Transcript
WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.789 Welcome back to be to be growth. I'm looking lyles with sweet fish media. 2 00:00:09.070 --> 00:00:13.029 Today I'm joined by gene axe as he's the senior vice president of global 3 00:00:13.150 --> 00:00:16.230 thought leadership at Aa Arp. Gene, welcome to the show. How you 4 00:00:16.309 --> 00:00:19.149 doing today, man, Hey Logan, I'm doing well. How about your 5 00:00:19.230 --> 00:00:22.579 self? I am doing fantastic. You know, we love to get to 6 00:00:22.699 --> 00:00:25.460 know our guests right out of the gate. So, Jean, are you 7 00:00:25.579 --> 00:00:28.579 team coke or team Pepsi? Where do you fall in the great debate? 8 00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:31.339 There? What an else? That a question. Well, you know, 9 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:36.090 I'm neither team coke or team Pepsi. I tend to stay away from the 10 00:00:37.289 --> 00:00:41.689 soda's as much as possible. I may have a coke here and there, 11 00:00:41.890 --> 00:00:46.530 but for the most part I'm I'm neither and, frankly, to the Hofite 12 00:00:46.649 --> 00:00:50.240 and their days, I cannot tell the difference. So my apologies for the 13 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:53.640 hey. Well, coke came out of your mouth. So you know, 14 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:57.960 by default your team coke when you are there, but you know, sounds 15 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.320 like your team water. Team stay away from the Sodas, which you know 16 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:03.950 I've kind of ebbed and flowed in in that myself. That's awesome, gene. 17 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:07.269 I love to open up the conversation just to get get to know our 18 00:01:07.310 --> 00:01:11.069 guests a little bit. We're going to be talking about, you know, 19 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:14.870 something that's right there in your title, thought leadership. A lot of marketing 20 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:19.299 teams that I talked to day in and day out there talking about thought leaderships 21 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:25.340 as a concept. You guys have actually invested at AARP in thought leadership as 22 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:30.060 a function, as we are going to have roles that are specifically dedicated to 23 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:33.650 thought leadership. So as we open up the conversation, I would love to 24 00:01:33.769 --> 00:01:40.049 hear a little bit about how you actually define thought leadership, just before we 25 00:01:40.170 --> 00:01:42.930 get into kind of the tactics of how do you develop thought leadership? What 26 00:01:42.969 --> 00:01:46.049 does that look like? What have you guys learned? What is thought leadership 27 00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:49.280 to you? First of all, Logan, I really appreciate that question and 28 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:53.120 this conversation. Just a little bit about a RP, just to kind of 29 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:57.959 give us some contexts Arapis and organization that was founded over sixty years ago by 30 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:04.150 a retired principle who went looking for our retired friend and found her friend was 31 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:07.349 a retired teacher living in a chicken coup, literally a shack without walls, 32 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:14.389 and for over sixty years, our founder, fo Dr Ethel Percy Anders, 33 00:02:15.189 --> 00:02:20.659 envisioned a society whereby Oder dolls could really age with dignity, independence and purpose. 34 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:24.060 And for over sixty years we've been on this journey to really ensure that 35 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:28.580 we can empower people to choose how they live in age, that we can 36 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:32.129 address the issues of healthcare, that we could address the issues of financial security 37 00:02:32.810 --> 00:02:36.409 and then we could address issues of personal fulfillment. At the end of the 38 00:02:36.490 --> 00:02:40.090 day, across all ages and generations, we care about our health, we 39 00:02:40.210 --> 00:02:46.120 care about our financial health and we also care about our overall wellbeing. So 40 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:49.879 as what our CEO refers as health, love him self. So, to 41 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:53.919 answer your question about thought leadership, thought leadership is more than just a buzzword. 