Newsweek’s Dev Pragad: 5 Things You Should Do To Become a Thought Leader In Your Industry
An Interview With Abe Alon
You need to be honest with yourself about your level of expertise. I invested time in deep thinking and committed to my studies.
As part of our series about how to become known as a thought leader in your industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Dev Pragad.
Dr. Dev Pragad is a media and technology executive, entrepreneur, and CEO of Newsweek. Under his leadership, he transformed a failing readership base of a legacy, 90-year-old publication into a digital powerhouse with 100 million readers in just a few years. Shortly after earning his PhD from King’s College London in 2009, Pragad helped launch several businesses. After successfully managing Newsweek’s International edition from London in 2014, Pragad became CEO in 2016, and later joint owner in 2018.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I consider myself a perpetual student — I’m consistently observing, listening, and pushing myself to continuously improve. Growing up in India, I remember being fascinated with new perspectives and the different ways that others share ideas — especially across cultures. When I moved to the UK to study at King’s College London, I had the opportunity to interact and learn from thought leaders across the ideological and cultural spectrum. My focus was the science of computer communication — through computer science and engineering, and later in my PhD studies in mobile internet.
After earning my PhD, I decided that I wanted to move away from academia and roll up my sleeves and build something meaningful that has a lasting impact. After founding several media businesses, I found myself at Newsweek. I was absolutely fascinated by the rich history and heritage of the brand, which has earned a meaningful place in American culture as a trusted publication.
After I managed Newsweek’s international edition from London in 2014, I moved to New York and became CEO in 2016, and later joint owner in 2018. I made it my mission to turn around what was then a failing publication — to take an iconic brand back into startup mode and rebuild was incredibly rewarding.
Newsweek’s turnaround has been a labor of love — and executed through focus, discipline, and vision by an incredibly talented team. Today, with one hundred million unique readers per month, our audience has grown more than twelve hundred percent since I became CEO. Newsweek’s transformation has been detailed in two Harvard Business School case studies.
Despite Newsweek’s recent success, I am still continuously learning, developing, and looking for new ways for the publication to contribute to society in a meaningful way.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority about the topic of thought leadership?
Thought leaders, to me, are individuals that can share perspectives in a way that inspires, challenges, and adds meaningful value to others. Through my unique background and experience in media, I have professional learnings that I enjoy sharing with others to create value. I believe a thought leader is someone who not only holds meaningful perspectives but is able to successfully impart that knowledge in a variety of ways over time.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Recently, at Harvard Business School (HBS), I had the opportunity to help teach one of the two recent HBS cases written about Newsweek’s transformation. It was a remarkable experience for Editor-in-Chief Nancy Cooper and me to be answering questions from some of the world’s brightest business students. It was also incredibly rewarding — to be able to reflect in real time on the effort we had invested at the earliest stages of Newsweek’s transformation and hear the perspectives of an incredibly insightful student body. Newsweek is being taught as an example of a successful turnaround story in Harvard’s classrooms and throughout the world.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I had agreed to meet a client at the Starbucks across the street from Bowling Green Park in New York City. Well, after I arrived at the agreed time, the client and I started texting and we could just not find each other. We both repeatedly insisted we were in the Starbucks across from the park and presumed the other person was wrong. I eventually realized that there were two Starbucks coffee shops directly across from the park! Technically, we were at the place we had agreed to meet, but the client had not been specific in their instructions.
Finding the right level of specificity is important — especially on a different scale, when sharing and communicating a compelling vision.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the focus of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define what a ‘Thought Leader’ is? How is a thought leader different from a typical leader? How is a thought leader different from an influencer?
One can influence others without exhibiting leadership qualities. A thought leader must be able to communicate their expertise in a way that successfully and positively impacts others; thought leaders must be able to influence through their expertise, communications skills, and passion on a particular topic. Sharing knowledge and expertise in a collaborative way, in order to help someone, learn and grow, epitomizes thought leadership for me.
Can you talk to our readers a bit about the benefits of becoming a thought leader? Why do you think it is worthwhile to invest resources and energy into this?
