Innovators and thought leaders have been gaining the interest of business leaders and strategists due to their critical roles in the success of organizations, particularly in competitive markets. The lack of empirical research on thought leadership brought some ambiguity to the term, which made it challenging to differentiate it from innovation. Many do not seem to draw a clear distinction between the two; so do organizations need innovators or thought leaders? This paper sheds some light on both terms; it addresses business leaders and strategists by informing them of the relationship between the two. While innovators create new ideas, thought leaders champion those ideas until implementation. Thought leaders continue the work of innovators; the success of the organzations requires both