Education, training and strategies for companies that thrive on unique expertise
Articles from Bob’s archives.
“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” — Albert Einstein “Basic research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.” — Wernher von Braun Primary research is at the center of novel and substantiated ideas that get managers to act differently. With […]
Invention, Not Convention: Thought Leadership Research That Spawns Big Ideas Read More »
Trademarking a word or phrase to promote a professional firm’s service is an exercise in futility. It may even be counter-productive. Should a professional services firm trademark a marketing slogan? While I’m not a lawyer, I believe that practically speaking, trademarking (more accurately, service marking, the term used to secure the naming rights to a
The Futility of Trademarks in Professional Services Read More »
As the volume of self-publishing on so many business topics keeps growing gigabyte by gigabyte, readers will be lost in a Web of mediocrity. Is self-publishing a wholesale replacement for publishing in other people’s channels? Do we really need to deal with the Harvard Business Reviews, Sloan Management Reviews, and their ilk these days, trying
The Brand Limitations of Self-Publishing Read More »
Imparting expertise is a voluntary exercise. Professionals are not likely to give away their best ideas if they won’t get credit for them. Whose names should appear atop an article or research report? This may seem like a minor issue, as inconsequential as choosing which charts or photos to use in a white paper. But
Who Should Get the Byline? Read More »
I have talked to numerous people who were initially moved by an article, presentation or book to ultimately buy the services of the firm behind it. These five things moved them from interest to inquiry. Many definitions of thought leadership are floating around on the Web. (I’ll have an updated version shortly.) And people opining about
Why Buyers Gravitate to Thought Leaders Read More »
To compete on the basis of possessing superior expertise – to compete on thought leadership – you must continually show the marketplace your expertise is superior. I was asked this month at a training session that I led in San Francisco whether the Bloom Group’s criteria for quality of thought leadership marketing content were too
Are Our Hallmarks of Thought Leadership Too Hard? Read More »