This video is the second in a five-part series about how to develop thought leadership insights. This video dives into how conducting original research can strengthen your thought leadership insights.

Video Transcription

Hi, I’m Lee Frederiksen and I want to talk to you about how to develop thought leadership insights – those kinds of insights that help you become a thought leader.

This is a five part series. Last time we talked about narrowing your focus and the benefit of that. Today I want to talk to you about doing original research.

Now doing a piece of original research can be transformative in your thought leadership, in the insights you get. Because If it’s a piece of original research if it’s addressing a question that’s been asked but no ones really answer it yet.

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Let me give you a little example. We have one of our clients who’s trying to reach private equity people. She really focused on an emerging issue of compensation for the general partner. How do you do that? She did research on that and put together a paper that really made her the expert in that area – just because no one had put together the research. They hadn’t done the research in the first place.

So if you’re looking to be a thought leader, looking to have those kinds of insights that drive a field forward, besides keeping your focus narrow, also do your research. Make it a special point to gain those insights by gaining new knowledge.

Author: Lee Frederiksen, Ph.D. Who wears the boots in our office? That would be Lee, our managing partner, who suits up in a pair of cowboy boots every day and drives strategy and research for our clients. With a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, Lee is a former researcher and tenured professor at Virginia Tech, where he became a national authority on organizational behavior management and marketing. He left academia to start up and run three high-growth companies, including an $80 million runaway success story.