The Ideas Industry is an interesting look at how the marketplace for ideas is shifting due to the emergence of for-profit think tanks and ideas entrepreneurs.
Written by Tufts University professor and political scientist Daniel Drezner, the book covers how traditional non-profit think tanks and academic institutions contribute ideas. But Drezner sees their influence declining, mostly because of the money available to for-profit intellectuals.
Examples of for-profit think tanks include the McKinsey Global Institute and the JP Morgan Chase Institute.
These organizations research a variety of topics with the goal of positioning their firms as field experts.
This, they hope, will lead to some combination of more business for their firms, an enhanced brand or more influence with policy makers.
Based on the large investments these firms are making - according the book McKinsey spends over $400 million per year on their think tank activities - they are likely accomplishing these goals.
Thought leaders, according to Drezner, are "intellectual evangelists".
These are people who come up with an interesting idea or concept and successfully market it via mainstream books, speeches and TV appearances. Thomas Friedman and Niall Ferguson are examples of thought leaders.
The book points out the key to being a successful thought leader is the ability to create ideas with "heuristic punch" - clear enough to comprehend yet potent enough to persuade. A great example is Friedman's idea that The World is Flat.
If you can do this, you can become a "superstar intellectual" and make a lot of money. Historian Niall Ferguson, for example, gets $50,000 to $75,000 per speech and he makes several per month.
A major concern about for-profit think tanks and thought leaders is that their work is biased because of their marketing and/or money making priorities. This concern is legitimate.
But as Drezner points out, the for-profits also have advantages. They can explore new areas more quickly than academics and think tank scholars can and they often have access to data that is not available to the non-profits.
Also, as the amount of money McKinsey is spending illustrates, the for-profits are generally much better funded.
The book reaches no firm conclusions whether or not the evolution of the ideas industry and the rise of for-profits is good or bad.
But Justin Fox's review of the book point out something I think most readers would agree with:
"... the rise of the thought leader could be making all of us less thoughtful."
Missing from the book is coverage of the role thought leadership is playing in the rapidly growing content marketing industry. This is understandable given the background of the author and the book's focus.
But the ideas industry is much bigger and much more diverse than presented in this book.
The Ideas Industry is well worth reading for anyone active in the marketplace for ideas.
Those working in content and thought leadership marketing will also find it useful. They will gain from better understanding how academic intellectuals, "superstar intellectuals" and think tanks create and spread their ideas.
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