How To: Thought Leadership

(GRWM is ‘get ready with me’ and quite the trend. In this case, it’s agenda review, not makeup.) Me last night, managing a pup injury, a kiddo’s birthday party, an unpacked suitcase, and two hours till I leave for San Francisco: I wish there were a way to get ready for agenda, topics, speakers, overall theme of this conference I’m attending in San Fran! OH WAIT - There IS a way to get ready quickly.NotebookLM prepared today’s podcast, a deep dive of the agenda and speakers in ten minutes, from one PDF and a strong-ish prompt. For the time I have, and what I need done to prep for Fortune Brainstorm AI in San Francisco this week, this AI tool helps solve that initial set of questions: * What and who is on the agenda? * What are they adressing in and around AI? * (most important) Where might I find beyond the table stakes, “enterprise implementation of AI is difficult! Regulation! Data is a mess!” The AI tool I’m using to help prepare: NotebookLM, one of the Google apps. Google’s Gemini is very powerful generative AI tool. We’re going to use NotebookLM to do the digging on my questions, and present it to me in a podcast format that I can listen to in the air tonight.So cool. From the podcast: “You’ve tasked us with something massive, synthesizing the strategic landscape captured within the entire agenda for Fortune Brainstorm AI San Francisco 2025. And this isn’t just about giving you a simple list of who’s speaking. The goal here is, I think, much more ambitious. Our mission is to transform you from a well-informed attendee into an insight generator.”Here’s how I did this (all on my iPhone): * Download the NotebookLM app from Google (always glance at who made the app before downloading) * I navigate in my phone browser to the event website for Fortune Brainstorm AI 2025* Get the link to the agenda. If easier or captures more info, you can use iPhone screengrab feature to create a full page PDF! Press your button on the right and your volume up button at the same time - then it will ask if you want a photo of the screen or the full page (!). Then choose to save to files as a PDF. I LOVE this new feature! * Go to NotebookLM app or on your mobile browser, and start a new project. Then add either the URL or the PDF you just made. After it starts processing that info, tap Studio, then the little pencil icon on Audio Overview to add a specific prompt of the thing you want covered. * This is the prompt I used: “I need a full briefing on this upcoming conference taking place centered around AI. Who are the speakers? What are their topics? How can I as an attendee be prepared to be fully engaged based on the latest happening with these speakers and what they’re doing in the field, and how the specific session speakers even intersect each other and what kind of thought leadership angles can I take as an attendee who will be seeking unique insights that are more novel than commonly discussed to share with my audience who will not be in attendance and would benefit from me relaying what I’ve learned.”See my NotebookLM - chat with it about the agenda (just try it out! easy! No one sees what you ask! Important to try new, highly reputable AI tools)! Or listen to the audio overview here as a podcast now! Thanks to Kate Marshall for sharing your AI journey and showing me how to do this!What kind of personal or business help might a tool like this give you? Tried it before? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit juliemichellemorris.substack.com

This episode is a nudge to our our best, brightest, often quietest leaders - many of you cynical about being in a spotlight, reluctant to take on this label of ‘thought leader’ - to consider how you explain YOU to the world now that AI’s here and demanding much of us. I share a rapid fire 15-mins with:* Real stories/examples from my journey (pivot moments, lessons learned).* Concrete strategies for positioning yourself in our new perma-uncertainty.* Tips for leading through AI thoughtfully rather than reactively.A little more background: AI is now the denominator. It’s the underlying thing that has changed everything about my world and yours. I believe we’ve reached a time where nothing will ever be the same - we will look back on this technology shift in a couple of decades, and pity those of us who had to be at the messy front end of it. I’m ready to be less afraid, and ready to find my footing. I’ve been (relatively) quiet over the last few months, considering the ramifications of this global transformation we’re all walking through. Through 2025 in the thick of AI, it’s felt like waves crashing. Hard to stand up straight, and hard to see through the sand dredged up by the waves. If you’re like me, you’re considering how AI is now the denominator in your world … * How to be a parent / AI* How to be a business owner, employee, provider / AI * How to sleep at night / with rapid-fire AI headlines* How to make sure you’re staying centered, curious, learning. How to be thoughtfully, proactively positioned in life, thought leadership, to your industry / AI. You are needed. We are needed. We - with good ideas.We - with heart to serve and to see the world around us do well. We need you sharp, confident - long before you feel like you are those things. We need you clear enough on why you’re here. We need you to do the hard thinking. We need you to show up with confidence, to the best of your ability. I had to pause twice just while writing this brief cover to the episode to read pings from my phone about massive job cuts taking place. No one is coming to save us but us - you, me, the other bright, caring folks who are waiting - too long - to be activated into action. We cannot have our best and brightest unsure of their place in this world such that they feel frozen, unsure - “am I qualified to speak up on AI if I’m not a engineer or PhD? I barely know how to explain this to my team - who am I to write about it? I don’t know what to do.” No one knows what to do. There are so many unknowns and uncertainties for any one of us. That’s why we need YOU and others to add their slice of know-how to help us chart a path forward. All you need to bring is your slice. There are two things you need to do the hard thinking about:* Where are you the best in your field?* What you think about AI and the direction of your industry?Why are these things so important? Take 15 minutes and listen to this episode. Please. If I hadn’t introduced myself, I’m Julie Michelle Morris. If we’re not connected on LinkedIn, please do so. I hope when you wake up tomorrow that your feet hit the floor with you on fire for the thing that only you can do in this world. Talk to you soon. Share this episode with a friend. From the pod:You are probably trying to figure out: What exactly do you believe about AI? What are you telling people around you that you believe about AI? And how on earth are you supposed to capitalize on this?Most of the people who listen to this podcast are monetizing their subject matter expertise. It is time to get very clear about what you want, where you’re going, what you’re willing to bleed for, what you tell people when you talk about AI.And it’s time to get a little excited. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit juliemichellemorris.substack.com

