Leveraging Thought Leadership – Details, episodes & analysis

How do you balance being a practitioner and an academic?

In this episode, Bill Sherman talks with Dr. Robert Gordon, interim department chair for analytics, economics, and finance at American Public University about his unique journey from the world of cruise ships and supply chain to academia, research, and thought leadership. Robert shares his experience moving from practitioner to academic, and now returning to bridge the gap between the two. His expertise in supply chain management, particularly in the maritime and cruise industries, provided the foundation for a shift into research and publishing that impacted both academia and industry.

Robert’s research on virtual teams and complexity theory was initially seen as niche, but when the pandemic hit, his work became highly relevant. The shift to remote work made his insights on virtual teams essential reading. He highlights the importance of staying connected to practitioners through conversations and continuous publishing to keep his research relevant.

Robert’s story is a reminder that thought leadership is not a static process. It’s about continually evolving, reflecting, and bridging the gap between theory and practice.


Three Key Takeaways:

• Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry: Robert Gordon emphasizes the importance of staying connected to practitioners while conducting academic research, ensuring his work remains relevant and actionable in real-world settings.

• The Power of Reflection in Thought Leadership: Robert highlights how reflecting on past work is crucial for growth, allowing him to evolve his ideas, improve his writing, and adapt to the changing needs of his audience.

• Virtual Teams and Complexity Theory Gaining Relevance: What was once considered niche research became vital during the pandemic, as organizations around the world shifted to remote work, validating the importance of anticipating future trends in research.

Robert knows the importance of academic research to practitioners.  In this video Thought Leadership Leverage CEO Peter Winick explains how you can use academic research to build your thought leadership platform!

What does it take to grab your audience’s attention in the first few seconds?

Bill Sherman explores the art of pitching with Joanne Tombrakos, storyteller, marketing strategist, NYU professor, podcaster and writer. and expert in crafting powerful messages. Joanne breaks down the misconception that pitching is just about selling. Whether you're selling a product or an idea, the goal is the same: persuasion. It’s about getting your audience to stop, listen, and invest time in your idea. Joanne shares the importance of setting the hook early and keeping people engaged by delivering value quickly and clearly.

Joanne emphasizes that pitching is not just for salespeople—it's a skill everyone needs. In business, you're constantly pitching yourself, your ideas, or your projects. She compares pitching to a form of storytelling, where your narrative must not only catch attention but also build trust. Joanne also touches on the fine line between pitching and selling, explaining that while every pitch has an underlying goal of persuading, the real focus is on creating a connection. Through storytelling and strategic messaging, you can build a relationship that makes people want to listen longer.

The conversation also delves into modern challenges, like competing with digital distractions. Joanne stresses that grabbing attention isn’t enough—you need to hold it. Like a Netflix series that hooks viewers in the first few minutes, your pitch needs to pull the audience in right away and deliver substance, not just flash. For leaders, entrepreneurs, and marketers, her advice is clear: simplify your message, make it relatable, and always lead with value.


Three Key Takeaways:

• Pitching is about persuasion, not just selling: Whether you’re pitching a product, idea, or project, the goal is to persuade your audience and capture their attention. It’s not just about making a sale—it’s about getting them to care.

• Hook your audience quickly: Joanne stresses the importance of grabbing attention within the first few seconds. Like a great story, your pitch needs to engage right away, offering value and building trust so your audience wants to stick around.

• Simplicity wins: Don’t overcomplicate your message. The most effective pitches are clear and concise. Distilling your idea into one sentence can help you stay focused and make a more powerful impact.

Joanne helps us understand how the Pitch needs to move beyond persuasion and into a relationship.  If you want to understand how those relationships can help ideas reach scale be sure to check out this video by Thought Leadership Leverage COO Bill Sherman.

Today host Peter Winick welcomes Jason Silver, author of the new book "Your Grass is Greener: Use What You Have. Get What You Want. At Work and In Life." Jason, an engineer turned entrepreneur, shares his journey from tech to business and how a personal tragedy led him to reevaluate his approach to work and life. While building a  company in the AI space and pushing himself to the limit, a phone call changed everything—his sister was diagnosed with late-stage cancer and passed away nine months later. This profound loss forced Jason to rethink his priorities and laid the foundation for his book.

Jason’s mission with Your Grass is Greener is clear: to help high-achievers realize they don't need to sacrifice joy for success and to empower those stuck in unfulfilling jobs to see they have the
power to change their circumstances without changing careers. He believes that passion and performance can coexist, creating a positive cycle where enjoyment leads to better performance and vice versa.

