jack barse

A phrase that becomes more irritating each time I hear it (which is much more often these days) is “thought leader”. The University of Maryland is using the phrase in local radio ads touting its MBA program and I’ve read it and heard it in a number of other places recently. If the people who use it (especially to describe themselves) would turn just a wee bit of their thought leadership on the phrase they’d realize how stupid it sounds.

To my ear “thought leader” sounds like just another way of saying “smart person”, only it’s more arrogant and haughty. One wouldn’t say something like, “a recognized smart person in the RFID industry” or invite prospective students to “learn from smart people in business and industry in a stimulating academic environment.” So why do more and more marketers seem to think that “thought leader” sounds attractive?

There are plenty of smart people around, thank goodness, but relatively few leaders. Real leadership requires boldness in addition to smarts; being smart isn’t enough by itself. Practically speaking, I’d hope that Maryland would revise its recruiting message to be something along these lines: “You’re already smart or you wouldn’t be considering getting an MBA. Come to Terp Valley and we’ll turn you into a leader.” Obviously I don’t write good ad copy, but I hope I’ve made my point.

“Why settle for being a mere thought leader when you can go all the way to leader?”

God help the poor sap who ever introduces me at a meeting as, “Jack Barse, a true thought leader in RFID” (or anything else.) That poor stooge will have just subjected the audience to a significant expository rant on the above.