Get published -- it's easier than you think
"I have boiled down what makes a thoughtleader into five categories, which I call the 'five pillars of thoughtleading,'" he says. "The first and most important is publishing your ideas in the form of articles or books. I don't include blogs as much in that category, but rather publishing your ideas in a way that indicates somebody else -- a publisher or an editor -- has invested in them. That gives you a much higher level of credibility than bloggers have."
  Lizotte says executives looking to become thoughtleaders should write their articles and books themselves -- even those who don't consider themselves skilled writers.
  "I prefer not to use ghostwriters for my clients. I want them to take what's in their heads and pour it into a Word document. From there, we can hire an editor," Lizotte says.
  How to get an article or book published is a complicated topic Lizotte tackles in detail in his book. Here, he suggests a few simple tips.
  "Business publications, whether they are online or offline, are all looking for new articles constantly. If you pitch an idea to several business publications via email every month, you're going to get an assignment for an article. If you get that assignment, it's a pretty good bet your article will be published," Lizotte says.
  Publishers of business books are always on the hunt for good ideas. "If you want to win a publisher over, you need to submit a book proposal. You do not want to write the manuscript ahead of time," Lizotte explains. "There are also many companies using print-on-demand technology to offer self-publishing. In less than a month, you can self-publish your book and have complete control over it. The cost to you, which used to be thousands of dollars, is down to hundreds or even less. There is so much more to say on this subject, but the message I want to deliver is you absolutely can publish your ideas."

Tom Reiger, AIE president

Last year, I made a decision to sell off my personal inventory of film cameras and lenses. I had not used most of them in several years, and I was feeling the urge to lighten up a bit. A friend was getting out of the photo business and starting a new business as an eBay sellers agent. With a little bit of prodding, I gathered up the tools and toys, and sent them off to find a new home. Most sold for rather small sums of money, a few not at all. It was not about the money, but it hurt to see them go for so little. In their day, these were the best of the best.

  I kept only a few pieces: the first professional camera I ever bought (and used), a Crown Graphic; the  Rollei twin lens (it just looks too good); and the Contax G2, with almost every lens they made for it. Other than these, the Nikons, Hasselblads, Leicas, and so many other great parts and pieces were consigned to the auction block. I had gone digital, and there was no going back.

  Those few remaining pieces are now in my own little museum, right next to my Edison Standard Phonograph and other fine reminders of the past, such as the Kodak Autographic 2-A and a Harvey exposure meter. They are all right at home there. Seeing the Edison and Crown Graphic together got me thinking about the parallels between the music and photo industries. The music world has gone through a similar evolution to ours in the imaging world, and perhaps there is something to be learned from their experience. It's striking to me how similar our two industries are.

  The music industry blew their cones out in their digital transition. It was an ugly mess, smoke rising from the remains of what was once a beautiful thing. As with the imaging industry, they could not understand how to make money selling bits. They lost control of their distribution channel, and then lost control of their revenue stream. In the process, they lost their customer.

  We are not much different in the imaging world, and we clearly do not understand the workings of this new marketplace. We no longer have captive customers. In all too many ways, the consumer no longer wants what we are selling, and they are looking for satisfaction from alternate sources. It's that bit thing with which the music world doesn't want to deal. I believe we are a few years behind the music industry in our transformation, which, in this case, is a very good place to be. We just might gain a better understanding from their experiences and use the knowledge to our benefit.

  Retail as it was will never be again. It's not about technology change. It's all about customer change. How many times in the past have we introduced something new for reasons that had little, if anything, to do with the customer and everything to do with us? The consumer has had enough, and has learned to just say no. They no longer buy in to our insanity.

  The musical equivalent to sheet film is the vinyl LP record. In the right hands and with the right tools, it is, to this day, the best reliable music medium, bar none. It's the 8-by-10-inch view camera color transparency of the music world. Of course, it was almost killed off by the CD, which produced acceptable music quality, was more or less stable, and was so much easier to use. That's their 35mm equivalent. Then there are all those transients -- MP3, SACD, eight track, cassette, DVD, Blu-ray ... I find it just too painful to relate these to their photo equivalents. Remember APS? Disk? 110? Sorry -- and yes, MP3 is a transient.

  Music will never again be dominated by the LP, although there is a real revival of the LP in the audiophile world. Photo will never go back to film, but there will always be those who cling to the old and familiar. Both had their day, and both stand proud for their amazing accomplishments with century-old technology; but hanging on to either can only lead to a very bad end. It's time to let them go.

  Looking ahead, I know we are on the edge of a revolution in imaging and its uses. We are in for a wave of change greater than any in the past. What I have seen at 6Sight and elsewhere is so amazing, it is difficult to put into perspective. The digital "revolution" we have seen so far is simply prelude, only the first few notes. No one in the music business predicted what their world would become. No one in ours has either.

  Every industry has its "golden era." I am convinced, for both the music and imaging industries, those days are in our future, not the past. Hang on, it's coming.

Tom Rieger

AIE president