How to become a thought leader

BEING a 'thought leader' can help accelerate careers and attract customers.

A thought leader is regarded as an authority in their field and is someone whom others follow.

The question is: How do you become one? Especially as it is a title that can only credibly be bestowed by your peers, and not one you can give yourself.

As chief executive of Thought Leadership Lab, Denise Brosseau specialises in helping executives and business owners become thought leaders in their chosen fields and has seen the careers and businesses take off as a consequence.

She focuses on how do you become someone who can move and inspire others with innovative ideas, and turn those ideas into reality.

She says - in her book Ready to Be a Thought Leader: How to Increase Your Influence, Impact, and Success - that to earn the thought leader moniker, it's not enough to simply be good at what you do, or even be the best at what you do.

It also requires originality and reach.

Put another way, the best watchmaker in the land is not necessarily a thought leader, but the person who is advocating for the 100-minute hour and successfully gaining converts to their new time-telling system most definitely is.

Her approach involves a series of steps, all built on the foundation of identifying your arena. She encourages clients to begin their journey by identifying their "intersection point," which is where their interests, expertise, credibility and commitment all line up.

Where to begin: Think about the industry you're in. What are the current standards? And where does your point of view differ from this majority view?

What possibility excites you so much that you would risk offending people in order to spread the word?

What are you already known for? When you Google yourself, what keywords and themes emerge from the results? What do you write, blog, post and tweet about?

Test yourself: Brosseau poses the following as a way of assessing your readiness to move forward on the thought leadership path:

* I can clearly define my niche, the area in which I want to be the recognised, go-to person.

* I have a clear view of the future that I'd like to bring about.

* I focus on big ideas that inspire and engage others.

* I understand the key trends in my industry or field and align my efforts with those trends.

Once you find your driving passion, you're ready for next steps, which include building your platform, codifying your ideas and intellectual property, and passing the baton to others.

Ultimately, successful thought leaders leave behind a legacy of a changed world.

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Speaker boots 100th Labor MP

House of Representatives Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has booted out her 100th Labor MP. Source: AAP

BRONWYN Bishop has scored a century, booting out her 100th Labor MP.

The Speaker's auspicious achievement came during a rowdy post-budget question time as Labor MPs launched a barrage of questions about the impact of the budget.

Labor backbencher Terri Butler had been warned for interjecting while Treasurer Joe Hockey was speaking.

Her ejection came after one interjection too many as Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke about the budget.

Manager of opposition business Tony Burke noted Ms Butler was the 100th Labor MP ejected from the house, against nil coalition members.

"If you had 100 members you'd be in government and sitting on this side. You simply have some recurrent offenders," Mrs Bishop replied.

Under the House of Representative standing orders, the Speaker can eject disorderly members from the chamber for an hour.

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Rudd arrives to front insulation inquiry

FORMER prime minister Kevin Rudd has arrived at a royal commission to give evidence about his government's disastrous home insulation program.

Mr Rudd walked through the front doors of the Brisbane Magistrates Court complex about 4pm (AEST).

He did not speak to awaiting media.

Mr Rudd is expected to take the stand as soon as former environment minister Peter Garrett finishes giving evidence.

Mr Garrett has accepted "ultimate responsibility" for the Rudd government stimulus program, which has been linked to the deaths of four installers and 224 house fires.

But he insists everyone involved in the scheme had a responsibility to minimise risks and public servants failed to warn him of significant safety flaws.

Former senator Mark Arbib, the first senior Labor figure to give evidence at the inquiry, said his sole responsibility was to sell the program that was rolled out in 2009.

Mr Rudd is expected to be grilled about what warnings he received about the scheme.

He's also likely to be pressed about its rushed introduction, including revelations two public servants were given just two days to secretly cost it.

Mr Rudd will be represented by one of Australia's leading silks at the $20 million inquiry.

