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.

They discuss the findings of their recent research into the Return on Investment of publishing a business book.

In today's presentation we will have a first look at the data that was gathered from hundreds of authors about their experiences getting published, the expenses incurred, and the results the book had on their business. These authors were reached through not only the friends and colleagues at Thought Leadership Leverage but those from many supporting sponsors such as Greenleaf Book Group, Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, Page Two Books, and Zilker Media to name a few.

Before the research could even begin we had to ask the questions "What is ROI?  How can you measure it?  How much does an author spend? What is the effect of different publishing models?  And what type of returns do authors see?

In answering these questions we explore what the data tells us about the three different publishing models (Traditional, Hybrid, and Self Publishing), the role RP and Ghostwriters can play in the success of each.

We also investigate the hard and soft costs involved in writing a book and what the returns could look like.  While many expect the sales of the book to account for much of their profit, we learn how using the book as a key part of a platform and gateway to other parts of the business is where real impact can be found.

More questions will be asked and answered in the white paper that will be released in September as we continue to pour over the data.

To get a copy of the paper when it's released e-mail info@authorroi.com

Our guest today is Miriam Schulman, a portrait painter who has had her work displayed in galleries and collected internationally. While this might seem like an unlikely guest for a thought leadership podcast, she is also the author of Artpreneur: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living from Your Creativity, host of the Inspiration Place podcast and creator of the popular online art class site, the Inspiration Place.

Lots of people have incredible talent. Unfortunately, most creative talent goes overlooked and underappreciated. Miriam shares how the same creativity that feeds your talent can be turned into a survival strategy - through clever marketing. The ability to try new things and be creative can trump a lack of experience (even in marketing!), if you are willing to do a little hard work.

Miram discusses her book launch, and how she is marketing her book using the same advice she offers others. In addition, she shares strategies that her book launch team uses, including pre-order bonuses, social network campaigns, and other incentives that help her get reviews and buzz - before the book even hits store shelves.

Whether you are an artist seeking advice on making your passion profitable, or a traditional thought leader trying to spread the word about your content, this conversation has some incredibly useful advice you can put into action right away!

Three Key Takeaways:

*  Cheaper is not always easier to sell. Regardless of price, your audience must understand how your offerings will benefit them.

*  Friends, family, and co-workers will be happy to share your works, but you can make it easy for them and increase the odds of them sharing by writing a blurb for them.

*  Book reviews are an important part of a launch strategy.  They create social validation for those who are not familiar with your work.

In this episode of Thought Leadership Leverage, host Bill Sherman sits down with Constance Scharff, PhD, a trailblazer in the field of mental health research. Constance is the founder of the Institute for Complementary and Indigenous Mental Health Research and author of an upcoming book on "Everyday Bravery."

Everyday bravery isn't about heroic acts like running into burning buildings. Constance redefines it as the courage found in everyday life—like battling addiction, where survival alone is an act of immense bravery. Having been sober for 26 years herself, Constance knows this firsthand. Her research reveals the quiet yet powerful ways people confront challenges and carry themselves with dignity, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

Constance aims to make her research accessible to everyone, choosing to write books instead of academic papers. She believes mental health research should be available to the public, especially in the U.S., where affordable care is scarce. By blending memoir with academic research, she offers a personal and relatable perspective on the complex issues she studies.

Her journey into the field started 15 years ago at the intersection of addiction and trauma. A tragic loss drove her to explore the courage it takes to keep fighting against addiction. Her research took her across the globe—from New York's Stonewall Inn to the jungles of Ecuador—uncovering stories of resilience and bravery in unexpected places.

Constance hopes her work will inspire others to see that recovery and resilience are possible, even against all odds. She challenges the over-pathologization of mental health in Western culture and advocates for a broader, more inclusive approach to mental well-being.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Redefining Everyday Bravery: Everyday bravery isn't about grand heroic acts but the quiet courage found in overcoming daily challenges, like battling addiction or navigating trauma with dignity.

