Eli, I love it. We both emerged as thought leadership in SEO around the same time. The journey was bigger than I imagined when I transitioned into digital In 2005. By 2009, I was on the stage at a globally respected industry conference hosted by search marketing land and a had a Microsoft employee badge, access to any MSFT office or Razorfish in the world. That's the part everyone kinda sees. The mentorship, and people who position us is unspoken. Granted your an intelligent , caring , empathetic SEO pro, like me. Yet this article is different than most of your SEO focused ones... We have the unspoken personal stuff in common too. I have had several mentors over a lifetime. The greatest are the selfless ones, highly successful, that invest the most precious currency in the world ...time. No matter how limited, they understand how to impact in small but authentic actions more than words other leaders are honest , yet the commitment of time and personal adaptation , really brings the truth into the heart of their intented target.
I had this experience with Bill Slawski being my mentor , with time we became more friends as he really killed his ego to be the great everything he is professionally, and personally. I think the hardest part is preserving all the Convo that were not a big deal, yet recalling those by memory, emails , even texts he sent that might be in a backup archive I randomly find...all have pieces of him that are meaningful more so now. Really because I miss what he was about , who he is in conversation at times was a motive beyon me wanting to hear bills take on something SEO or Google etc.
Ultimately, I realize Bill didn't care so much if I debunked a myth, gave him an outlier use case he couldn't solve or could appreciate the evolved technical infrastructure his work gave him clear vision to be informed on , which means he's passionate too. I realized that Bill enjoyed genuine people. Honest , Albeit contested discourse at times, aka discussion he cares about..DA/PA scores, latent semantic indexing, Cincinnati Reds off-season or Ukraine's liberty.. he enjoyed his part knowing most won't change...he was certain with information, understanding that he might not convince you or influence a new point of view, new approach or is trying to impact your motives, priorities or personality In a revolutionary change moment. He was strong enough to be patient, cool enough to allow you to ask more questions without reminding you who is the intellectual in the room. If anything ,he might transition to next topic or in subtly variate to the new flowers he potted outside his windows.. his plants were his pets. He imprinted a value set, an example was set. A very translucent yet transcendent thing happens with certain people we come to know, yet so lucky to say I learned from them. it's not every mentor but we're lucky if we get one like that In life, let alone a a couple, three I can recall. 1 was more of a boss. The other two were Bill and Kofi Annan , who became the UN secretary general .
Another non mentor but caught my attention around the time you were at Surveymonkey was Tony Hseih at Zappos. During the time he spent like 100 mil of his Zappos wealth revitalizing dt Las Vegas . Super humble , great visionary, tapping into others potential.
Sorry so long bud, great one resonated and kicked up some feels as Im working on how to do the same as you , keeping Bills legacy and recognition going. I have a conceptual way, beyond posts...perhaps a book. Would love to NDA up with you, talk about properitary stuff that might be worth partnering or having you as advisory board or consulting on. Never know where the journey is turning. Stay useful n in gratitude brother.
Thanks for your willingness to share this memory, and for elevating the importance of leaders modeling kindness for their organization. When employees feel supported and safe to take risks, they do the best work of their career.
Eli, I love it. We both emerged as thought leadership in SEO around the same time. The journey was bigger than I imagined when I transitioned into digital In 2005. By 2009, I was on the stage at a globally respected industry conference hosted by search marketing land and a had a Microsoft employee badge, access to any MSFT office or Razorfish in the world. That's the part everyone kinda sees. The mentorship, and people who position us is unspoken. Granted your an intelligent , caring , empathetic SEO pro, like me. Yet this article is different than most of your SEO focused ones... We have the unspoken personal stuff in common too. I have had several mentors over a lifetime. The greatest are the selfless ones, highly successful, that invest the most precious currency in the world ...time. No matter how limited, they understand how to impact in small but authentic actions more than words other leaders are honest , yet the commitment of time and personal adaptation , really brings the truth into the heart of their intented target.
I had this experience with Bill Slawski being my mentor , with time we became more friends as he really killed his ego to be the great everything he is professionally, and personally. I think the hardest part is preserving all the Convo that were not a big deal, yet recalling those by memory, emails , even texts he sent that might be in a backup archive I randomly find...all have pieces of him that are meaningful more so now. Really because I miss what he was about , who he is in conversation at times was a motive beyon me wanting to hear bills take on something SEO or Google etc.
Ultimately, I realize Bill didn't care so much if I debunked a myth, gave him an outlier use case he couldn't solve or could appreciate the evolved technical infrastructure his work gave him clear vision to be informed on , which means he's passionate too. I realized that Bill enjoyed genuine people. Honest , Albeit contested discourse at times, aka discussion he cares about..DA/PA scores, latent semantic indexing, Cincinnati Reds off-season or Ukraine's liberty.. he enjoyed his part knowing most won't change...he was certain with information, understanding that he might not convince you or influence a new point of view, new approach or is trying to impact your motives, priorities or personality In a revolutionary change moment. He was strong enough to be patient, cool enough to allow you to ask more questions without reminding you who is the intellectual in the room. If anything ,he might transition to next topic or in subtly variate to the new flowers he potted outside his windows.. his plants were his pets. He imprinted a value set, an example was set. A very translucent yet transcendent thing happens with certain people we come to know, yet so lucky to say I learned from them. it's not every mentor but we're lucky if we get one like that In life, let alone a a couple, three I can recall. 1 was more of a boss. The other two were Bill and Kofi Annan , who became the UN secretary general .
Another non mentor but caught my attention around the time you were at Surveymonkey was Tony Hseih at Zappos. During the time he spent like 100 mil of his Zappos wealth revitalizing dt Las Vegas . Super humble , great visionary, tapping into others potential.
Sorry so long bud, great one resonated and kicked up some feels as Im working on how to do the same as you , keeping Bills legacy and recognition going. I have a conceptual way, beyond posts...perhaps a book. Would love to NDA up with you, talk about properitary stuff that might be worth partnering or having you as advisory board or consulting on. Never know where the journey is turning. Stay useful n in gratitude brother.
Thank you
Thanks for your willingness to share this memory, and for elevating the importance of leaders modeling kindness for their organization. When employees feel supported and safe to take risks, they do the best work of their career.
Thanks for sharing Eli.
Thanks for this thoughtful write-up. It came at just the right time on a challenging day.