42 00:02:54.439 --> 00:03:00.389 Particular within the Congret of AARP, we have really been working to position 43 00:03:00.550 --> 00:03:06.430 the organization as a thought partner with regards to thinking about how do we change 44 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:10.110 the way the world looks at and views aging, how do we disrupt those 45 00:03:10.189 --> 00:03:16.580 negative stereotypes? And we work closely with our colleagues and marketing and communications to 46 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:23.539 really do that. Thought leadership is about having and innovative idea, and innovation 47 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:28.129 can be small or it could be big and it's really thinking about how do 48 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:35.330 we break through the noise, base on evidence that's back by research that provides 49 00:03:35.490 --> 00:03:38.610 a different perspective, gene. What I heard you say a couple times, 50 00:03:38.610 --> 00:03:43.680 there is a different perspective, a disruptive idea, and I think a lot 51 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:47.919 of marketing teams kind of throw thought leadership and brand awareness together because from a 52 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.520 from a marketing funnel perspective, they both kind of sit up here at the 53 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.990 top of the funnel. Do you think that, in order to really pursue 54 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:02.030 thought leadership, it's not just about making sure that people know who you are, 55 00:04:02.229 --> 00:04:05.669 what you do and even what you stand for, but it has to 56 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:11.419 be centered around this idea that we have a differentiated point of view or we 57 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:15.819 see things shifting. We either have a disruptive idea or we see disruption coming 58 00:04:15.980 --> 00:04:21.420 and we're the facilitators of that story, that that innovation and that disruption. 59 00:04:21.540 --> 00:04:26.930 Do you think that that is something that always has to be there with thought 60 00:04:26.970 --> 00:04:30.889 leadership? I think there's a lot of noise, there's a lot of information, 61 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:34.290 there's a lot of content that's being generated and then the question becomes exactly 62 00:04:34.529 --> 00:04:38.920 how do you break through that noise and then how do you spark change, 63 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:42.439 how do you spark action? And I think that's where I thought leadership, 64 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:48.720 working closely with communications and marketing, can really have a great partnership. So 65 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:53.509 for us at a RP is really thinking about what are those different angles of 66 00:04:53.589 --> 00:04:58.350 looking at an issue and how can you create some insights, some ideas, 67 00:04:58.709 --> 00:05:01.110 some solutions. That really causes people to say, you know what, I 68 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:05.550 never thought about it this way, I never thought about that. How can 69 00:05:05.629 --> 00:05:14.300 we expand people's thinking around certain challenges? How can we cultivate relationships with nontraditional 70 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:20.569 people and non traditional organizations and nontraditional sectors to adopt our mindset, are perspective 71 00:05:20.649 --> 00:05:26.610 or to basically put the issues of aging on their agenda? So thought leadership 72 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:30.449 in that regard. I think it's critically important for many organizations who are trying 73 00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:34.329 to figure out ways in which to not only be relevant but also to be 74 00:05:34.370 --> 00:05:41.040 impactful, not only to be a relevant in the sense of they provide services 75 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:46.639 in a range of information and content to their customer grace, but they are 76 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.910 that go to resource. When you think of x, you think of this 77 00:05:51.069 --> 00:05:56.790 organization, and I think that part of that is really thinking about how do 78 00:05:56.910 --> 00:06:01.430 we position our organizations to really be that? That what we've referred to as 79 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:05.899 a ARP, and this is actually through our great work of our communication colleagues, 80 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:10.740 that we are that wise friend and that there's defender, meaning the fact 81 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:14.100 that I can aarpp that, and I think part of the role of thought 82 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:16.740 leadership is to be on the cutting edge, is to look at the data 83 00:06:16.779 --> 00:06:21.610 transit, to look at what's emerging and figure out what are the opportunities to 84 00:06:21.730 --> 00:06:28.050 really kind of highlight the value proposition of the organization with regards to whatever that 85 00:06:28.290 --> 00:06:31.410 changing landscape. Maybe Yeh Gene, you talked a little bit. They're about 86 00:06:31.529 --> 00:06:38.680 the partnership with communications and marketing, as well as those in your organization that 87 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:42.560 are specifically focused on thought leadership. I want to come back to that in 88 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.959 a second, but you just something just kind of rolled off your tongue there 89 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.430 where you said we want to be that wise friend and that fierce defender to 90 00:06:49.550 --> 00:06:54.470 the audience that you serve. It those characteristics. Is that something that you 91 00:06:54.550 --> 00:06:59.709 guys have been intentional? Did you kind of workshop those terms that Hey, 92 00:06:59.829 --> 00:07:02.579 this is really what kind of everything's going to roll up to, or is 93 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:06.980 that just kind of where you guys have landed through figuring out, you know, 94 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:11.579 how you're serving with the content that that you're sharing. Well, I 95 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:16.490 give our leadership tramiss amount of meredit for this, from our CEO to our 96 00:07:16.490 --> 00:07:21.689 chief marketing and communication officer, for really kind of thinking holistically in terms of 97 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:28.129 exactly what are we trying to do? What is our value proposition for our 98 00:07:28.209 --> 00:07:32.319 thirty eight million members and then also to the general population of those turning fifty 99 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:36.720 and older, and it really blow down into being a wise friend and a 100 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:42.959 fierce defender, whether that is the communications work, the information that we provide, 101 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:46.509 the services, the programs that we deliver across the country or the advocacy 102 00:07:46.629 --> 00:07:50.149 work that we do on Capital Hill, whether that's at the national level or 103 00:07:50.389 --> 00:07:57.829 in state capitals across the country. That that as an organization, we want 104 00:07:57.870 --> 00:08:01.300 a partner and meet people where they are. And if you think about your 105 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:07.139 closed network of friends and family members, they serve as that function that when 106 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:13.769 something comes up, whether it's great or not so great, you call your 107 00:08:13.850 --> 00:08:16.889 closest confident and say hey, I want to talk to you about something, 108 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:22.329 and they serve as that wise friend. Or they can also serve as that 109 00:08:22.529 --> 00:08:26.009 fierce offender really looking out for your best interest. And as an organization, 110 00:08:26.490 --> 00:08:31.519 we see ourselves as really trying to serve our members and the general fifty plus 111 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:37.799 population. And those two regards gene as, you guys looked at building out 112 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.350 an actual function dedicated to thought leadership. What did that look like and how 113 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:45.870 many people have you know now thought leadership is their title? How is that 114 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:50.429 structured? Is it within marketing? I'm really curious. As you know, 115 00:08:50.710 --> 00:08:54.549 marketing and sales organizations there's a few different flavors out there. There's kind of 116 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:58.620 debate in the way, you know, things should be structured in different, 117 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:01.379 different organizations. I would love to hear a little bit about you know, 118 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:05.740 how many people do you guys have dedicated to thought leadership? Has that changed? 119 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:09.980 How long have you guys had folks dedicated to thought leadership? What is 120 00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:16.450 the the organizational relationship with calms and marketing? Just as others start to think 121 00:09:16.450 --> 00:09:18.370 about what would this look like for us to actually, you know, not 122 00:09:18.529 --> 00:09:24.600 just talk about thought leadership but dedicate resources in a function to it. So 123 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:30.559 I have a small but mighty team that have the titles thought leadship associated with 124 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.879 their official titles. I will say that at a RP we're very fortunate and 125 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:39.590 regards to the support that we have across the entire organization. So thought leadership, 126 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:45.230 that the idea of creating content, idea of thinking about solutions, the 127 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:50.669 idea of bringing in speakers and pushing those out happens throughout our entire organization. 