Bret Walker SC has represented many high-profile clients, including the Finks motorcycle club and NRL player Greg Bird.

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Stretching the marketing dollar

IF there's one thing I know a lot about, it's "champagne marketing on a beer budget".

Old marketing strategies are no longer cost-effective, but fortunately, there are new approaches that require surprisingly little time or money.

QUESTION: I've got a small retail business, and I don't have a lot of time or money to spend on marketing. I've got a great product that people love, but they can't buy it if they don't know I'm here. How can I get the most bang for my buck?

ANSWER: Your prospects are looking for you on Google, but how can make sure that they can find you? Alfred Poor, author of Power Marketing for Small Business, offers some excellent advice.

Your link must appear on the first page of the search results because people rarely click past the first page. The first link in search results gets about one-third of all clicks, according to a study last year from web advertising company Chitika. The second link gets about half that, and links on the next page get one per cent or less of clicks.

You have to be on the first page. The easiest way to do this is to add video to your web page. It does not have to be fancy or funny or go viral; just share some useful information.

OK, but video is expensive, right? Wrong. In fact, it can be much cheaper - in both time and money - that many marketing strategies you might use already such as newspaper ads or direct mail pieces. You can hire a professional videographer to shoot and edit a three- to five-minute video for a few hundred dollars, and you can post it for free on YouTube. From there, your webmaster can add it to your page in just minutes.

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Double budget whammy for NT

THE Northern Territory government has denied it is trying to avoid scrutiny by releasing its budget on the same day as the federal budget on Tuesday.

The Country Liberals' timing of their budget to be released on the same day as Canberra's is unusual, says Opposition Leader and former treasurer Delia Lawrie.

"It occurred last year with the CLP scrambling to avoid scrutiny; they're backing that up by trying to hide under interest in the federal budget again this year," Ms Lawrie told reporters on Monday.

She said she was most concerned about cuts to the public service, education and health service delivery.

"We're hearing about increases to fuel costs coming out of Canberra, which would be a huge hit to territorians already struggling under the weight of hefty power and water bills, and an out-of-touch CLP treasurer who's just taken home ownership even further out of reach of territorians by scrapping the first home owners' grant for people trying to buy into the existing housing market."

The changes to the grant - which has been cut from $12,000 to nothing for those buying existing homes, and increased to $26,000 for those buying new properties - were necessary to stimulate the building sector, said Treasurer Dave Tollner.

He said the NT is never really able to time its budget to have time to factor in federal spending.

"There's still belt-tightening measures in this budget but having said that, there is still sunshine," he said.

"Tough decisions" would help to address the NT's debt and secure a stable future for the children, he said, but the NT is on track to balance the $6 billion budget by 2017/18.

Ms Lawrie accused the government of pork-barrelling to the tune of $80 million in the lead up to last month's Blain by-election, something which Mr Tollner rejected.

"I flatly deny that this government is pork barrelling; we put the money where it's needed and this budget continues that," he said.

He also promised there would be no job cuts "at all" in Tuesday's budget.

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Vic baby killer 'should get life in jail'

Prosecutors say the savage murder of a baby by a Victorian burglar demands a life sentence. Source: AAP

A VICTORIAN man who murdered a 10-month-old baby while committing a burglary should get life in jail for the "evil killing", prosecutors say.

Harley Hicks, 21, of North Bendigo, bashed baby Zayden Veal-Whitting more than 30 times about the face and head with a home-made baton made of copper wire wrapped in tape.

Prosecutor Michelle Williams SC said baby Zayden must have been disturbed by Hicks but posed no real threat to him.

"We consider what he did was an extreme, extreme way to respond to any thought of self-preservation, to react in such a violent way," she told the Victorian Supreme Court, sitting in Bendigo, on Monday.

"It almost has no explanation."

Zayden's mother Casey Veal said she and her older son Xavier would never recover.

"I may stand before you alive and breathing but I'm but a shadow of my former self," she wrote in a victim impact statement read to the court.