(Aaand I don’t know what happened to the last four seconds. But if you make it that far, I would have said…. get started!)Why would I encourage the busiest people I know to essentially abandon efforts on other thought leadership efforts, like LinkedIn (albeit temporarily!) and add yet another platform? This is the bigger point of Substack: If you're trying to build visibility or influence and you don't have a central place where your ideas live, Substack helps solve that problem, and more. Substack offers your thought leadership a home base, where you can publish writing (short form posts and long form articles, blogs), podcasts - AND will send an email to subscribers when you do! Why start now? You want to be there while it’s still early. Not because it’s trendy. But because it’s working. ever wonder why some people have huge followings and their stuff is… mediocre? They got there early. That’s why. They scooped up the gains.More to know:* Other writers can recommend your Substack to their audience, which helps you grow.* You can host your podcast there. I do.* It sends your thought leadership straight to your subscribers by email — every post, every podcast. If you don’t have email marketing set up, this is a big deal (if you don’t need complicated segmentation)* What audiences are on Substack? Business, tech, journalism, venture capital, finance, politics, arts, philosophy, religion, science, ‘the future of’ and much more. Only way to know if your people are there? Go look.* When you go to start, avoid choosing a title for your Substack that is vague, abstract, skippable. Stand out! Use four or five words.* Yes, you can have subscription levels for your Substack, and subscriber-only options. If unsure, don’t think about this part for now. Just write.* B2B? Yes, organizations have a place on Substack, and can help fill voids of thought leadership in your marketing calendars and when SEO is less than useful.If you feel like you’re ready to begin, but having a partner would be helpful to launch your Substack, book a 20-min intro call at this link to learn about my process to take your thought leadership from idea to live.Thanks for reading! Julie Michelle Morris LinkedIn | My work This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit juliemichellemorris.substack.com

I’ve said if I ever was going to write a book, it would look NOTHING like the current state that publishing is in today. (And while I’m not here to thumb my nose at publishing, I believe that whatever the route - traditional, self, hybrid, publishing - I’d LOVE to see a major rethink of the extractive, zero fun rigamarole I see WAY too many thought leaders stumble into, and walk out the other way with $20-50K less in their pocket and their confidence crushed.)I have no patience for a big reveal months down the road after manufacturing hype and teasing, while the world is in the biggest AND fastest transformation we’ve ever experienced. This method meets the times. I have a playbook to put into your hands. AND want to do the thing I always aim to do… pull back the curtain on the ‘how’ of thought leadership. There are so many ways to approach the ‘doing’ of thought leadership, and I am a firm believer that you will not do the things you do not like to do. This writing method is what will work for me to get it done. My (different) writing method: * Speaking the book: While I write… all day… I know myself enough to know that this is about the length I’ll write for me - article length. I will not sit down and write a book for myself. Verbally processing is useful. You’ll hear my method in action.* The team: My intern. Yes, intern. My mentee. She’s another author, a novel self-published on Amazon at age 12. In high school. It’s her summer, and she asked about an internship. She’s a great writer. And knew nothing about AI. It’s a project to teach her AI and to leverage her ability to write and execute. The Book Title: No way. This book doesn’t have a title yet. I usually title everything I’m working on (you recall I am a ghostwriter, yes?) at or near the end. Where will we start? We begin at the beginning. You need a WHY and a thesis statement. They can change mid-process, but you start from a best guess. THESIS: I'm writing a reinvention field guide that teaches people how to figure out what they want and confidently go after it. It's specifically for people who want to monetize their expertise beyond the norm of corporate, with a three-part framework and practical tactics for turning your expertise into revenue and thought leadership into positive influence. WHY: Most of us are going through life on two of five cylinders - puttering along in our work, our business, our personal mission. This is how to get all cylinders running so you can go after whatever it is you want to do with your one life. Listen and hear more about my book process and wrestling with an introduction, as a voice note to my intern working to interview me, gather all the material I have. This is my behind-the-scenes as I build a book. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit juliemichellemorris.substack.com

You won’t be surprised that I’m nudging you to finally start your podcast. If you’re stalled in your own podcast, you’ve been debating for three years now whether to start one, or you’ve talked yourself out of starting one, but you feel like you could or should, take 20 minutes and listen. This is everything I would’ve wanted to know before starting my podcast, why I started one, the few must-do’s, how to get moving on zero budget, and what a podcast will do for you.Four years ago would’ve been the best time to start a podcast. But instead, what you’ve got in front of you is today. And by the time you finish listening to this one, you’ll be ready to go. Or you’ll remember the power of this medium and pick up a couple of new tips and tricks to make yours even better. Make sure you get to the part about the Stir Test. I can’t wait to hear what you think and what you’ll do next. Julie Michelle Morris This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit juliemichellemorris.substack.com