What’s your spiky POV?

Earlier this week, I participated in a talk where the panel discussed how subject experts can thrive in a world of generative AI.

Generative AI has made it easier than ever for someone to position themselves as an expert.

With these tools, you can quickly research a topic, create content, and push it out—even if your experience in the field is limited.

Understandably, this can be unsettling for those who sell their expertise.

So, how can you rise above the noise?

One tactic is to share your spiky point of view.

Popularised by Wes Kao, a spiky point of view is something that can divide an audience:

“Empathy is overrated. Tough leadership drives results, not soft skills.”

“AI is not the revolutionary technology everyone thinks. It’s overhyped and will under-deliver.“

“SEO is dying. Building real audience relationships is the only future-proof strategy.”

It’s not intended to be contrarian for the sake of it, it has to be something you believe and are prepared to stand behind and defend.

So, why is a spiky POV important?

GenAI converges everything to the middle. It’s the consensus. The centre-ground. And when the world is going ‘vanilla’, you need to be more ‘tutti frutti’. So initially it’s an attention-grab.

But it also forces you to get off the fence and do some rigorous thinking. What do you truly believe? What do I disagree with? What are the unspoken assumptions in my industry? This can only heighten your position as a leader who’s prepared to challenge convention and the status quo.

Finally, a spiky point of view is something you can own. If it’s unique – and you can bang the drum hard enough – it could fuel lots of interest and be a cornerstone of your brand for years to come.

So, over to you:

• What’s your spiky POV?
• What opinions are you prepared to stand behind and defend?
• What’s the thing that’s unspoken about in your industry that needs to be said?

Andy Jack

Andy loves helping subject experts, authors, speakers, coaches and key persons of influence to monetise their expertise with online learning. When not on his laptop, he'll usually be found up a mountain!