"This also has denied Xavier the mother he once knew.

"We both died that day. Xavier lost not only his brother but his true mother."

Ms Williams told Justice Stephen Kaye the prosecution wanted a life sentence with a non-parole period.

"I will repeat that it is an evil killing without any rational explanation, so we will maintain our submission for a life sentence, however we say that it is appropriate for your honour to apply a minimum sentence."

She said a minimum term is consistent with sentences involving the murder of children including that of Robert Farquharson, who drowned his three sons in a car on Father's Day in 2005.

Defence barrister David Gallowes agreed with the gravity of Hicks' crime but said his client's consumption of alcohol, marijuana and ice before it might have contributed to its ferocity.

"There is some prospect of rehabilitation even if the prognosis is poor," Mr Gallowes said.

Ms Williams said Hicks had an extensive criminal record, with nine court appearances before his murder trial dating back to 2007 for crimes including wilful damage, thefts and burglaries.

She said Hicks breached almost all of the orders, including good behaviour bonds and community corrections orders, given to him.

Mr Gallowes said Hicks' parents separated when he was eight and neither offered an appropriate home environment.

Hicks drifted into drug and alcohol abuse and was sexually abused as a teenager, the court heard.

A psychological exam found Hicks had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a conduct disorder and an anti-social personality disorder.

Hicks was found guilty of murder, aggravated burglary and two counts of theft amid a robbery spree in the Bendigo suburb of Long Gully early on June 15, 2012.

Hicks will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

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Qld girl's abductors known to family

A GROUP of people who abducted a two-year-old girl from her father's house southwest of Brisbane are known to her family.

Bella Rose Goulding was taken from a house at Willowbank, near Ipswich, on Saturday night.

Acting Inspector Alison Jewell said three men and a woman abducted the toddler from the home, where she was temporarily staying.

"We believe that Bella is in the company of people who are known to the family," she told reporters outside Yamanto police station.

"However, we still hold concerns for her safety."

The 8pm abduction occurred on Sancroft Street, which is near a park and the Cunningham Highway.

The girl's father Steven declined to speak publicly on Sunday.

Witnesses saw the abductors in a white Holden Commodore and a silver Mitsubishi sedan.

Bella is described as Caucasian with blue eyes and blonde, curly hair.

Insp Jewell said there weren't any specific child safety issues but declined to say if her mother was among the people who abducted the girl or with whom she lived permanently.

"We are consistently getting information from the public and we're following all those leads," she said.

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Pollie pay freeze a stunt: seniors

A PAY freeze for federal politicians is a stunt say seniors, who face increased healthcare costs and pension changes in the federal budget.

Treasurer Joe Hockey on Sunday confirmed the government would seek to freeze the salaries of federal politicians and senior public servants for a year in the budget.

The measure could cost the prime minister, who earns an annual salary of $500,000, an estimated $10,000, while the average backbencher would miss out on an estimated $3900.

"We've got to send a very clear message to the electorate that whatever we are asking the electorate to contribute to the budget repair task, we are going to contribute ourselves as well," Mr Hockey told the Nine Network on Sunday.

But the measure was rejected as a stunt by National Seniors Australia, who said it showed politicians were increasingly out of touch with those struggling on a fixed income.

Seniors are facing the introduction of a GP co-payment and higher costs for subsidised medicines in the budget, as well as possible changes to the indexation of pensions.

"They'll (seniors) be quite cynical about it - I think they can see through stunts of this kind," National Seniors chief Michael O'Neill told AAP.

"I don't think this measure will increase in any way politicians awareness of the struggles that people face."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he was "up for a politicians pay freeze".

But shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the move wouldn't appease voter anger over what is shaping as a tough budget.

"If he thinks that freezing his salary is going to make Australians feel better about pension cuts, tax rises and other changes, I think he's kidding himself," he told ABC TV.

