There’s no playbook for scientific thought leadership. While every company wants to be seen as innovative and technologically advanced, there is no one-size-fits-all template on how to get there. Thoughts don’t turn into leadership on their own!
I found that rather than telling people how great our software is — which also I’m happy to do — it works far better to give them ideas, tips, encouragement, and motivation to explore the methods.”
– Phil Kay, PhD, Director of Presales Support at JMP
While thought leadership can feel mysterious, there is good evidence that it is effective. The LinkedIn B2B Institute and Edelman recently put out a report that found that 86% of hidden decision-makers want fresh perspectives, and 55% use thought leadership content as part of their vendor vetting process. As the report summarized, thought leadership is “a strategic tool for building trust, driving alignment, and opening doors where ads and traditional sales methods fall short.”
But how does one do thought leadership in the sciences?
What does this look like in practice?
How can you get started?
To explore these questions, I spoke with Phil Kay, PhD. His official title is Director of Presales Support at JMP. Unofficially, he’s known as a thought leader in the field of design of experiments (DOE) among scientists and engineers. Read on to see how he got started, and practical tips for developing your own scientific thought leadership program.
Want to go deeper? Check out our recent webinar on thought leadership in science
Interview with Phil Kay, PhD
This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
From Technical Sales Leader to DOE Evangelist
Jesse Harris: To start — what is your job title? How would you describe your current role?
Phil Kay: My day job is leading the technical sales team here at JMP — anyone you’d see demoing our software, I lead that team. But I’ve also become known, unofficially, as the design of experiments thought leader. I don’t like the term “thought leadership,” but I think of myself as an evangelist for statistical design and analysis of experiments. There’s a big overlap between the day job and that role: it’s about getting scientists and engineers excited about running experiments better, which naturally leads them to our software.
It actually started as an experiment itself. We’re all about helping people do better experiments, and this was my experiment to reach an audience I need to reach. I found that rather than telling people how great our software is — which also I’m happy to do — it works far better to give them ideas, tips, encouragement, and motivation to explore the methods.
Building a Voice on LinkedIn During Covid
Jesse: How did you get into being an evangelist for design of experiments?
Phil: I’ve always been interested in the topic — I got a lot of value from it in industry, and that’s what led me to JMP.
But in terms of becoming an evangelist, there was one real inflection point, during Covid. I was quite late to podcasts, and I started listening to one by Don Carmichael about technical sales for software. He described himself as a pre-sales evangelist and made the case for people in my job to be evangelists for what they do, largely through LinkedIn.
I took a lot of inspiration from that. The day job was quiet, everyone was stuck at home, so it was a great opportunity. I set myself a very intentional project to post regularly on LinkedIn, using a specific hashtag — another idea from Don — and just watched it grow. Slowly but steadily, I got real, concrete engagement.
Knowing When It’s Working
Jesse: Was there a moment when you knew it was working?
Phil Kay: A few posts got good attention — it’s always a bit random which ones land. The biggest validation came later, once we were getting out in person again. At probably the first in-person conference I went to, someone I’d never met came up and said, “Oh, you’re Phil Kay. I really like the stuff you’re posting on LinkedIn.”
They hadn’t commented or engaged — I’m not even sure they’d connected with me. It’s a relatively small world of people this is useful for, so that was a real moment of validation that it was worthwhile.
Measuring Impact Beyond the Metrics
I’m not trying to reach a huge audience — I’m trying to reach the right one.”
Jesse: How do you measure success — do you pay attention to the numbers?
Phil: I’m naturally curious about the numbers. Don Carmichael also put me onto some software that gives you analytics on your LinkedIn impressions and engagement. Since the product I sell is data analytics software, I’ve used that too — you can pull out which topics are landing with text analytics and have a lot of fun with it.
But as much as I believe in being data-driven, you can just feel when it’s working. I don’t think it’s worth obsessing over the numbers or setting specific targets. It’s nice to see things grow, but a lot of it comes down to feel.
And success here doesn’t mean two million followers. LinkedIn is the only platform I use, and I’ve got about six or seven thousand followers. I’m not trying to reach a huge audience — I’m trying to reach the right one. A big part of it, and where I realized I could really add value, is building the community of people who already get this. Helping us forge a shared ambition and vision, being a sort of figurehead (if that’s not too grand) so we can feed off each other and build from there.
