Institutional Thought Leadership | Jeff Kavanaugh

Building an institute for thought leadership

An interview with Jeff Kavanaugh about building a thought leadership arm for a multi-billion dollar tech firm.

Today’s guest is Jeff Kavanaugh, the Global Head at Infosys Knowledge Institute, the research and thought leadership arm of Infosys diversified technology and digital firm. The Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI) helps industry leaders develop a deeper understanding of business and technology trends through compelling thought leadership. Earlier this year, Jeff published his second book The Live Enterprise.

Jeff explains how the institute isn’t just a place for people to have a platform but a place for teaching others to build communication and extend their voice.  Jeff and Bill look at the three audiences that the institute serves best.

The Digital Brain

Next, we spend some time discussing the transformation of the digital age. Jeff and Bill discuss the concept of the invisible brain, an evolution of the invisible hand.  We examine the knowledge graph and how it connects data to people and things. Plus, we investigate how the digital brain can take rules-based information that has become digitized, then automate and optimize it.  Together, the digital brain and the knowledge graph set the tone for the curation of knowledge in a company.

Finally, we wrap up with Jeff giving some valuable advice for anyone who might want to turn their ideas into a book for their organization. He reveals where to start  and how to actually publish the project.

Three Key Takeaways from the Interview

• Branding you thought leadership is a long game. You have to be comfortable with giving value with no expectations of something in return.
• Your thought leadership needs to have its own edge. If you are saying the same thing as everyone else you are invisible.
•  When making the choice to write a book start with a four thousand word keystone. Afterwards, determine if there is still enough depth to write a full book that others will want to read.

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