Rick Grant on Worthy Connections

What makes someone an authority—and how can a company turn the authority it has earned into greater recognition and growth? In this episode of Worthy Connections, Laura Lasher talks with Rick Grant, founder of RGA Public Relations and creator of the Market Authority Matrix. Drawing on more than 30 years in journalism and public relations, Rick explains how consistency, demonstrated expertise, and customer experience establish earned authority. He also discusses how businesses can identify the position they have earned in the marketplace and use it to clarify their messaging, attract the right prospects, and pursue the most natural path to growth.

Transcript Highlights

Laura Lasher: Today I’m talking with Rick Grant, founder of RGA Public Relations and a longtime thought leader in the real estate and financial services industries. Rick, thank you for joining me.

Rick Grant: Laura, thanks for having me. I love the idea behind this podcast, and I’m honored to be part of it.

It has become difficult to find the people we should genuinely connect with when we receive so many invitations from strangers who simply want to sell us something. By introducing people who have something meaningful to contribute, Worthy Connections provides a real service.

Laura: That is our goal. We want to connect our audience with people who can add value and introduce our guests to new networks. Tell us about the project you have been developing.

Rick: I have worked as a writer, journalist, and public relations professional for more than 30 years. Finding credible expert sources has always been central to my work. As a journalist, I needed to identify the people who genuinely understood the subjects I was covering.

A few months ago, I began reviewing my notes and the body of work I had created throughout my career. I shared that material with an AI assistant and asked it to help me understand how I evaluate potential sources.

The process exposed some of my own thinking to me. That is one of the most valuable ways people can use AI: It can push you to investigate what you believe and explain why you believe it.

That exploration eventually led me to develop the Market Authority Matrix.

Laura: Why was it important to you to pursue this?

Rick: I have always wanted to understand why things work. For example, I tend to believe that everyone should be capable of writing well. My wife reminds me that writing is a skill that not everyone has developed.

When you examine any real capability closely, you begin to understand that it is not simple. Authority grows out of what someone has learned and consistently done over time.

Before developing this framework, I could usually tell whether a source truly understood a subject, but I could not fully explain how I reached that conclusion. I needed to identify the factors going into that judgment.

What could someone show me that would demonstrate that they had earned the right to be considered an authority? By working through that question, I was able to codify my process and build a tool that helps determine where a person or company fits within the Market Authority Matrix.

Laura: Where can people learn more about the matrix and connect with you?

Rick: The easiest place to connect with me is LinkedIn. I have also launched The Authority Builder on Substack, where I am exploring what it takes to earn authority and then become recognized for it.

I believe this work is important because it gives companies a sound foundation for their market positioning. Businesses frequently claim that they are the best, the fastest, or the most innovative. But are they really?

A company is ultimately what its customers and prospects say it is. That connects to my basic philosophy of branding: Companies may believe they own their brands, but their brands actually exist in the minds of other people.

If a business does not understand the position it has already earned in the marketplace, it will have difficulty making the changes necessary to grow or become more profitable. Once it identifies that position, many of its other decisions become easier.

Laura: That understanding also helps a company concentrate on the areas where its reputation and profitability may be strongest.

Rick: Absolutely. Once leaders understand their company’s true market position—the position it has earned the right to hold—the path forward becomes clearer.

The company already has customers who have given it that position because of the value it has created for them. Other people and organizations are likely to value those same things.

That gives the company a natural path to growth: Find more of the people who value what it already does exceptionally well. The Market Authority Matrix helps us begin identifying that opportunity relatively quickly.

Laura: You are helping business leaders focus on what matters most to their companies and the clients they serve. Rick, thank you for being part of Worthy Connections.

Rick: Thank you for having me.

Connect with Rick Grant on LinkedIn and follow his work at The Authority Builder.