• Making Mental Health Research Accessible: Constance Scharff prioritizes writing books over academic papers to make complex mental health research accessible to the public, especially in a landscape where affordable care is limited.

• Global Perspective on Mental Health: Her research highlights the resilience found in diverse cultures worldwide, challenging the Western focus on pharmaceuticals and advocating for a more inclusive approach to mental health treatment.

Constance has an impactful blend of research and storytelling that she uses to spread her thought leadership.  If you'd like to understand how Academic Research can be used to build your thought leadership platform be sure to watch this short video with Peter Winick.

Writing a book can take a year or more, followed by months of planning, strategizing, and launching. 

Once the book hits the shelves — What's left?

Jeremy Utley is the Director of Executive Educational at Stanford D.school and adjunct professor at Stanford's School of Engineering. Recently Jeremy worked with co-author Perry Klebahn to put their experience into their first book call titled "Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters."

At the time of this recording, Jeremy's book had been on shelves for eight days! Jeremy expresses the gratitude he feels toward those that have come forward to thank him for the book, and the actionable ideas it contains. In addition, he shares surprises he has experienced during recording the audio version of the book.

Marketing a book takes a tremendous amount of coordination, even with the resources a publisher offers. The bulk of the work lands on the author's shoulders. Jeremy talks about having to get over being self-conscious about telling people he's an author. He also explains the massive amount of help a launch team can be, in spreading the word about your book, and also in keeping you excited when your personal energy is running low.

This episode has some great insights into the experience of a first time author that don't often get shared.

Three Key Takeaways:

·         A launch team is comprised of people that are excited and happy to share the word about your book.  They often come up with marketing ideas and help keep the ball rolling.

·         When writing a book, write the book you'd want to read.

·         Don't start your writing journey trying to write a book.  Start with a blog, getting in the habit of writing every day to build your skill and create a wealth of material you can draw from.

In this episode of Thought Leadership Leverage, host Bill Sherman sits down with Yosi Amram, a political psychologist, CEO, leadership coach, and the award-winning author of Spiritually Intelligent Leadership: How to Inspire by Being Inspired. Yosi delves into the concept of Spiritually Intelligent Leadership, a fresh take on leadership that integrates spiritual qualities like passionate purpose, compassionate service, trust, gratitude, integrity, and humility into daily life and work.

Yosi's journey began in Israel, where he was drafted into the military at 18, despite his pacifist leanings. The rigid military structure fueled his desire to create a leadership model built on humane values that support individual growth. This desire led him to the U.S., where he studied at MIT, launched companies, and ultimately burned out from trying to maintain control and inspire simultaneously. His burnout sparked a deep interest in psychology and leadership, which introduced him to the idea of spiritual intelligence through Dana Zohar's book "SQ: Connecting With Our Spiritual Intelligence" which was about rewiring the corporate brain.

Determined to explore this concept, Yosi interviewed 71 spiritual leaders from various traditions to uncover universal themes of spiritual intelligence. He developed the first academically validated measure of spiritual intelligence and discovered that it accounts for 46% of leadership effectiveness. Now, Yosi's mission is to elevate Spiritual Intelligence to the same level of recognition and understanding as Emotional Intelligence.

Looking forward, Yosi is exploring the intersection of spirituality and science, faith and reason, and the evolving role of historical religious traditions in our modern world. His quest is personal as much as it is professional, as he navigates his own Jewish heritage and its relevance in contemporary leadership.


Three Key Takeaways:

• Spiritually Intelligent Leadership: Yosi Amram introduces Spiritually Intelligent Leadership as a new leadership model that integrates spiritual qualities such as purpose, compassion, trust, and integrity into everyday decision-making and leadership practices.

• Universal Spiritual Themes: Through extensive research with spiritual leaders across various traditions, Yosi found that spiritual intelligence is a universal concept, with common virtues that transcend individual beliefs and contribute significantly to effective leadership.

