Many leaders assume thought leadership is a byproduct of charisma, visibility, or a consistent posting routine. But the reality is more practical and more empowering: thought leadership is the outcome of strategic work executed systematically. This episode focuses on the essential mechanism behind that system: developing clear points of view (POVs). For CEOs and business owners, POVs are not “nice to have.” They’re a business driver because they shape how the market understands your leadership, your company, and the value you uniquely bring. Why Points of View Matter for CEOs. If you lead an organization, your perspective carries weight. The question is whether that perspective is being intentionally leveraged. A CEO’s POV sits at the intersection of: the industry you operate in the business you run the decisions you make and the future you’re building When your POV is clear and consistent, it becomes a signal to the market. People know what you stand for, what you challenge, and what you prioritize. And that signal creates trust often faster than credentials alone. The Common Gap: Opinions That Don’t Drive Results. Most CEOs have opinions. They’ve developed instinct and insight through years of experience. Yet many fail to translate those insights into crafted points of view that produce outcomes. What’s missing isn’t intelligence, it’s structure. Unstructured opinions tend to stay: internal (shared only in meetings) vague (hard to repeat or quote) disconnected (not tied to business value) The result: content and communication that feel generic, safe, or interchangeable, exactly what a CEO brand cannot afford. The POV Framework: Story + Credibility + Experience → Commercial Alignment. A powerful point of view isn’t just a hot take. It is something you build by merging three personal assets with organizational goals: Your story. Your story isn’t your biography. It’s the parts of your journey that shaped how you think, what you’ve learned, what you’ve seen, what you’ve overcome, and what you now believe. Your credibility. Credibility is evidence. It’s the track record, the outcomes, and the perspective that can only come from real responsibility and real experience. Your experience. Experience provides pattern recognition. It helps you see what’s repeated, what’s broken, what’s changing, and what most people underestimate. Then comes the part most leaders skip: Link it to commercial activity. This doesn’t mean turning every message into a sales pitch. It means aligning your POV with what the organization does, the problems you solve, the transformation you deliver, and the direction you’re leading the market toward. When these elements merge, your POV becomes both authentic and commercially relevant, an engine for influence and business growth. Why Every CEO Needs a Series of POVs. One POV is helpful. A series of POVs is strategic. Why? Because your market doesn’t form trust from a single message. It forms trust from patterns. A series of points of view allows you to consistently reinforce: What you believe about your industry What you believe about leadership What you believe about innovation, culture, customers, growth, or talent What you believe needs to change and how you intend to lead that change Over time, those repeated signals create a distinct CEO brand. You’re no longer just “the CEO of X.” You become the leader associated with a clear philosophy, one that attracts opportunities, partnerships, media interest, talent, and customers. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction to Thought Leadership 00:07 Building Effective Points of View 00:10 Leveraging CEO Perspectives 00:21 Challenges in Utilizing CEO Viewpoints 00:31 Crafting Personal and Commercial Narratives 00:45 The Importance of Multiple Viewpoints 00:50 Conclusion Links: Connect with me! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jensheitland/