128 00:09:50.350 --> 00:09:58.019 Our function particularly really looks to create thought leadership platforms, initiatives that leverages a 129 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:03.019 lot of the thoughtsh that's having across the organization to really position a ARP as 130 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:07.889 that global thought leader, as that global thought partner. I think that week 131 00:10:09.409 --> 00:10:13.610 as a function has been around for about five years under our CEO, who 132 00:10:13.690 --> 00:10:18.929 really envisioned to have a very solutions oriented function within the organization that was on 133 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:24.720 the cutting edge, that was thinking about cutting edge issues, that were thinking 134 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:28.639 about innovative conversations, that was taken a pulse of where things were and looking 135 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.120 for opportunities for us to really provide value. So, as a team and 136 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.070 as a department, are part of our charges to lead with value, thinking 137 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:41.190 about how do we leverage the thought this ship that's having across all of Aarp, 138 00:10:41.789 --> 00:10:43.909 how do we leverage the thought leadership in the opportunities that we see in 139 00:10:45.029 --> 00:10:52.860 the external environment to really elevate key insights, key conversation's, key perspectives. 140 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:56.820 That really helps to change how the world views and sees aging. Really, 141 00:10:56.899 --> 00:11:01.179 going back to what I said earlier, Logan about moving away from this negative 142 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:09.450 stereotype that older adults are a liability in the climb to really thinking about how 143 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:15.490 do we leverage the aging of the population, because actually older adults are an 144 00:11:15.570 --> 00:11:20.519 asset and in many cases are as a tremendous contributors to our society, whether 145 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:24.399 it's the amount that they spend in volunteering, whether it's the amount that they 146 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:30.440 spend and caregiving, or their economic contributions more broader to society. So a 147 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.950 great example I'll show you of a thought leadership initiative is what we refer to 148 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:39.990 as a long every economy outlook, which it basically quantifies the economic value of 149 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:45.029 those who are aged fifteen older, and we found that in two thousand and 150 00:11:45.029 --> 00:11:48.940 eighteen the economic contribution of the fifty plus population was eight point three trillion dollars. 151 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:54.220 So if you were to think about that, the fifty plus population, 152 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:58.299 if you were to think about just countries, if the fifty plus population was 153 00:11:58.419 --> 00:12:03.570 its own country, the economic contributions alone would be the third largest in the 154 00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:07.769 world, next to China and to the United States. And this is not 155 00:12:07.889 --> 00:12:11.690 just for the fifty plus. It's also a ripple effect across generations. You 156 00:12:11.769 --> 00:12:18.039 know why? Because we're able to actually forecast when millennials will turn fifty, 157 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.919 and they will turn fifty and twenty thirty one. That's not too far away. 158 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:24.320 And then they annual. Did you have to say that? Yes, 159 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:30.230 I want you to embrace your age Logan. There is is happening on the 160 00:12:30.350 --> 00:12:33.750 fly, right here on the flood. You know that every day we're aging, 161 00:12:35.029 --> 00:12:37.429 and the beautiful thing is the fact that how people are aging today is 162 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:41.350 dressed to be different from how they've age in the past. So how do 163 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:46.179 we start to engage industries and sectors to think differently about what it means to 164 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:50.740 get older in the US or even today's internationally of older persons to get older 165 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:54.379 in the world? So part of what we're doing is looking for those nuggets 166 00:12:54.820 --> 00:13:00.090 to be able to have those conversations and say, did you know that there's 167 00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:03.850 a ripple effect, that this is in a generation? Know that when you 168 00:13:03.970 --> 00:13:05.690 look at two thousand and eighteen. Or you look at two thousand and thirty 169 00:13:05.730 --> 00:13:11.809 one, the economic contribution of the fifty plus population will go from a point 170 00:13:11.850 --> 00:13:16.879 three tree into almost thirteen trillion dollars. That's a significant portion in terms of 171 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:22.600 the economy and its generational as I indicated, you know, millennials turn fifty 172 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.879 and two thousand and thirty one and Genese would turn fifty and two thousand and 173 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:28.669 forty two. So again, just kind of thinking about that changes the dynamics, 174 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:33.149 a change of the conversation and you start to see these issues differently. 