• Validated Impact: Yosi's studies show that spiritual intelligence accounts for 46% of leadership effectiveness, highlighting its critical role in both leadership success and overall quality of life, much like the established concept of Emotional Intelligence.

Yosi has found a section of thought leadership that is both interesting and impactful.  Is your thought leadership hitting the same mark? If you are unsure this article by Peter Winick might help answer that question.

How do you take a personality trait that many might consider a setback, and turn it into a multi-faceted business?

My guest today is Marcel Wijermars, the founder of Introverted Leadership and keynote speaker for the well-known speech, "The Introvert Way to Create a Life of Abundance."

Years ago, Marcel realized his introverted nature was having a negative impact on his professional life. He had difficulties meeting people and networking, and those challenges were holding him back in business. Through self-experimentation, Marcel created models and frameworks to help himself overcome these challenges, and now shares those insights, helping thousands of others understand and appreciate their introverted nature.

Being an introvert doesn't mean you are shy or have poor social skills. Introversion means that you don't get energy from social interaction. Marcel shares why fellow introverts need to be more strategic around which connections give them inspiration and are most beneficial to their business. Marcel gives some valuable tips for introverts traveling and attending events to help manage the energy drain.

If you self-identify as an introvert or have associates who do this episode can help you better understand the difficulties and how to overcome them.

Three Key Takeaways:

*  Finding your audience can be as easy as looking for the symptoms of the problem you are looking to solve.

*  Don't let what others consider a negative trait hold you back. It could in fact be the key to an entire business model.

*  Introverts need to focus their time on the connections that are most impactful to their business.

In the latest episode of Thought Leadership Leverage, Peter Winick chats with Julie Williamson, CEO of The Karrikins Group. Julie is a trailblazer in connecting communication, design, strategy, sales, marketing, and service to drive sustainable growth.

Julie shares her unconventional journey into thought leadership.
Despite her passion for writing and English, she opted for a degree in Information Systems during the 80s, a time when women in tech were rare. This path gave her a unique vantage point, blending technical, business, and social insights, which she now leverages to help organizations grow and innovate.

Julie describes her ideal client as a "frustrated leader." She excels
in enhancing team performance, combining business acumen, tech background, and social science to foster organizational communication and cohesion. Her focus is on "Leadership Alignment," ensuring teams outperform individually.

Julie's approach involves both publications and hands-on consulting, emphasizing that true transformation requires sustained engagement, not just quick fixes. Her team typically works with clients for 3 to 12 months to catalyze real change.

To develop and deploy thought leadership, Julie regularly creates
short-form content on platforms like LinkedIn and Forbes Expert
Panels. She believes in the discipline of consistent content creation to hone her voice and impact.

Addressing the challenges of linking thought leadership to business results, Julie acknowledges the difficulty in measuring the direct impact of her work. Her strategy focuses on continuous contribution to leadership effectiveness, ensuring her insights make a tangible difference.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Leadership Alignment: Julie Williamson emphasizes the  importance of aligning leadership to enhance team performance. By fostering strong organizational communication and cohesion, aligned teams can achieve greater results than individuals working alone.

• Sustained Engagement for Transformation: True change within
organizations requires sustained effort. Julie's approach involves
long-term engagements (3 to 12 months) rather than one-off workshops, ensuring lasting transformation and meaningful impact.

• Consistent Content Creation: To develop and deploy effective thought leadership, Julie advocates for regular content creation. She underscores the necessity of disciplined, consistent efforts in
writing and sharing insights, which helps in refining one's voice and maximizing impact.

Julie understands what it takes to bring teams into alignment for better success.  When it comes to Thought Leadership Peter Winick knows how to bring Strategy, Tactics and Goals into alignment. To supercharge your thought leadership check out this video!

Why do people buy? 

• You need to connect your product's brand and vision with the emotional needs of the buyer
• Always be willing to explore new modalities, even if it goes outside your comfort zone. You need to meet your audience where they already get their information.
• Fresh insights tend to rise above the noise – always provide interesting and actionable discoveries, to show your value right away.