Julie Karbo Of Karbo: Five Things You Should Do To Become a Thought Leader In Your Industry
…Our teams have a strict cap on how many clients they take on. This reduces mental clutter and results in better thinking and outcomes for our clients. Experience has shown that people can’t be effective and creative if they’re overworked and burnt out…
I had the pleasure of interviewing Julie Karbo. Julie Karbo has more than 35 years of experience working in the marketing and communications industry. Throughout her career, she has provided counsel to high-profile technology companies, including Apple, ConsenSys, Cisco, Equinix, Oracle, Hootsuite and more. Prior to founding Karbo Communications in 2014, she was co-founder & CEO of K/F Communications. Karbo’s agencies consistently rank as some of the most respected technology PR boutique agencies in the world. She also held leadership roles at Stirling & Karbo, Ketchum PR, and Regis McKenna, and counseled hundreds of tech pioneers.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! Our readers are eager to learn more about you. Could you provide some background information about yourself?
Of course. I’m a techie from way back. Most recently I’m the founder of Karbo Communications, a boutique agency dedicated to helping tech innovators achieve market leadership. Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working with company executives ranging from CEOs at scrappy startups to executives driving billion-dollar brands, shaping their stories and driving results in the ever-evolving business landscape.
My journey into the world of tech communications started at SRI International, where I first honed my skills in marketing research. From there, I joined Atari, a trailblazer in consumer electronics, just as the tech revolution was beginning to take off. Working with pioneers at legendary firms like Regis McKenna, Inc. and my own companies solidified my passion for guiding teams through strategic positioning, marketing, and communications.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with industry giants such as Apple, Cisco, Oracle, and Hootsuite, as well as emerging innovators in SaaS, fintech, greentech, and more. I thrive on uncovering what makes a company unique and translating that into stories that resonate with audiences and drive business growth.
When I’m not immersed in the world of tech, I love spending time with my family and two rescue dogs, hiking the Bay Area’s trails. I’m also an avid fan of the Golden State Warriors, the 49ers, and the Giants, and I’m passionate about supporting environmental causes and underserved communities.
What establishes you as an authority on thought leadership? Could you briefly share your expertise with our readers?
I’ve been working with technology companies for close to forty years, so as you can imagine, I’ve seen a lot. The touchpoints with tech innovators over a long period of time have given me a unique perspective on the tech business– challenges and opportunities companies face as well as what works and what doesn’t.
Can you recall a funny mistake you made when you were first starting out? What lesson did you learn from it?
It sounds silly now, but when people started drinking trendy coffee, I thought I was being clever, and in a large meeting I told a story during which I pronounced ‘espresso’ as ‘expresso.’ I was quickly corrected and the group laughed–including me. Luckily, that’s the extent of any embarrassment I can remember.
What are the most significant disruptions you foresee in your industry over the next five years, and how can businesses adapt to these changes?
Without a doubt, AI. I’ve been working with AI companies for over 25 years so I’m not an AI fearmonger. I can see life-changing benefits from AI in areas such as medicine, education, energy, and virtually every other aspect of life.
For example, cancer immunotherapy has faced significant challenges in the US, with recent data showing that 57% of cancer drugs granted accelerated approval by the FDA between 2013 and 2023 failed to demonstrate clinical benefit in confirmatory studies. This stagnation is driven by a tendency toward risk aversion and a focus on incremental improvements rather than innovative approaches. It’s a troubling trend that, if left unchecked, could delay breakthrough treatments with the power to significantly improve patient outcomes and quality of life. As the pharmaceutical industry grapples with its risk-averse proclivities, we’re beginning to see a wave of AI-driven approaches that could be the answer to unlocking the high-risk, high-reward research needed for the next wave of medical breakthroughs. Deep Origin’s Balto, an AI assistant for drug discovery is one example. It allows medicinal chemists and research teams to accelerate biological R&D in faster and less expensive ways, without needing extensive and new training.
AI learning tools once were very technical and expensive. We’re starting to see the democratization of AI resulting in access never before possible. For example, client Penguin Solutions is working with Georgia Tech on this front. Penguin Solutions along with its partner, NVIDIA, have created and delivered the AI Makerspace — an AI supercomputer designed to give Georgia Tech students real-world AI experience and access to advanced AI tools and technologies to best prepare them for a workforce.
Can you explain the benefits of becoming a thought leader? Why is it valuable to invest time and resources into this?
Over the years we’ve had to convince some executives that their participation in thought leadership activities such as PR, speaking, etc. benefits their companies. As I’ve said, whether they relish the role or participate because it’s necessary, smart executives realize the beacon of leadership lights a path to influence and profits by directing action and inspiring others from customer prospects, employees, partners, investors and more. But leadership isn’t simply a mercenary activity designed to drive sales. It can also be a vehicle to inspire courage and change.
Can you share an example of a significant challenge you faced in your career and how you leveraged innovative thinking to overcome it?
