The Narrative Index
Seven questions that separate thought leadership still led by a real point of view from content that has quietly become tool-optimized. Score it 7 to 35.
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How do I audit whether our B2B thought leadership still has a point of view?
The Narrative Index is a thought leadership audit for B2B companies: seven questions, each scored from 1 to 5, for a total between 7 and 35. From 29 to 35, the program is still narrative-led. From 18 to 28, it is at risk, which is where most programs sit. Below 18, the tools are running your program.
Teams now produce B2B content faster than anyone can judge it, and much of it is interchangeable. However, attention is not the same as trust. So the audit asks whether a real point of view, and a person accountable for it, still stands behind what you publish.
How to use it
- Pull your last three published pieces.
Score each one on its own.
- Score each piece 1 to 5 on the seven questions.
Byline accountability, source diversity, distinctive point of view, third-party earned trust, tool dependency, incentive alignment and job-to-be-done fit.
- Add the seven scores and read the band.
29 to 35: narrative-led. 18 to 28: at risk. 7 to 17: tool-captured.
- Act on the band.
Narrative-led: it is rare, so protect it rather than optimize it further. At risk: put real editorial judgment back in charge. Tool-captured: rebuild around a named point of view before you publish more.
Questions
What are the seven Narrative Index questions?
Does a named person’s judgment stand behind it? Does it draw on more than one voice or dataset? Could a competitor publish it with their logo swapped in? Has anyone outside the company chosen to cite or share it, unprompted? Did it need a human editorial decision beyond hitting publish? Is the team rewarded for changing a reader’s mind, or for volume? Does it move the buyer forward on the job they hired your category to do?
What does tool-captured mean?
The tools decide what ships and how, and no named person’s judgment stands behind it. The content keeps shipping while its impact declines.
Related: Discoverable Is Not Recommended · The Signal-Honesty Spectrum · The Windshield Test
The Narrative Index is an Uphoff Advisory Framework created by Tony Uphoff, five-time B2B CEO and founder of Uphoff Advisory, first published in Uphoff on Media on August 31, 2026. Read the full piece: B2B Thought Leadership and Content Marketing Are Broken