Why “Thought Leader” Doesn’t Quite Fit
If “thought provoker” were an acceptable term, I’d probably use that.”
Jesse: You said earlier that you prefer “evangelist” to “thought leader.” Why is that?
Phil: I don’t love either term. “Evangelism” can sound a bit religious, which is awkward. And “thought leader” I dislike because it isn’t about leading thought — it makes it sound like I’m telling people what to think, and I’m not. If “thought provoker” were an acceptable term, I’d probably use that.
I’m trying to prompt discussion and get people thinking, not thinking how I think. I want them to think about how they could run better experiments, or why we’re never really taught to do experiments effectively in our education.
And I do want to be a bit provocative. There’s no point saying things everyone already agrees with; you want to start the conversation. Not to start arguments or rage-bait — absolutely not — but to have interesting, constructive conversations at a professional level. I’m still struggling to find a term I really like.
Expanding Beyond LinkedIn
Jesse: How much time does this take now, and what forms does it take beyond LinkedIn?
Phil: It’s changed. When I started, I was spending maybe up to half a day a week crafting messages, being present, engaging with other people’s comments.
It’s a lot less now — my day-job role has grown — but I’m still on LinkedIn every day, and posting at least once a week. It’s more as and when something occurs to me, or when I hear something interesting at an event, rather than a rigid program of “every Wednesday I post on this topic.”
But I do other things too. I co-host a monthly podcast called The Next Experiment, which is about evangelizing for exactly the same thing. I also write articles my company sponsors and get involved in events.
I love communicating about the digital future of science and engineering, whether that’s on stage, in webinars, or in writing. What I love about writing especially is how it forces me to clarify my thinking and frame my arguments clearly.
From Solo Project to Team Effort
Jesse: Is this a solo effort, or is there a team behind it?
Phil: Originally it was pretty much a one-man band. My company has always been supportive — we generally encourage staff to engage and be brand ambassadors through LinkedIn and other channels — but now I get more help.
With the podcast, our marketing team helps schedule the recordings with guests. My co-host Markus Gershater, the CEO and co-founder of Synthace, has a team who help with recording, editing, and promoting. We’ve even experimented with sponsored posts on LinkedIn, which has worked really well.
So there’s a bigger team, but none of it is formal — nobody works for me as a social media administrator. Everyone does it alongside their day jobs, because they see the value and it’s fun. It’s another side to the job that people genuinely enjoy and can see the impact of.
The Business Case for Employee Advocacy
It humanizes these companies and sells the deep human expertise they have, which is a big part of what they offer their customers”
Jesse: You’ve mentioned that JMP is supportive of brand ambassadorship. How important is that kind of encouragement, especially in scientific organizations?
Phil: In a software company, it’s a no-brainer that anybody in this kind of role should be all over this. Some people aren’t comfortable having a big online presence, and that’s completely fine — I respect that. But for a lot of people it should be a natural thing, almost part of the job description now.
I see others doing similar things at pharmaceutical, chemicals, and manufacturing companies, and I love it. I suspect their employers are often more nervous about it — very sensitive about giving away intellectual property — but I think it’s really healthy if you can find the right balance. It humanizes these companies and sells the deep human expertise they have, which is a big part of what they offer their customers.
That’s actually why Markus and I ended up working together. Synthace do an excellent job — their marketing is very human, friendly, and authentic, a lot of it through social media. That’s exactly the style I love, so it was a natural fit.
Advice for Aspiring Industry Voices
Jesse: What advice would you give someone who wants to start doing something similar?
Phil: I’d just encourage you to find your passion. A big part for me was realizing I genuinely feel passionate about this topic — and that it’s okay to have a mission. Mine is that every scientist and engineer in the world should be empowered to use design of experiments. I don’t know if we’ll get there in my lifetime, but that’s my mission, and that’s what I’m going to try to do. It took me a while to be comfortable putting that out there — it feels a bit silly now, because there’s nothing wrong with having a mission.
Find the thing you’re passionate and confident about, and the rest becomes easy: you’ll know what you want to say, and people will respond, because they’ll know it’s genuine and authentic.