175 00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:37.629 We work very close with our marketing and communication colleagues to be able to say, 176 00:13:37.669 --> 00:13:41.309 okay, here's some great insights, here's a way to break through the 177 00:13:41.429 --> 00:13:46.580 noise and to have a different type of conversation, and we work in partnership 178 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:50.539 to think about how we communicate at how do we market, how do we 179 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:54.179 change that? So this is a really good example, I think, gene, 180 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:58.929 of where you were talking about changing our perception or bringing a disruptive idea, 181 00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:05.169 and this example of showing the data, telling the story of the economic 182 00:14:05.250 --> 00:14:11.159 impact of the fifty plus in America, how that tactically happened. Now I'm 183 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:16.960 curious tactically how it actually came about? Would you say that a lot of 184 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:20.240 your team members, a lot of their day to day is spent on on 185 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.830 researching and kind of analyzing stuff out there in the market, as well as 186 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:28.190 the content that you're marketing team has already been producing to find those trends, 187 00:14:28.230 --> 00:14:31.830 to find the stories to tell that? You know, if you're going to 188 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:37.710 develop a thought leadership team, they need to be kind of journalistic in mindset 189 00:14:37.750 --> 00:14:41.700 and kind of research oriented, or is it more a communications is kind of 190 00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:46.379 sharing this direction? And then you kind of, I guess, where does 191 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:50.620 it start? Yeah, where does the we're just kind of the role. 192 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:54.850 If you're building out a thought leadership team, what are some of the characteristics 193 00:14:54.169 --> 00:14:56.970 that map to, you know, kind of what the daytoday looks like? 194 00:14:58.289 --> 00:15:01.450 I think that's a great question and Aarp's unique in a sense that we have 195 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:05.370 a research team, we have a public policy institute and we're able to glean 196 00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:09.720 a lot of those insights from those teams. With regards to our thought leadership 197 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.360 team, and what I would say in response to your question is, if 198 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.600 I think you need a combination of people who are big thinkers, people who 199 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.950 have an entrepreneur on mindset, meaning the fact that they can look at a 200 00:15:22.070 --> 00:15:26.389 problem and come up with different types of solutions, who are expansive and they're 201 00:15:26.470 --> 00:15:30.190 thinking and who can connect the dots. I think that's critically points to be 202 00:15:30.230 --> 00:15:33.389 able to connect the dots. And what our team actually does? They do 203 00:15:33.629 --> 00:15:37.299 a little bit of clearly have to do an environment scan to get a sentence 204 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:41.379 to exactly what is the nature of the conversation in the solution of being proposed, 205 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:45.379 but you also need that expansive mindset to say, is there a different 206 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:50.049 angle here that is not being discussed or being highlighted, where we can provide 207 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:54.970 value? That's a social with our organization where we have credibility and I'll give 208 00:15:54.970 --> 00:15:58.129 you I'll give you another example of how we actually do that. And then, 209 00:15:58.289 --> 00:16:00.409 third, can we connect the dots? Can we connect the DOTS internally? 210 00:16:00.889 --> 00:16:04.919 Can we connect the DOTS externally? Can we create lanes of opportunity for 211 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:10.720 the organization to provide value? Again, how are we leading with value and 212 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:14.799 get I'll give you a perfect example of this. There's been a lot of 213 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:18.950 conversations around the feature of work, where there it's robots, where there's our 214 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:25.629 automation just really kind of having these conversations, but for a very long time 215 00:16:25.950 --> 00:16:30.110 there was little conversation about another nagatrend that was happening, and that was the 216 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:33.019 fact that people are living longer and either want or need to continue working. 