staff, that these economists conducted research and produced reports, and that these reports were frequently cited in the press. The upstart was able to leverage both the research and the press to its advantage in promoting itself. In fact, the upstart would hold an annual conference for its clients where it would showcase its economists and share their knowledge. In this particular case, we showed our client that its competitor was utilizing Thought Leadership as a tool to create both a brand presence and a competitive advantage by making itself relevant and attractive to potential customers. We advised our client to expand its own Thought Leadership content and communication strategy in order to defend its position and to reclaim share of mind.

For many companies, developing a Thought Leadership strategy is not a business priority. We see this frequently as business units are under pressure to perform and meet quarterly and annual numbers. Employees’ daily responsibilities often prevent them from investing the time to create meaningful content to build their company’s reputation as a thought leader. While it may not be realistic for all companies, it is important to consider what Gensler has done in order to keep themselves relevant – they not only encourage their employees to apply for internal research grants, but those hours spent on approved research and Thought Leadership are given equal weight to hours billed to clients. This elevation of support of leading-edge research keeps Gensler in its desired position – the world’s largest, and most innovative, architectural firm.

What steps can you take to create a Thought Leadership program of your own?

Tags: Competitive Advantage, Competitive Strategy, Consulting Firms, Thought Leadership