The Icon Insider

Unlock the strategies, insights, and secrets that top leaders use to grow influence, make money, and master communication.

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The size of the audience changes more than thenumber of people in the room. The Room Is Talking Too I’ve spent much of my working life in rooms full of people. Sometimes it has been one person sitting opposite me. Sometimes 15 people around a table, 500 people at a conference, or tens of thous...

Oct 05, 2026 audience psychology authority communication human connection influence leadership live events thought leadership

Scrap Your Title. What's Left?

Take away the title. Take away the company.What still belongs to you? Your Title Is Doing More Work Than You Think Most professionals do not think they are invisible. They are known by the people who matter inside their world. Their peers respect them. Clients trust them. Their record is stro...

by Dave Crane — Sep 28, 2026 authority career evolution industry icon™ leadership personal brand thought leadership

So... Who Are You?

Your name enters the room before you do.What does it bring with it? What Happens When Your Name Comes Up? Most leaders assume visibility is an advantage. Usually, it is. The more people know your name, see your work and recognise your face, the easier it should be to build authority. But visibi...

by Dave Crane — Sep 21, 2026 authority own your expertise reputation thought leadership visibility

Why Should They Spend Their Money on You?

When buyers become more careful, experience alone may not be enough. The Money Hasn't Disappeared There is a phrase I keep hearing at the moment: “People aren’t spending.” They are. They’re just becoming much more careful about who gets the money. When people feel less confident about the econom...

Sep 14, 2026 aeo ai authority business growth buyer behaviour expertise own your expertise personal brand reputation thought leadership trust

The Pathfinder Advantage

The advantage is not knowing what happens next.It is seeing what others have not noticed yet. When The Old Map Stops Working There is a strange moment in business when everybody knows something has changed, but nobody is quite sure what comes next. You hear it in conversations. Decisions take lo...

Sep 07, 2026 ai and business business leadership business strategy expertise future of business pathfinders

When Someone AIs You

It might not know the current you. From Googling Someone to AI-ing Them Googling someone before meeting them was normal years ago. A new client, a possible business partner, a speaker you had never heard of, or simply a name that landed in your inbox. We've all done it. You search their name, ...

Aug 31, 2026 ai authority expertise icon insider reputation

AI Changed Who Becomes Valuable

AI can give everyone the information. What you notice nextis where your value begins. Knowing More Used to Make You Valuable For most of our careers, knowing more gave you an advantage. Qualifications showed what you had learned. Experience showed what you had done. Expertise meant you knew t...

by Dave Crane — Aug 24, 2026 ai artificial intelligence decision making executive function experience human advantage human value leadership pattern recognition

AI Knows More Than You.

That isn't the problem. What Expertise Really Means A few days ago, I was reading a Forbes article about the skills communication professionals will need as AI becomes part of everyday work. There were eighteen of them including curiosity, critical thinking, adaptability, strategic clarity, re...

by Dave Crane — Aug 17, 2026 ai artificial intelligence decision making experience expertise human skills judgement leadership thought leadership

To Be Heard or To Be Understood?

We spend so much time thinking about what we want to say that we forget a simple truth. People don't experience our message. They experience their own interpretation of it. We Don't All Take Information In The Same Way Azizah and I take in information completely differently. I'm very visual a...

Aug 10, 2026 active listening communication skills for leaders executive communication leadership communication leadership influence trust in leadership

If AI Does Your Job...

The answer may determine the future value of your expertise. When The Room Realised This Wasn't Really About AI At our latest Thought Leaders Breakfast Club, I asked the room a simple question: "If AI took over your role, what would you do?" Around the table were leaders from recruitment, hospi...

Aug 03, 2026 ai authority business strategy expertise future of work industry icon™ leadership thought leadership

If AI Cannot Find You, How Will It Recommend You?

The people who know your work may already trusted your expertise. But if your reputation has left no public trail,AI may never now enough to consider you. When Expertise Leaves No Trail At a recent business event, I spoke with an experienced professional who wanted to become better known as a...

by Dave Crane — Jul 27, 2026 ai authority ai search authority signals icon insider online reputation thought leadership

Can You Trust Someone You Don't Like Or Respect?

What Makes You Trust Someone? "I trust him to behave exactly as I expect him to. But I do not respect him." That comment changed the direction of a recent conversation with 17 business leaders. We had started by asking whether trust should given first or earned over time. But the room soon bega...

Jul 20, 2026 business relationships business reputation leadership character senior leadership trust in business

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The Icon Insider

Unlock the strategies, insights, and secrets that top leaders use to grow influence, make money, and master communication.

Connect with Me

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