As entrepreneurs, we dream that our company becomes as successful as Microsoft, for example.

"Thought leader" is a term used to describe a person who is recognized for his or her ideas and opinions. The term can also be applied to companies. Achieving recognition for thought leadership can go a long way in increasing the value of a company. The challenge for business leaders is to step into the role of thought leaders. If you're already there, congratulations, but if you're not putting forth your best ideas to build positive corporate visibility, it's time to get started.

GE's former CEO, Jack Welch, is a good example of a thought leader. With Welch as GE's chairman and CEO for 20 years, the company experienced tremendous growth and expansion. Welch knew how to effectively communicate key ideas, not only by delivering messages, but persistently repeating them over and over, and ultimately driving the messages home.

Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, is another fine example. Not only because he created an industry that did not exist and a kind of brand that was very unusual when the company launched, but also because he had a vision and a story. Schultz told it to anyone who would listen - internally and, later, externally.

As entrepreneurs, we dream that our company becomes as successful as Microsoft, for example. In Bill Gates' keynote remarks at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, he deliberately stated he was taking thought leadership to the next level. "With the Xbox generation, we were the thought leader," he said. "With the Xbox 360, we're quickly moving from thought leadership to market leadership." Isn't that what we all aspire to?

My fellow English countryman James Dyson of Dyson vacuum fame can count himself among these industry luminaries as far as I'm concerned. You may or may not know him, but he's a definite thought leader. He put his thoughts into action and built a multibillion-dollar global business as a result.

Sure, he developed a great product, but he also recognized the value of persuasion - not just pitching his invention, but evangelizing the scientific concept behind it. His net worth is said to be nearly $2 billion (U.S.). Wouldn't you mind putting a little effort into your leadership skills for that kind of ROI?

Step By Step
So, how do you become a thought leader? Well, it's not just talking about your entrepreneurial skills and business exploits around the dinner table to family members. Unless, of course, you happen to be related to journalists with major television networks, national publication editors or famous talk show hosts.

Instead, you need to develop a mechanism to communicate your ideas and opinions. That involves message development, coaching - even former President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are regularly media trained - and hiring an individual or a team of PR experts to get you in front of the media and conference audiences so you can continually tell your story.

Speaking of Blair, it recently became apparent that he is a very savvy marketer and greatly values the power of public relations. The number of PR professionals now employed in the British government increased from a few hundred in 1997 to more than 3,000 today. Although I'm not suggesting you recruit an army of PR people to establish you as a thought leader and raise your company's visibility, you cannot underestimate the positive impact PR can make to your bottom line. There is a great deal of value to be derived from an expertly planned and executed public relations campaign.

As entrepreneurs, we are by definition highly driven and very passionate individuals. We are also risk takers, and that means not being afraid of controversy and having the confidence to speak your mind. Reporters love that.

With that kind of passion and drive you're already part of the way to becoming a thought leader. Now you have to develop your "thoughts," which are basically ideas or key messages.

What is it that you want to be known for? What do you want to be recognized by reporters as a go-to source for? What do you want to say? A PR team can help you develop those key messages and proof points.

Once you know what you want to say, message delivery is the next step. Very few of us are born with the natural talents to speak in sound bites. It's very difficult and often nerve wracking to think about keeping answers short and to the point when a TV camera is aimed straight at you.

Media interview techniques can be learned, however, and natural skills can always be fine-tuned. A professional media trainer can take you from being a good spokesperson to a great one. You can become someone who easily engages an audience of any size.

Get Created
The captains of industry I referred to earlier were not born as thought leaders, they were created. More accurately, the opportunities for them to communicate their ideas to the public were created. Their PR experts worked to turn them into engaging spokespeople. Now that you have all of the elements in place, a PR counsel can work its magic with you and your company. It will determine which tactics to use and when to best communicate your ideas to your customers, investors, partners and employees via the various media outlets available. Whether it is a series of press interviews, contributed articles written under your byline, opinion pieces or speaker placements at key conferences, PR counsel can help you become a recognized thought leader.   VTR_US

Vivian Kelly is founder and CEO of Interprose Inc., a public relations firm based in Reston, Va. Contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 703-860-0577.