I want to follow up yesterday’s “what do Thought Leaders Say” discussion with a “what do Thought Leaders deliver” discussion.
I think most Thought Leaders understand the concept of value, that you have to deliver value if you want to stay in business as a Thought Leader.
But a couple of things about that:
First, who determines value?
The customer determines value, not you.
Second, the customer determines value based on their values. And they value more than just the financial return, if you’re selling them something that helps them make money.
So what other things do people value?
Well they often like ideas a whole lot. They often like cool ideas more than doing the work those ideas are centered around. In fact, if you can’t keep bringing your audience a stream of good ideas, you’re not going to last long in this business.
They like to put their faith in something besides themselves, because they don’t believe in themselves. They need a sense of confidence and a feeling of hope.
They like to be entertained. You don’t have to be entertaining, unless you want to get paid. Then you do.
They want a sense of belonging in a group of people — are there other people out there in the world that are like them? They need that support.
Finally, they want a sense of progress, of forward motion. They need to feel like they can eventually get to where they want to go.
If you’d like to get to where you want to go in Thought Leadership, your next best move is to subscribe to my free daily emails, where I teach you how to establish, scale, and maintain a Thought Leadership business. You can register at You Can Be A Thought Leader.