217 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:40.860 So who best but a ARP to be able to elevate that Naga trend into 218 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:47.490 the future work broader conversations that there are many companies are seeing for to five 219 00:16:47.889 --> 00:16:52.529 generations working at the same time. How do you leverage that? So what 220 00:16:52.649 --> 00:16:56.090 we were able to do is create a major initiative with the Road Economic Forum 221 00:16:56.450 --> 00:17:00.960 and OECD called living, learning and earning longer, and the goal was to 222 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:08.240 bring global companies together around the concept of an h diverse workforce, because longevity 223 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:14.839 was another compelling and profound Nagatrend, similar to what we're seeing with automation and 224 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:19.029 robots. And what we've been able to do we had a major global conference 225 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:23.869 where we brought in a hundred and fifty c sweet ex decatives. We created 226 00:17:23.869 --> 00:17:32.099 a lot of content and reports that found that an age diverse workforce actually is 227 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:36.259 better for the bottom line of the company, that the aid the workforce is 228 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:42.099 more likely to be sustainable over time. Turnover is at much lower because there's 229 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:49.650 this mutual opportunity for mentorship, reverse mentorship and the like. And now we 230 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:57.089 have a collaborative that has thirty seven global companies, that has over a hundred 231 00:17:57.210 --> 00:18:03.119 one point eight million employees and close to the train iles worth of revenue, 232 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:07.640 all around this notion of how can we leverage and Fossa a age diverse workforce. 233 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:12.109 So again, these conversation were happening around the future of work, but 234 00:18:12.269 --> 00:18:17.269 no one was looking at it from the Ang of longevity. A RP, 235 00:18:17.670 --> 00:18:22.829 given our organization in our history, serves as a credible partner that can elevate 236 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:27.420 the issues of longevity. We built strategic relationships with the World Economic Forum and 237 00:18:27.619 --> 00:18:33.900 OECD, and now we have a major collaborative with over with nearly forty global 238 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:40.259 companies, that has a reach of one point eight million employees, that neet 239 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:48.089 monthly to exchange promising practices that are being implement in other organizations. That's huge. 240 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:53.289 Man, the impact of having folks dedicated to thought leadership is just very 241 00:18:53.490 --> 00:18:57.279 apparent. They're in that story. You know. The the other initiative you 242 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:02.359 were talking about just kind of took me a back it actually spoke to you 243 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.839 know, hey, I kind of responded negatively to hitting fifty as a millennial, 244 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.390 and that's exactly the story that you guys are trying to tell, trying 245 00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:14.309 to disrupt that narrative of, you know, turning fifty is a bad thing. 246 00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:17.309 I wasn't necessarily think about it from a work perspective, but you know, 247 00:19:17.349 --> 00:19:19.549 I just think that was that was kind of Meta and and I love 248 00:19:19.710 --> 00:19:26.180 the the tactical examples here. Gene. If there are marketing teams out there 249 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:30.779 that have kind of been kicking around thought leadership, we want to build our 250 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:34.619 brand as a thought leader and you wanted to give them a start here. 251 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:40.289 What would be the first one to two steps you would recommend them start doing, 252 00:19:40.329 --> 00:19:44.690 whether they build out functions and titles dedicated to thought leadership, or it's 253 00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:48.130 it's someone in marketing or someone in marketing leadership that says we need to take 254 00:19:48.210 --> 00:19:52.960 a different approach or we need to add thought leadership into our mix. What 255 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:56.880 would you recommend, as we close out the conversation today, a few steps 256 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.720 for them to take to start heading in the right direction? I appreciate that 257 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.079 question. I think there's a couple of things. One is to start with 258 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:07.910 the question why if you can answer the question why you're what has more impact, 259 00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:12.309 and what I mean by that is the fact that there was a strategic 260 00:20:12.589 --> 00:20:18.789 decision that was made to create a thought leadership function within the organization, and 261 00:20:18.109 --> 00:20:23.299 part of that strategy was that our leadership felt that there was a tremendous opportunity 262 00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:32.059 to help frame the conversations, to help establish an agenda that can actually change 263 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:37.529 how the world views aging issues and that a RP could play a significant role 264 00:20:37.650 --> 00:20:41.289 in that process. So the first thing is to really be able to articulate 265 00:20:41.529 --> 00:20:48.529 what is the what the white factor, and then you're what has impact right. 