ABOUT US

I’m Susan Lawson. With 25+ years' experience in Thought Leadership, Publishing, Editorial, PR & Marketing, IP & Social Value, and engagement with both business leaders and respected academic thinkers, I created SLETL to improve the quality, 'charisma' and authenticity of Thought Leadership materials, with a particular emphasis on using Thought Leadership to articulate ethical and sustainable positions.

See our Founding Principles below.

Too much Thought Leadership material today is not only not in fact leading thought but is bland, generic, corporate and dry and fails to reflect the passion with which most companies today approach their work - perhaps especially those priding themselves on an ethical or sustainable stance. It is also often indistinguishable from that of other organisations and, so, is forgettable.

In addition Thought Leadership materials are often produced in a disconnected way which not only fails to capture the unique and quirky thinking of individual companies and company leaders but which also leads to unconvincing 'scattergun' approaches. Never before have so many companies also been passionate about positive change and this produces the opportunity to create thought Leadership which acts simultaneously as Marketing and, in a sense, Advocacy. I think we can do better!

Want to talk? Book on for a Complimentary 40 min Consultation. Or just want to know more about Thought Leadership? Click here. Interested in ways to Get Started? Take a look at our Packages here.

Founding Principles: Our Reason d'Etre

Susan Lawson Ethical Thought Leadership was founded to: 1) Marry leading-edge thinking with flair and charisma to create voice-driven Thought Leadership that future clients will actually enioy reading and therefore remember. Too much Thought Leadership today is generically corporate and fails to capture the company's voice, wit, insights and charisma; some of it is solid quality but reveals nothing about unique brands and is almost instantly forgettable; 2) Promote positive change via and not against business. I believe that fantastic businesses worldwide are producing a great bottom-line whilst also making a difference, and I believe this is the most effective way forward. As such SLETL is especially interested in working with ethical and/or sustainable companies as well as those involved in Sustainable Finance, SRI and 'Good Growth' models. Not least when ethical companies do Thought Leadership Marketing it lives up to its name in that it acts as Marketing whilst also genuinely leading thought; 3) Bring together insights from Marketing Analysis, Knowledge Management, PR, Publishing & Editorial to prevent companies wasting resources through scattergun & disconnected campaigns and approaches; 4) Help companies formulate and articulate more authentic stances and business thinking on sustainability and ethical issues, simultaneously to help them better stand out whilst also promoting the banishment of ‘greenwash’ and 'goodwash' (including in ESG and Social Value Statements). In short we see authentic Thought Leadership as a 'win-win' that simultaneously promotes great companies whilst also contributing to the greater good through genuinely leading thought.

Our Team & Growth Plans

SLETL is currently primarily myself, Susan Lawson, as Strategist, Editor-in-Chief and Lead Writer, supported by an in-house Researcher and Junior Writer. Going forward I want to spend more time on Strategy for our Clients (although I will likely always write / oversee final drafts of our Clients' most critical materials) and so we have great growth plans, including hiring more writers to work on supporting blog campaigns and taking on expertise in post boosting, since digital Thought Leadership materials themselves often require a little help initially to grain traction where Companies have not undertaken Thought Leadership before. Finally where Graphic Design is required (for example with magazine-style publications or White Papers), we are experienced in briefing and overseeing designers (as well as proofreaders and typesetters, for books) and can hire an associate on your behalf if you don't already have an in-house team. Whilst SLETL is in the process of growth, we will always remain boutique with a voice-driven approach based on unusual attentiveness to our Clients' company 'personality' and unique modes of thinking.

We also want SLETL to also be a place to come for ideas and insights: our Reading Room and Resources, including our News Digest The STOCKtake, our blog and White Papers will provide starting points on topical News Stories across Ethical Business, Green Finance, the Economy, SRI, Sustainability and other topical issues, offering fresh new angles & insights on the Key Issues.

In addition we provide growing resources on Thought Leadership Marketing and Strategy including our forthcoming Concise Guide on Thought Leadership Marketing. we also provide Recommendations and pointers on external books we think might interest you.

Finally we think life can be too serious at times and so we sometimes like to have fun - our Alt Fun(d)s segment at the end of The STOCKtake looks at latest development in the worlds of art and wine from a not especially earnest perspective!