Although Jason didn’t write the book as a business venture, it
naturally led to opportunities where he now works with executive
teams, leaders, and founders to build high-performing, happy teams. His insights on decision-making—highlighted in two key chapters of his book—have resonated widely, uncovering a common challenge in many organizations: decision paralysis. He’s showing leaders how to make faster, more effective decisions by applying practical science, transforming how businesses operate.

Writing the book taught Jason more than just communication skills; it taught him the art of engaging storytelling. He learned from his editor, who also worked on Atomic Habits, that effective communication isn’t always about brevity but about connecting deeply with your audience. Jason now sees storytelling as a vital tool for leadership and decision-making.

Jason’s vision for the book is ambitious. He sees Your Grass is
Greener as a catalyst for change in the workplace. He believes many are approaching work with a broken mindset, and the solutions we’re currently trying aren’t solving the deeper issues. Instead of job-hopping or pulling back at work, Jason advocates for a different approach: rethinking how we work to unlock massive improvements in both satisfaction and performance.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Balance Ambition with Well-being: Jason Silver’s book, Your Grass is Greener, highlights the importance of finding a balance between achieving professional success and maintaining personal joy. High-achievers don’t need to sacrifice happiness for their goals; it’s possible to enjoy the journey and achieve success simultaneously.

• Empowerment and Agency in Your Career: Many people feel stuck in unfulfilling jobs, but Jason argues that you have more control than you think. By leveraging your existing skills and shifting your mindset, you can transform your current job experience without changing careers. This approach can lead to greater job satisfaction and improved performance.

• Effective Decision-Making through Storytelling: Writing the book taught Jason the power of storytelling in leadership and
decision-making. Clear and engaging communication, rather than mere brevity, can drive deeper understanding and better  decisions within organizations. This insight has proven essential in helping businesses overcome decision paralysis and improve overall effectiveness.

Jason shared the very personal origin story of how his book was born. Are you sharing your thought leadership origin story?  Check out this short video by Peter Winick on the power of having an origin story.

Today, we're talking with Vaughn Sigmon, the co-founder of Results Driven Leadership which specializes in helping businesses unlock their full potential through transformative leadership practices.  Vaughn is also the host of The Business Mechanic – where he shares his expertise to improve the impact of executives and managers by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Leaving a stable executive position to start his own leadership development business was a huge risk. We talk with Vaughn about the driving force behind his shift in career and why he chose the area he did.

Leadership development is a crowded space to enter. Vaughn shares what he did to stand out and win clients. Acquiring clients is the hardest part that few want to talk about.  We learn how it requires a multi-step marketing process that creates multiple touch points, allowing potential clients to get to know you, what you stand for, and the problems you are able to solve.

Vaughn explains how the two main marketing platforms he has been using are LinkedIn and podcasting. We learn how Vaughn became smart and focused on who his audience would be and how to create awareness, interest, and a relationship with your audience on the platform.

Finally, we learn about the advantages of starting a podcast or doing the circuit as a guest.  Plus, he shares tips for getting your audience to engage and move further down the sales funnel.

Three Key Takeaways:

·         You need to get in front of the right people so they get to know you.  If they don't buy who you are they're not going to buy your concepts.

·         If you are smart and focused, your message is on point, LinkedIn can be a gold mine.

·         The title of a podcast or blog entry is of utmost importance. Having great content won’t matter if no one reads it because the title does not entice them.

Authors tend to be very proud of their books and believe what they've written can help anyone, anywhere!  Although that might be correct, the hard truth is you are going to have to focus on the .001% of the population that is going to get the most out of your book and that will in turn get the most out of your content.

To discuss the ins and outs of marketing to your target audience we’ve invited first time author Michelle Gladieux to join us. Michelle is the president of Gladieux Consulting, which offers one-on-one executive and employee coaching and strategic plan facilitation. Michelle’s first book is Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges.

Michelle shares how she spent four years writing her book to ensure it was ready for publication. Then, her editor suggested that she rewrite the book and focus on an overarching message that would better resonate and pull the reader in. That message would become the four hidden challenges that prevent people from becoming fearless and peerless communicators

Peter and Michelle discuss the hard task of marketing a book, and why you need to start marketing before you're published. We learn what personal touches Michelle used to give the book legs and what experiments she has tried and is continuing to do that have a low cost but potentially high impact!

 
Three Key Takeaways:

·         For most people making money cannot be the main driver for writing a book.

·         Don’t be afraid of failure when experimenting with marketing. Some ideas might not fly, but others could go further than you might imagine.

·         It is easy to fall into the trap of feeling like everyone can use your book.  In order to get the best return on your investment you have to drill down deep into who your target avatar really is.