Liberal frontbencher Scott Morrison said the move would have the support of Mr Abbott's coalition colleagues.

The prime minister has written to the Independent Remuneration Tribunal seeking the pay freeze.

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Cuts, but Hockey also plans roads and jobs

AFTER weeks of being flayed for the potential nasties in Tuesday's budget, Joe Hockey has tried to cool concerns with a plan to boost jobs.

The treasurer's first budget will contain a six-year road building plan in excess of $80 billion, which Mr Hockey believes will create tens of thousands of jobs and prevent unemployment hitting the 6.25 per cent rate predicted by the previous Labor government.

"We are going to do everything we can to make sure we never get there," he told Channel Nine on Sunday.

He also confirmed that Prime Minister Tony Abbott had written to the Independent Remuneration Tribunal to freeze the salaries of politicians and senior public servants for a year.

It means they'll miss out on a 2.4 per cent increase while also paying a new deficit levy on all high income earners.

"We've got to send a very clear message to the electorate that whatever we are asking the electorate to contribute to the budget repair task, we are going to contribute ourselves as well," Mr Hockey said.

His comments came as a new opinion poll showed Labor being backed by an election-winning 54 per cent of voters, against 46 per cent for the coalition.

People are strongly opposed to key budget measures that include lifting the pension age to 70 and a co-payment for doctor visits.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the quality of health care shouldn't depend on someone's credit card, and he flagged that Labor wouldn't make life easy for the government.

"We see no point in a petrol tax, a GP tax, a hospital tax," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"We think it takes Australia down a very sick and sorry path where some Australians will not get the medical care they need because Tony Abbott is putting pressure on their budgets and on their cost of living."

Government frontbencher Jamie Briggs has conceded it will be a "very difficult" budget to sell to both the general public and to get through the parliament.

"We didn't create this mess but we are going to take the responsibility to fix it," the assistant infrastructure minister told Sky News.

Mr Hockey refuses to accept that initiatives - in what he is calling his "contribute and build" budget - would be breaking an election promise.

Some initiatives include a deficit levy on high income earners and an increased fuel excise but Mr Hockey said: "We never said we were going to never change a tax or alter a tax".

He said if the government went down the road of raising fuel excise, which has been frozen since 2001, the revenue would go into roads.

The commonwealth would contribute in excess of $40 billion to its roads plan, which Mr Hockey said would be matched by the states and the private sector.

He said the budget would be fixed in a structural manner, but at the same time stimulate economic growth and address the significant drop off in mining investment.

"Everything we are doing on Tuesday night is going to be about jobs and about prosperity," Mr Hockey said.

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Indon ambassador returning to Canberra

INDONESIA'S ambassador to Australia says his return to Canberra comes after sustained work to repair ties severed after last year's spying scandal.

Najib Riphat Kesoema was recalled to Jakarta in November when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono learned Australia had tapped his phone, and those of his wife and other confidants.

He has been making more frequent trips back to Canberra as negotiations on a new code of conduct have progressed, but the president has now asked him to return for good.

He expects to move back within the coming month.

Asked if the circuit-breaker was this week's phone call from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who apologised for not attending a planned meeting in Bali, the ambassador said rather the move followed months of work on the code.

"The president and foreign minister have been considering this for a long time," he told AAP.

"It just happens that Mr Abbott recently made a phone call to President SBY."

In Tuesday's phone call, the leaders agreed Mr Abbott should visit Jakarta in June but it's understood no firm date has been set.

It's said the president, whose term in office ends later this year, hopes to depart with his legacy of strong relations with Australia intact.

However the Abbott government's policy of turning asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia remains a controversial issue in Jakarta.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra said the government was yet to receive confirmation from Jakarta of the Indonesian's ambassador's return.

"We would very much welcome Ambassador Nadjib's return to Australia, once this is confirmed by the Indonesian government," the spokesperson said in a statement.

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