ICON - Fall 2015

Business catchphrases are Born, live useful lives, and then wither into buzzwordiness. When it comes into being, if the catchphrase captures a concept in a clever way, it’s instantly popular. Those in the know, or those who want to be thought of as being in the know, use the new catchphrase with an insider’s glee. Thinking outside the box originated around 50 years ago and became the catchphrase for exploring innovative or unexpected solutions. It’s had a long life for a buzzword. But now… RIP. Thinking outside the box has become so clichéd, overused, and misused as to have lost its meaning. The ideas behind the phrase are still vital, but the phrase itself now belongs to Dilbert-land.

Before the same thing happens to thought leadership, we should try to understand what it truly means and how — or if — it’s a worthy goal for everyone. Thought leadership can consist of material on your website, articles you publish, presentations at conferences, and the services and products you offer clients. The advantages to being a thought leader are distinct. You get a good rep. Those in your field turn to you for advice and insights. Potential employees, partners, and clients want to be associated with you.

Even with those advantages, thought leadership probably isn’t for everyone. It takes considerable time and effort to achieve, and it requires you, or your organization, to be out front on initiatives. And, when you’re in the front, you’re the first to take fire. There’s nothing wrong with deciding not to invest the time and effort required to become a thought leader. And that’s the first truth of thought leadership: Doing it right requires a considerable and sometimes risky investment.

The second truth of thought leadership is that you have to be accurate and authoritative in what you say. Thought leaders don’t come out with pronouncements based on a quick look at Wikipedia. Nothing will undermine you more quickly than using incorrect or old data. As an example of doing it right, our Interior Design 2015/2016 Outlook and State of the Industry is based on a compilation of multiple sources: data collected from national databases and national surveys, focused discussions from interior design leaders, and an analysis of various trend reports spanning the interior design industry worldwide.

The third truth is that thought leadership must offer something jazzy. Let’s define that as one or more of the following: new, unique, bold, decisive. Restating or repackaging what’s already out there can be useful, but that doesn’t make you a leader. And neither does offering on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand arguments, which might be safe but aren’t leadership. You have to add value.

ASID took a chance on leadership in 2014 with our Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) commitment to action. We are working with other organizations, now numbering 15, to develop ASID Protocols for Health and Wellness in Design. Commitments at CGI America are projects or programs that are new, specific, and measurable. ASID partner organizations contribute knowledge, capacity, and financial resources to achieve positive outcomes for people, communities, and the broader economy. Because of this commitment, we are on our way to creating more than 100 hours of web-based education content by the fall of 2017.

We also think that the magazine you’re now reading is part and parcel of the Society’s thought leadership. Other publications in our field show beautiful pictures of designed spaces and design products, but ICON is unique in its devotion to covering the ideas of design. For example, this issue’s cover story reveals the good and the bad of crowdsourcing, an idea that might delight or appall you — or both. In our exploration of the idea, we even took the bold step of crowdsourcing our cover art. Write iconeditor@asid.org and let us know what you think of it.