Thought leader

Not to be confused with Thought Leader, the South African news website.

Thought leader is business jargon for an entity that is recognized for having innovative ideas.

The term was coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the Booz Allen Hamilton magazine, Strategy & Business. "Thought leader" was used to designate interview subjects for that magazine who had business ideas that merited attention. Among the first designated "thought leaders" were British management thinker Charles Handy, who advanced the idea of a "portfolio worker" and the "Shamrock Organization"; Stanford economist Paul Romer; and Mitsubishi president Minoru Makihara.

Thought leadership is also used as a term by high tech and consulting firms offering new products or services that are not well understood. White papers are often used to both illustrate usage of the new product or service and to educate the reader, typically a potential customer, on the benefits of the new product, service or approach. Novel services and products often enable different usage patterns and business models. Selling customers on potential usage requires education of customers. Thought leadership is, a a result, often associated with demand creation programs, i.e. marketing programs that indirectly create interest and demand for a product.

See also

• Creative class
• Faith Popcorn
• Futures studies
• Irma Wyman
• Paul White (journalist)
• Anticipatory thinking (futures)

References

• Acharya, Nupur (2011-06-20). "Infosys, Tata Brands Beat Google and Apple - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303936704576397170403905388.html?mod=googlewsj. Retrieved 2012-01-11. 
• Myslewski, Rik (November 25, 2009)."Apple tops Google as UK 'Thought Leader'." The Register.