266 00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:52.079 The other thing I would recommend, Logan as for those who are thinking 267 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:57.640 about this, is to really think about the opportunities for inner organizational collaboration, 268 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:03.200 meaning the fact that when I first became senior vice person global goal leadership, 269 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:08.670 the first person I called I called to key leaders within the organization. The 270 00:21:08.789 --> 00:21:14.349 first person was a senior vice president for brand, the second was the senior 271 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:19.259 vice president for media relations, and I did that because I see the relationship 272 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:26.420 between thought leadership, brand a communication as critical, because what we're ultimately doing 273 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:33.650 is positioning the organization to be relevant, to be impactful, to be strategic 274 00:21:33.849 --> 00:21:37.210 and to be an innovator, and I thought that I was critically important for 275 00:21:37.289 --> 00:21:41.009 us to stablish that. So the first thing is why? What's the strategy? 276 00:21:42.049 --> 00:21:45.089 Why you see this as in for it? If you can answer those 277 00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:48.960 questions, then the second becomes exactly how do you create the collaboration as necessary 278 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:55.559 within the organization so you get out of this turf box, and then the 279 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.839 third is really thinking about what's the impact? You're trying to make what was 280 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.150 sucsess look like for you, and I think that being able to do those 281 00:22:04.190 --> 00:22:11.470 three things will be critically important to not just creating a thought leadership function but 282 00:22:11.630 --> 00:22:15.779 sustaining it over time. Yeah, because that last one, gene, what 283 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:21.460 are some of the things that you that you guys measure success on since you 284 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:26.140 guys have had folks dedicated to thought leadership, because it to some it's kind 285 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:29.539 of like it's kind of this this fluffy term. I'm not sure how to 286 00:22:29.619 --> 00:22:33.769 measure its impact. It's not sales to where I'm looking at. You know, 287 00:22:33.009 --> 00:22:40.089 quantifiable revenue would have been some of those indicators of success since you guys 288 00:22:40.130 --> 00:22:42.730 have gone down this path. So there's a couple I think I'll use the 289 00:22:42.809 --> 00:22:47.680 example with regards to the future of work in our partners with the road economic 290 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:52.519 from an Olycd the fact that we have more and more global companies recognizing their 291 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:56.920 value of a multigenerational workforce and the role that Lungervi's plane is critically important. 292 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:03.549 The fact that we can turn to nearly forty global companies that have a reach 293 00:23:03.630 --> 00:23:07.589 of one point eight million employees and the total revenue of close to a trillion 294 00:23:07.630 --> 00:23:12.180 dollars. It's a great example of how you can take an idea translate into 295 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:18.339 influence and translated into impact. The other thing I would say is that as 296 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:25.500 we have these relationships and we build these conversations and and these partnerships to extend 297 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:33.609 to which these untraditional organizations and institutions are and are integrating and embedding many of 298 00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:41.170 our perspectives and ideas as part of their agenda, that is another tangible example 299 00:23:41.210 --> 00:23:45.000 of impact. And then, thirdly, I think the fact that you can 300 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:51.319 be a you can track and measure the change in tone and conversation or people's 301 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:56.950 use of certain terminology and and perspectives like the longer economy outlook, as another 302 00:23:57.029 --> 00:24:00.309 example of impact. Right because I think at the end of the day, 303 00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:04.549 for us at a are p the role of thought wayships to do three things. 