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Instead, make everyone a thought leader, at least part time.

The problem with "Thought Leaders" is they become prima donnas. I should know, I am one and have been all my life. It's my parents' fault of course--having me out of wedlock when that was a no-no made them feel horribly guilty. From my earliest memories, then, they hung on my every word. So, by the time I hit Mrs. Porter's kindergarten class, Kyle Elementary School, Troy, Ohio, September 1955, I expected everyone to listen to me. No, I demanded everyone listen to me. Spoiled rotten, I have spent much of my later adult life trying to correct the prima donna flaw. Also likely a selfish act--prima donnas are greatly disliked and I got tired of being lonely.

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Let's get back to thought leaders. I have stated in this column before that one should play on their own strengths and those of others around them, be those others superiors, subordinate or peers. So, why am I apparently changing that principle?

I am not suggesting a wholesale change, just a bit of one. Developing people into thought leaders does two things. For them, it will make their lives more interesting, and for your company, they just might come up with some great new ideas that will be very beneficial.

We can't afford to have everyone to sit around and be "thought leaders" all day every day in any business. However, we could sure use a little help from everyone once in a while when we need new ideas.

I liked this concept more when it was called "brainstorming" for in those days it was a group exercise in which everyone was expected to participate. The idea of "thought leaders" is to specialize this activity and promote individuals to be in charge of it to the exclusion of everyone else. This creates prima donnas and tamps down the opportunity for some really great ideas--both bad actions in your company.

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Is the correction under way and what do you tell your clients? ... Check out the latest edition of Strategic & Financial Arguments.

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So, how do we make everyone a "thought leader?" It is really quite simple.

1. Tell everyone that there is no special aptitude required to be a thought leader.

2. Focus on changing people's attitudes--I can be a thought leader, too.

3. Teach people how to be a thought leader. It is really quite simple, all you have to do is juxtapose two or more conditions you would not think of coupling together.

As an example, we managed to create quite a bit of a stir last spring by talking about a fully vertical paper machine. I'll admit, I thought it up, and doing so was quite simple. I was thinking about paper machines (something I think about a lot) and came up with the question--what is a major simple attribute of paper machines that anyone of any skill level would notice? The answer: they are "long." "Long" led to a coupling with the word "horizontal" which led to the thought: "Then why can't they be vertical?" That's it, all she wrote there is no more to it than that.

See if you can create a thought leader this week and tell us about your experience in our quiz which you can take here.

Thought leaders can be valuable when thinking about safety. Thought leaders can conjure accidents that would not been seen until they happen. That means they can be prevented.

Be safe and we will talk next week.

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