Are you a Thought Leader?

I have a question for you: Are you a thought leader?

Today, in an effort to shape its future and perhaps its survival, the Deseret News announced that it had created an Editorial Advisory Board of some individuals the newspaper management considers thought leaders.

Newspapers, in general, with subscriptions on a downward trend nationally, are looking for creative ways of maintaining readership during tough economic times. In addition to the economy, the Internet and other technology advancements continue to redefine where people get their information.

After reading the newspaper article about the new board, what I found most striking about the assembly of such a group of individuals was not their background or achievements; it was that not one of the new board members will be employees of the newspaper but will be contributors to the paper. The Deseret News, which may, in the next few days, announce what is rumored to be major layoffs, has bolstered its chance for survival by creating what I call “Super Freelancers”.

Someone once said that when superficial people get together they talk about people. When thoughtful people get together they talk about places, events and things. But when great thinkers get together they talk about ideas.

Maybe it’s about time that newspapers spend less time talking about people, places, events, and things, and invest more quality thought in publishing ideas. Hopefully this board will be a step in that direction.

Which brings me back to the question I have for you: Are you a thought leader?

Recently, I sent to some of my closest contacts some ideas I have for assembling together thought leaders to create a powerful tool to present ideas. I had hoped they would have caught and grasped the power behind collaborative efforts and the synergy and camaraderie that can be obtained by such a group. More often then not, when groups work together their influence is stronger than the sum of its individual parts.

So far no one has responded to my email. I am optimistic, but maybe I lack the motivational influence necessary to organize people. Maybe I'm more of a thought follower than a thought leader.

Either way, ideas are powerful, and when you put a bunch of minds together, amazing things can happen.