304 00:24:04.710 --> 00:24:10.259 One is information. Is the world's most important currency. So how we 305 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:15.019 producing valuable information that is of value not to just us as an organization, 306 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:19.019 but to our users? Do they feel that they're more educated? Do they 307 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:22.700 feel empowered? Can they do something with the information that we're producing to them 308 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:26.690 in addition to the information that's not that's that's great, but we also want 309 00:24:26.690 --> 00:24:32.690 to influence. How we enforcing conversations, how we influencing partnerships? And then 310 00:24:33.089 --> 00:24:37.490 not just influence and information, but more portly impact, to your point earlier, 311 00:24:37.529 --> 00:24:40.920 what's the pact that we're having? So, as organizations think about their 312 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:45.039 thought theership functions, I think they want to think about those three eyes information. 313 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.119 What information are you producing that is really thought provoking and breaking through the 314 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:52.910 noise? Influence? Where you showing up? Are you showing up to the 315 00:24:53.230 --> 00:24:57.069 choir or are you showing up in places that people would never have thought you 316 00:24:57.150 --> 00:25:02.309 would be in? Are you building relationships with traditional partners, or are you 317 00:25:02.390 --> 00:25:07.180 thinking about untraditional partners where you can cultivate relationships? And then, third, 318 00:25:07.339 --> 00:25:11.420 what's the impact that you're having and the essential which you can address those three 319 00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:14.700 eyes. I think it will really put you in a very good position as 320 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:18.940 an organization. I think listeners of this show know that I am a sucker 321 00:25:18.059 --> 00:25:25.089 for a good alliterative list and that is always good to help it stick in 322 00:25:25.170 --> 00:25:27.690 your mind. So I really appreciate that because I think measurement when it comes 323 00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:30.930 to thought leadership is one of those things it's a little bit tough for people 324 00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:34.450 to talk about, to nail down, and I think that framework really does 325 00:25:34.609 --> 00:25:38.759 does summon up well. Gene Gene. If anybody listening to this would like 326 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:41.960 to ask you any follow up questions that we weren't able to get to here 327 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.920 in this interview or just stay connected with you, what's the best way for 328 00:25:45.079 --> 00:25:49.390 them to reach out or stay connected? Absolutely so, by all means they 329 00:25:49.430 --> 00:25:53.630 can reach I'm on social media, as you could imagine. My twitter handles 330 00:25:55.029 --> 00:25:59.589 at gene axis, or they can always shoot me an email at a ARP, 331 00:25:59.829 --> 00:26:03.910 which is j axe as at a RP dot org, or they can 332 00:26:03.950 --> 00:26:06.859 find me on linked and so there's three different ways you can reach me. 333 00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:11.740 Would happy, be happy to connect. I'm always looking to increase my twitter 334 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:17.619 followers, so please go ahead and on twitter and shoot me a like or 335 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:19.569 something that extent. As you can see, Logan, I'm not too familiar 336 00:26:19.609 --> 00:26:22.450 with how you do it on twitter. I just see the numbers I left, 337 00:26:22.490 --> 00:26:26.009 but nevertheless I love it. I love it, Ge and, for 338 00:26:26.089 --> 00:26:33.480 anybody listening, last name is Accius. Will Link to Jeans Linkedin profile right 339 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:36.319 in the show. Now it's make it easy to connect with them and they 340 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.480 find them everywhere. Gene, thank you so much for being our guest today. 341 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:42.960 I really appreciate this look behind the curtain at thought leadership within a ARP. 342 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:47.230 But thank you so much, Logan. I really enjoyed our conversation and 343 00:26:47.390 --> 00:26:52.990 I'm going to go have a coke. Gary v says it all the time 344 00:26:52.470 --> 00:26:57.470 and we agree. Every company should think of themselves as a media company first, 345 00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:03.099 then whatever it is they actually do. If you know this is true, 346 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:06.819 but your team is already maxed out and you can't produce any more content 347 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:10.460 in house, we can help. We produce podcast for some of the most 348 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:14.660 innovative bb brands in the world and we also help them turn the content from 349 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:18.490 the podcast and the blog posts micro videos and slide decks that work really well 350 00:27:18.569 --> 00:27:22.809 on Linkedin. If you want to learn more, go to sweet fish Mediacom 351 00:27:22.369 --> 00:27:26.769 launch or email logan at sweet fish Mediacom
