Cyber risk and cyber security are very important but there are also a lot of people in that space. So how can thought leadership elevates you above the others in that space in a way that connects with a larger audience? Today our guest is Jeffrey Wheatman, Cyber Risk Evangelist for Black Kite, a company that is disrupting traditional third party risk management practices worldwide by providing cyber security experts with greater visibility. While the topics that Jeffrey talks about are of the utmost importance to most businesses, many just don’t have the technical knowledge to understand why they are important. Jeffrey explains that by using thought leadership he is able to convey these complex ideas in a language that business will care about and in a context they can clearly understand the threats that exist to their business. Part of his thought leadership includes speaking at conferences and other events. Jeffrey shares why he speaks about topics such as executives who don’t understand IT and understanding risk in 3rd party ecosystems instead of the services that Black Kite offers. By speaking to the issues in an authentic way he is able to build a relationship and get potential clients thinking of what they need to solve the presented problems, which ultimate sleds them back to him and eventually the services he offers. In addition to speaking Jeffrey uses LinkedIn to spread his thought leadership message. He discusses his target of posting at least once a day and how he judges the success of each post. He also talks about why it is important to take part in the discussions others are having, offering support and why it’s alright to be contrary to the original idea. Three Key Takeaways: · You need to find and embrace your own voice with its quarks because that is what attracts people to it. · Thought leadership comes down to being able to say something short, pithy, and that makes people lean in and say "I've never thought about that before". · You need to take what you know and compartmentalize it and share it in a way that it land with the largest audiences