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Permalink Reply by Keith Robinson on February 28, 2010 at 8:04am

Well put - having been around this industry 30 years I've got cynical recently - Thought Leaders (generalisation alert) tend to be "sole traders/consultants etc" and run "consulting firms". Doers tend to run and build companies.

Now a good doer can learn a lot from listening and learning from "thought leaders" but they have a more entrepreneurial DNA.

Now as a Brit but a well travelled one (lived for 2 years in US) my perspective is that you have far more "thought leaders" there than we do over here (per head of the recruiting population).

Now this could also be a cultural issue; Americans are way better at “personal branding/marketing” you are better at selling yourselves and what you know. An example of this is how many bloggers there are in the US recruiting and careers space, Andy Headworth and myself recently calculated that in the UK we have 30 max, in my reader from the US I have 100’s.

So maybe a “thought leader” is a generator of great ideas BUT also gets how to market them..

Again some huge generalisations I know but the impressions of an old man.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Ryan on March 1, 2010 at 2:08pm

Okay. I'd propose a definition of "Thought Leader" as "A person who markets ideas".

Fair?


Keith Robinson said:

So maybe a “thought leader” is a generator of great ideas BUT also gets how to market them..

Again some huge generalisations I know but the impressions of an old man.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on March 1, 2010 at 3:18pm

What if they don't sell?

Perhaps a Thought Leader is one who markets ideas that become successful practices. Ergo a thought leader can not become one without the actions of the doers.

Sean Ryan said:

Okay. I'd propose a definition of "Thought Leader" as "A person who markets ideas".

Fair?


Keith Robinson said:

So maybe a “thought leader” is a generator of great ideas BUT also gets how to market them..

Again some huge generalisations I know but the impressions of an old man.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Ryan on March 1, 2010 at 4:14pm

I'd say the adage that 'a leader cannot become a leader without the actions of the doers' is true for every type of leader. But I think a leader of any stripe is distinguished by more than simply "doers" who take the idea and run.

I'd go back to my question of the 13-year-old blogger that says recruiters should wear pink in head-shots to attract clients. If his idea is acted upon by doers, and they think it's working - is the 13-year-old, by definition, a "Thought Leader"? (someone who 'successfully markets ideas')

If not, what distinguishes "Thought Leaders" from 13-year-old bloggers? The 13-year-old spawned success...


Sandra McCartt said:

What if they don't sell?

Perhaps a Thought Leader is one who markets ideas that become successful practices. Ergo a thought leader can not become one without the actions of the doers.

Sean Ryan said:

Okay. I'd propose a definition of "Thought Leader" as "A person who markets ideas".

Fair?


Keith Robinson said:

So maybe a “thought leader” is a generator of great ideas BUT also gets how to market them..

Again some huge generalisations I know but the impressions of an old man.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on March 1, 2010 at 4:19pm

then let's face it. The 13 year old is a thought leader. Bright kid , he might make a great recruiter.

Sean Ryan said:

I'd say the adage that 'a leader cannot become a leader without the actions of the doers' is true for every type of leader. But I think a leader of any stripe is distinguished by more than simply "doers" who take the idea and run.

I'd go back to my question of the 13-year-old blogger that says recruiters should wear pink in head-shots to attract clients. If his idea is acted upon by doers, and they think it's working - is the 13-year-old, by definition, a "Thought Leader"? (someone who 'successfully markets ideas')

If not, what distinguishes "Thought Leaders" from 13-year-old bloggers? The 13-year-old spawned success...


Sandra McCartt said:

What if they don't sell?

Perhaps a Thought Leader is one who markets ideas that become successful practices. Ergo a thought leader can not become one without the actions of the doers.

Sean Ryan said:

Okay. I'd propose a definition of "Thought Leader" as "A person who markets ideas".

Fair?


Keith Robinson said:

So maybe a “thought leader” is a generator of great ideas BUT also gets how to market them..

Again some huge generalisations I know but the impressions of an old man.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Ryan on March 1, 2010 at 4:29pm

Sandra: Thank you. You've confirmed my theory about thought leaders. They might as well be a 13-year-old in their parents basement :-)

No disrespect to 13-year-olds... or thought leaders anywhere.

In all seriousness, I believe a "Real Thought Leader" is also a "Doer". I am going to take "Doer"'s opinion over a "thinker"'s opinion any day. And once I respect a person's opinion - I'm led by their thought. Ergo - they - in my mind - are a thought leader.

There needs to be substance.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on March 1, 2010 at 4:39pm

Wait till you meet a few more recruiters and thought leaders. That basement with the 13 year old will look like a safe place to be. :)

Sean Ryan said:

Sandra: Thank you. You've confirmed my theory about thought leaders. They might as well be a 13-year-old in their parents basement :-)

No disrespect to 13-year-olds... or thought leaders anywhere.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 1, 2010 at 5:09pm

While my first reply in this thread was a bit sarcastic (yes - that's me!) I do think there are those rare few who test what most accept as the norm - and it's not easy.

The truth is - most people - don't really think too much beyond the given "accepted" norms of their profession. When the entire population of any given profession does things a certain way - even when other methods may prove to be far more beneficial - it's much easier to provide the service that everyone else provides - and in the same manner.

An entire field of recruiters made a living posting jobs on Monster and racing each morning to be the first to blast over any resumes that replied over to their clients before the other recruiters posting the same jobs did.

Calling anyone who stretches to create new ideas within any given industry a "thought leader" does seem a bit odd though.

How about "innovator"? Can you agree with that Rayanne? Or is that a bit over the top as well?

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on March 1, 2010 at 5:28pm

Sort of like the first guy who postulated that the world was not flat it might be round. Then somebody had to sail off into the sunset to see if they fell off the edge.

why is it that everytime there is a new buzz word to describe what has been going on since the dawn of creation everybody has to jump on the bandwagon and start spouting it like it's a new concept. I am reminded of the great debate as to calling people talent.

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Permalink Reply by Rayanne on March 1, 2010 at 7:03pm

I will take "Innovator" over Thought Leader any day of the week. I am continually disappointed by this phrase in that it seems to be attached to individuals who have proven, through their work, that they are Do-ers, not just worker bees, but those that by their very do-ing change and alter the path that those in their industry trod. They may do a lot of thinking but that thinking leads to action and change.

I accept your innovative tactic to divert me away from my dismay with Thought Leaders. You have just been labeled #7, Jerry Albright is an Innovator. Now, doesn't that feel good?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Alfred on March 1, 2010 at 8:26pm

We have so many examples of thought leaders who were at some point doers who move on to writing books - Lets just take a look at the Data Warehousing World William Harvey Inmon and Ralph Kimball - Any Seasoned Datawarehousing Architect today has used both of the techniques pioneered by these technical minds...

Thought Leaders are necessary I do think though you have thinkers and doers that can be classified in the same breadth - Lets just take Theoretcal Physicist Albert Einstein who sat in the Patent office to produce some beautiful work of mathematical thoughts to paper and Edwin Hubble who proved through physical observation (through use of a telescope) (and yes lots of Mathematical physics) what Einstein equations proved that Galaxies were Accelerating way from us ...

Or more modern thought leaders like Stephen Covey .... Lets not make light of these great minds yes doers who after a while remain thinkers ... They become thought leaders if enough people have found some thing valuable and useful with respect to self improvement...

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Permalink Reply by Donna Brewington White on March 1, 2010 at 9:02pm

Yeah, what he said.

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