Almost one-third of PDFs on corporate websites—including white papers and other downloadable thought leadership content—have never been seen by a potential customer, according to the World Bank.
It’s not just that there’s too much thought leadership; it’s that a lot of it isn’t very good.
According to a Forrester B2B survey:
Fifty-nine percent of global technology decision-makers agreed that “much of the material” in thought leadership content “is useless,” while 70% of global technology decision-makers said there’s too much focus on style rather than substance.
The trajectory of thought leadership is akin to that of TED Talks. Remember when they were so groundbreaking and unifying? They were the gold standard of ideas and delivery. But as the organization morphed into TEDx, the concept was watered down. There were too many people, the talks were too formulaic, and they were too directly in the service of marketing.
The situation might get worse, though, if people start using AI to generate thought leadership material instead of doing the hard work of squeezing original insights from their own brains (filtered through their own experiences and feelings to connect on both the intellectual and human levels with audiences). With ChatGPT in their pockets, more people will feel empowered to call themselves thought leaders, and more mediocre posts and pieces will get published.
We will keep preaching the importance of thought leadership to our executive clients, because we believe that the best of the genre creates true excitement around the brand, builds audience trust, ensures alignment, and ultimately motivates action and engagement, including conversions.
Plus, it’s at the heart of our origin story: One of SJR’s early collaborators was Beth Comstock, a leader among thought leaders. Her innovative way of thinking and willingness to try new things, paired with our journalistic sensibilities and vision of reimagined owned-channel publishing, catapulted us both to new heights.
Beth is the Lebron James of thought leaders. Maybe the best analogy for what’s happening now in the corporate marketing landscape is that every executive is trying out for the NBA, despite a lack of talent, skills, or understanding of the game. It’s…embarrassing.
But just because they aren’t a Beth (or a Lebron) doesn’t mean they can’t wield the power of excellent thought leadership. It means they need to stop trying to play to the masses or compete with the superstars.
They need to go niche and share their expert insights 
in the most compelling way to precisely the people who have the potential to become their most rapt 
audiences. And they need to tailor their KPIs (and expectations) 
accordingly.
The New Thought Leadership
The Problem
Our standard joke here at SJR is that the ratio of thought leader to thought follower is typically… 1:1. There are simply too many self-proclaimed business gurus competing to build robust audiences.
Buried deep in a 2024 report that LinkedIn and Edelman put out were unusually skeptical sentiments that cast doubt on thought leadership’s reputation as the perfect sales tool: Less than half of B2B decision-makers say the overall quality of thought leadership they read is good.
The New Thought Leadership
The Solution
So now, with adjusted expectations and a clear sense of focus, how do you start producing the type of thought leadership that commands respect and influences decision-making?
Start with clarifying what you mean by thought leadership. And no, this is not an annoying word game, but instead a critical exercise that will save your organization tons of wasted time and effort and set the appropriate bar for future endeavors.
The New Thought Leadership
Picking the Right Persona
Discovering what kind of thought leader you are doesn’t take divine intervention. Much like the archetypes found in a tarot deck, there are different personifications of thought leadership. To begin your hero’s journey, run an honest inventory of your talents.
The New Thought Leadership
Break the Rules
It’s getting harder and harder for thought leaders to break through the noise. In the fierce attention economy, to the nonconformist go the spoils.
The New Thought Leadership
Dress Up—and Show Up—in New Ways
While audience viewing habits (even B2B ones!) have radically changed, many leaders and brands are stuck producing orthodox content. That’s why the most effective thought leaders are experimenting to reach audiences where they are.
The New Thought Leadership
The Case for the Chief Thoughts and Feelings Organizer
Executives are busy. And with so much under their purview, they often start a thought leadership program (for themselves or their teams) full of zeal but then shift their attention to other priorities and projects. Unfortunately, this cancels out any initial strategic efforts, because a key to successful thought leadership is consistency.
The New Thought Leadership
The Future of Followership
We strongly believe that creating content with Gen AI is antithetical to thought leadership. It has to come from real humans who are actively moving through the richness, colors, and complexities of their organizations.
The New Thought Leadership
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