First, a thought leader must be interested in breaking down accepted ways of thinking on a particular topic. Second, a thought leader must be interested in working to develop and communicate ideas in a meaningful way. Third, thought leaders must be committed to the betterment of both themselves and society; if you enjoy deep thinking and mentoring, you’ll likely find thought leadership highly rewarding.
Let’s talk about business opportunities specifically. Can you share a few examples of how thought leadership can help a business grow or create lucrative opportunities?
Every business is looking for someone that can excite and energize the teams’ thinking — someone who can execute the company’s vision by inspiring. There is incredible value in challenging generalized thinking and encouraging critical thinking. When this is done successfully there are so many benefits — from overall corporate growth to the personal growth of individuals and to new ideas being nurtured and realized.
Ok. Now that we have that behind us, we’d love to hear your thoughts about how to eventually become a thought leader. Can you share 5 strategies that a person should implement to become known as a thought leader in their industry? Please tell us a story or example (ideally from your own experience) for each.
First, you need to be honest with yourself about your level of expertise. I invested time in deep thinking and committed to my studies.
Second, take a step back for a broader view. When you are in the day-to-day, it is difficult to see the broader strategic perspective. I make it a habit to remove myself from standard routines and to dive into new things and challenges in order to gain an outside perspective.
Third, listen to others. For me, I had made a commitment to invest in those professional relationships and mentorships where others would continuously push back on my way of thinking and challenge it. I don’t want to be told I am right all the time–or any of the time if there is a better idea.
Fourth, position yourself. Ask yourself what you want to be known for — and be specific. Why should anyone care about your area of expertise? In an era of dying print media, I wanted to be known as someone who successfully revitalized a legacy brand on the most current platform — digital media.
Fifth, develop meaningful relationships with your audience. I use events, conferences, social media — whatever tools I can to ensure that I am both listening — and speaking to — those that are seeking my thought leadership. I also use these situations to learn and grow from others across my industry and in other sectors.
In your opinion, who is an example of someone who has done a fantastic job as a thought leader? Which specific things have impressed you about that person? What lessons can we learn from this person’s approach?
Egyptian entrepreneur, writer, and former head of Google X Mo Gawdat took a heartbreaking event in his life — the passing of his son — and he used that event to share thought leadership on the topic of happiness. Gawdat displayed incredible resiliency and tapped into a well of resolve that forged a level of credibility and expertise that was also deeply authentic. This made it clearer to me, more than ever before, that the worst situation can teach us the most valuable lesson.
I have seen some discussion that the term “thought leader” is trite, overused, and should be avoided. What is your feeling about this?
Regardless of the term — individuals leading through change on important matters exist and should be respected for the good that they are looking to create. It doesn’t matter what these individuals are called — they will always exist and will always provide significant value to society.
What advice would you give to other leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
If you find yourself nearing burnout, it is important to ask yourself “why?” Invest time in understanding your boundaries and where those may have been crossed. Take time to recharge in whatever way suits you. For me, recharging means spending time with my family. I have four young children and when I need to recalibrate and really see what matters I just need to be with them. Spending time with my family is how I maintain balance. I won’t let work get in the way of our time.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I’d like to see people–especially in the United States, where there are incredible cultural and political divides, better listen and try to help one another to help solve some of the most pressing issues of our lifetime. Many people now tend to reject any ideas or solutions from outside of their existing circle — that kind of limited thinking is dangerous. Americans will need to collaborate and trust one another to help solve issues such as climate change — before it is too late.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
John C. Maxwell said, “Live to learn, and you will really learn to live.” For me, I need to ensure that I am constantly learning — asking questions, practicing active listening, and making certain that I am keeping an open mind to new perspectives. Being vulnerable in this way is not easy — it often requires mindfulness and practice. However, I find that self-development has been remarkably rewarding and has helped me lead a richer, more fulfilling life.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have lunch or breakfast? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has done remarkable things with that organization, in particular on building a culture of meaning, trust, and excellence.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Although your readers can follow me on LinkedIn, the thrust of my work is present in the quality of journalism in Newsweek.
Thank you so much for your insights. This was very insightful and meaningful.
