Caught Ya: AI Exposes How Little Thought Leadership There Really Is

A funny thing happened on the way to executives pushing out content about how great AI is, often written by AI. AI turned right around and exposed them for not having captivating or original thoughts.

Do you feel content getting less and less valuable?

We’ve all been subjected to this content. LinkedIn, YouTube, even major business publications are choking on it. Collectively, it’s making business content on all these platforms boring and imminently skippable.

Don’t blame AI, or even old school SEO. This sameness and lack of vision and personality was there long before AI came along. The fact that first Google, and then AI search, started rewarding content that said something new, or elevated voices that were distinct and full of character in the way the ideas were framed, just makes getting by on pablum less viable.

And don’t lie to yourself, it is less viable.

No one owes you anything

Too much executive communication and thought leadership has been nothing more than marketing copy. Yeah, we know you like your company. We know you think your product/service is better than seedless watermelon.

ALARM BELL: Your audience of prospects and customers (the audience is not you, or the people you pay to also like your company, and not your spouse) don’t obsess over what you’re selling all day every day like you do. They don’t owe you a thing, including their time and attention.

That attention (and you may have heard we’re in a war for that) has to be earned. If the Supergirl movie taught us anything, it’s that you can’t just put out something lame expecting everyone to go see it just because you put money and effort into making it.

Looking lame is not acceptable

So here you are, a big-time executive, and not only is your brand pushing out stuff just to say you did and to make the internet a little bigger, you’re allowing your name to be put down as the author of some of it. Are you nuts? Most people don’t want to look bad.

A friend of mine, who is in marketing and content, just returned from a conference in London. Now you would think that to be chosen to be on a panel or speak at a conference, the presenters would have some takeaways. But just like the internet has become, every single session was the same message all attendees already knew: AI is here to stay, it’s amazingly useful, but there’s still some human element that should remain in the work.

Oh…my…God.

Just stop doing it

Even if you aren’t writing your own executive content and you have your marketing people doing it with almost zero input from you, if it contains any iteration of…

“I’m excited to announce…”

“Innovation has never been more important…”

“People are our greatest asset…”

“Here are five trends shaping our industry…”

…please stop. We have that article already. 30,765 times.

If the goal of your thought leadership is to never say anything that will challenge anyone or that anyone will challenge, anything objectionable, anything not safe & sanitized, anything interesting or memorable, then just don’t. Either that or explain to us how “invisible” is strategic.

What AI search cares about

AI has industrialized generic content, and is turning right around and punishing it by making sure your generic content remains ignored. Congrats, you’ve made mediocrity faster and more efficient.

LLMs want to know:
Who consistently demonstrates real, and not parroted, expertise?
Who has a point of view that can’t be found anywhere else?
Who is repeatedly associated with a topic?
Who frames their original ideas in a voice and terminology that can’t be copied (semantics)?

Why do I say you shouldn’t sound like marketing copy? Marketing exists to persuade. It’s needy and often smells desperate. Thought leadership exists to interpret, teach, explain, forecast, make sense of things, help as an ally. It has a special sauce containing both empathy and swagger.

I want to know:

• What have you seen that others haven’t?
• What have you changed your mind about?
• What do people in your industry keep getting wrong?
• Where have your scars given you better judgment?
• What can you no longer stay silent about?

The executive thought leadership challenge

Your experience is a major piece of your competitive advantage. Why bury it in favor of an entry-level marketing person using AI to draft up some BS that your name will go on and that you will be judged by? All AI does is summarize consensus. We don’t need your “Me too.”

Consider trying this:

• Quit trying to sound like a slick, polished executive.
• Sound like you.
• Be recognizable.
• Have opinions.
• Tell stories.
• Be challenging.
• Be transparent and vulnerable.
• Call things out.
• Say something worth remembering.

That’s how authority is built.

Welcome to the age of the functioning brain

If you absolutely hated this article, I think that’s fantastic. Because I got you to feel something. You read the whole thing, and I sounded like few other people you read. You’ll remember me 10 minutes from now. You might even lay in bed wondering if I’m right.

The age of the executive leader with a brain of their own and something important to say is upon us.

 

Who said this?

I’m an executive presence developer. I work with executives to hone a unique POV for breakthrough thought leadership content, then get their team ready to perpetually execute on it across channels and formats.