While I’ve seen definite improvements in sexism in tech, there’s still serious work to be done. When I started my career at Atari there were a negligible number of women in tech leadership. More women-founded companies need to be funded. According to CFO.com, in 2023, women founders and co-founders secured nearly one-quarter (22.8%) of all VC money, up from 18.7% in 2022. And we need to reap the benefits of more female leadership in the C-suite (outside of HR), as well as a greater number of female VC partners.
To accomplish this, we need to move away from the romanticism of bro culture. Unfortunately, with the election, there are forces at work that are doubling down on this kind of culture. I think it’s a temporary hiccup, but both good men and women need to continue to work to advance women and other disenfranchised groups in leadership. Smart companies realize this results in better financial outcomes.
Now that we have covered that, we’d love to hear your advice on becoming a thought leader. Can you share five strategies that someone should follow to gain recognition as a thought leader in their industry? Please include examples or stories from your own experience for each strategy.
1. Stay well informed by keeping abreast of what’s happening in your market. Talk to customers and know their opportunities and pain points intimately. Follow news about your competitors.
2. Decide which timely trends you want to be considered an expert/thought leader on. Consistently speak to those topics. Focus on a few areas. Don’t try to boil the ocean.
3. Offer a contrarian perspective. Don’t say what everyone else is saying. Communicate unique ideas and perspectives.
4. Be consistently visible. Thought leadership is a process not an event. Craft opinion pieces. Speak at conferences. Give interviews.
5. Don’t be afraid of talking to reporters –even when you don’t have hard news to share. If you’re knowledgeable and have interesting and relevant opinions about important trends, take the time to build relationships with reporters. You can provide valuable perspectives which many reporters seek. And I’ve found that a lot of reporters like being contacted by interesting people, especially when they don’t only reach out when they’re interested in publicizing something.
How do you foster a culture of innovation within your organization, and what practices have you found most effective in encouraging creative thinking among your team?
From day one 24 years ago, we created a creative ecosystem that encourages and rewards innovation. There are several elements that contribute:
- It begins with hiring. Embracing diversity of demographic groups, experience, and ideology.
- Be honest about what’s happening with the company. When you bring people in, they can be a part of exploiting opportunities and helping to solve problems.
- I know this is verboten in some companies, but my teams are most productive and happy when we limit and finely balance the amount of work they are responsible for. Our teams have a strict cap on how many clients they take on. This reduces mental clutter and results in better thinking and outcomes for our clients. Experience has shown that people can’t be effective and creative if they’re overworked and burnt out.
- Ensure access to factual data so that it can be used to inform efforts to take advantage of business opportunities or solve problems.
- Give people the freedom to fail without penalty. The only caveat is they must be reflective and learn from mistakes and then limit them as much as possible.
Who do you think is an outstanding example of a thought leader? What specific qualities impress you about this person?
I’m going to eliminate our clients because I don’t want anyone to feel left out and the truth is, they are all led by great people which is why we agreed to take them on.
I think Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia is an example of an outstanding thought leader. Of course, he’s led one of the hottest companies to $35B in revenues, but what I like most about him is his unflinching honesty. He’s not concerned about curating a dry, typically ‘business-like’ image. He talks a lot about what he’s learned through failure. He’s also not afraid to show vulnerability which is rare. He comes across as real and honest. While some executives view these characteristics as weaknesses, most people respond positively to these traits.
How do you stay informed about the latest trends and developments in your field, and how do you incorporate this knowledge into your strategic planning?
It helps that I have an insatiable appetite for learning. I’m a news junkie and my job affords me the luxury of consuming large amounts of information almost all the time. I also source from a wide variety of information, e.g., traditional media, new media, people I follow on LinkedIn and Instagram, people I know, etc. I try to go outside my existing perspective and comfort zone.
Some people feel that the term “thought leader” is overused and has lost its impact. What are your thoughts on this?
Yes, it is overused, but I don’t view it as a problem. There is some benefit to using widely accepted terms–we’re all speaking the same language. You can also call a thought leader a visionary, guru, expert, etc. Those are the terms I used before thought leadership became more in vogue.
How do you balance short-term business goals with long-term strategic vision, especially in a rapidly changing market?
One way to look at it is to view short-term goals as the intermediary steps and accomplishments you need to achieve as you move towards longer-term objectives. I always believe that you need to start with business objectives — any marketing objective has to serve that overarching “master”. In any event, they should be in sync, for example, if one long-term objective is to drive prospective customer website traffic, an interim goal could be to increase visibility on LinkedIn where a large number of prospects are. A tactic could be to host a LinkedIn Live event where the CEO interviews a customer about how by working together, they solved a problem that other prospects share, and link to the company’s website.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? How has it been relevant in your life?
“Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing” Abraham Lincoln
Many influential figures in business and entertainment follow this column. Is there someone you’d love to have lunch or breakfast with? They might notice if we tag them.
Gloria Steinem
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