One of the things I love about twitter is the free flowing dialog that can take place. I found myself in an interesting conversation with one of my favorite tweeters @schneidermike. What I like about Mike is that he always has an opinion and he’s not afraid to take a different point of view. Honestly, on twitter, that’s a unique characteristic. In truth there’s too much “playing nice” on twitter. Mike gives it straight and I love that quality.

Our conversation tonight stemmed from this tweet in which he said, “Besides @chrisbrogan, who are your favorite CRM experts?”  As we traded tweets back and forth I was taking the position that, Chris isn’t a CRM expert and he certainly isn’t a Social Media “thought leader.” Again, I’m entitled to my opinions, just like Mike is.

The one tweet that stuck out to me in our exchange was this one, in which Mike said “whoa there buckaroo! a thought leader does not need to be a practitioner.” Mike was responding to a tweet I wrote that stated “@schneidermike you’re killing me – thought leadership in social – show me the portfolio, what has he done?”

In short, Mike’s stance was that you don’t have to “do” to be a recognized leader. I realize I’m paraphrasing by the way. While, my point of view is that a true expert and leader should be able to practice what he/she preaches. What I don’t want is someone that walks into a room, talks a bunch of philosophy, but then can’t deliver.

Think about this situation…you meet with a lawyer because you’re being sued. You ask to see his body of work…his credentials if you will. He responds instead with a passionate speech about the legal system, due process, and American value that would put Al Pacino to shame. You’re pumped, you’re excited, and then you realize the lawyer totally avoided the question…because in truth he has no credentials and has no ability to go from THEORY and PHILOSOPHY to actual practical means. Total bummer.

To me, my exchange with Mike shows the big problem I have with our industry and social media as a whole. We have too many theorizers, talkers, and philosophers who become seen as experts despite their inability to put together a solid actionable plan. This screws it up for every single smart strategist, marketer, etc. out there, because we get tainted with the smell of people who are essentially all talk and no show. Not cool.

Am I wrong? As Mike says, “a thought leader does not need to be a practitioner.” Do you believe this? I don’t. I think there’s a big difference between talking about hitting a baseball…the science and physics behind it – and the ability to actually hit one.

Your thoughts?