I did a search on my LinkedIn network and found that 1.580.000 people I am connected with have “thought leader” in their description. That’s a lot of thought leaders. I have met several (not as many) who actually present themselves as such. On Wikipedia I also read that thought leader is a “business jargon”. I agree!
Let’s look at the origins then where everything started.
“A thought leader is recognised by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who deeply understands the business they are in, the needs of their customers and the broader marketplace in which they operate. They have distinctively original ideas, unique points of view and new insights.”- this definition was coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Strategy & Business.
What is then the difference between a Thought Leader and a Master?
A master is someone with comprehensive knowledge or skill in a particular subject or activity. - Wikipedia
To me, the main difference between the two is that one is embodied experience, the other knowledge.
One makes and perfects their crafts by refining their hands as the most precious and exquisite tool.
The other has a peculiar (and deep) knowledge of something that fosters new insights.
One creates.
The other thinks.
One is “old hands” in action.
The other is ________ (fill in the blank).
How many masters have you met?
All the ones I have met did not refer to themselves as such and most of them spent their lives in pursuit of refining themselves while practicing an art. In pursuit of learning how to become irrelevant, impact-less, transparent so to be able to witness the pure essence of things (the Old English origin of the word thing is meeting).
If I were to mention qualities like irrelevant, impact-less, transparent as measure of success and a life well lived most would laugh at me. They are the exact opposite of what we obsessively pursue in our lives. Signs of failed presence on the internet. Qualities no-body would list in their 5-year plan to conquer a niche!
I feel that, though my LinkedIn network is packed with thought leaders, what I really desire is being in the presence of a Master. I might not find any on the Social Media…they are probably inhabiting their days practicing their craft and not scrolling the web.
Look for the most irrelevant, impact-less and transparent people around you…those being obscure to the wider network.
Being Obscure Verse 70, Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching (as translated by Ursula K. Le Guin)
My words are so easy to understand,
so easy to follow,
and yet nobody in the world
understands or follows them.
Words come from an ancestry,
deeds from a mastery;
when these are unknown, so am I.
In my obscurity
is my value.
That’s why the wise
wear their jade under common clothes.
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