The Roi of Thought Leadership

PRAISE FOR The ROI of Thought Leadership "Thought leadership as a revenue generator may be a new concept to most, but this book highlights data proving that business leaders leverage this information to make better business decisions and drive critical purchases. A must-read for marketers and executives who want to justify thought leadership spend."
-BARRI RAFFERTY, CEO, Americas, Sodali & Co. "Now we know why we do thought leadership-it pays. This book shows us the value of thought leadership and gives a practical guide on how to do it well."
-RICHARD WHITTINGTON, Professor of Strategic Management, University of Oxford "By quantifying the value of thought leadership, Cindy and Anthony address a crucial gap in how we assess its influence. This book provides a much-needed framework and metrics for ensuring that the billions spent annually on thought leadership are backed by credible data and real impact. Their work sets a new standard for how content producers can create authoritative, impactful insights and how content consumers can use the output to drive business decisions."
-LISA HIGGINS, President and CEO, APQC and the Global Thought Leadership Institute (GTLI) at APQC "Measuring societal impact of thought leadership is a formidable task for management education today. Anderson and Marshall offer an ideal desk copy for business deans and faculty navigating thought leadership ROI within an educational context."
-JIN WANG, PhD, Dean, College of Business and Public Management, Kean University "In The ROI of Thought Leadership Cindy Anderson and Anthony Marshall present groundbreaking research that quantifies the immense value of thought leadership for the first time. Their work provides concrete data and practical tools that marketers and executives can use to justify and maximize their investment in thought leadership. This book is a practical, hands-on guide to elevating your marketing strategy and driving significant business results."
-RICARDO VIANA VARGAS, PhD, Former Director, United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Author

Foreword by Robert Safian vii
Introduction 1
Part I By the Numbers: How Thought Leadership Creates Value 9
1 Thought Leadership Boosts Business Performance and Drives Spending 11
2 Producing Thought Leadership Delivers Clear ROI 29
3 Calculating Your Organization's Specific Thought Leadership ROI 43
Part II Building a Valuable Thought Leadership Capability 55
4 Rise Above the Fray: Creating Next-Level Thought Leadership 57
5 Eight Thought Leadership Archetypes 77
6 Unlocking Value: What Moves the Needle 93
Part III the Four Key Elements of Thought Leadership Execution 103
7 Balancing Your Thought Leadership Portfolio 105
8 Mastering the Mechanics of Storytelling 115
9 Optimizing a Thought Leadership Operating Model 129
10 Engaging With Targeted Business Leaders 155
Part IV Accountability and Outcomes 175
11 Measuring Your Success 177
12 The Thought Leadership Multiplier Effect 185
13 The Value of Thought Leadership, Quantified. Finally. 193

Notes 195

Appendix: Survey Methodology 205

Acknowledgments 209

About the Authors 211

Index 213