Last week, I spend three days on the road, visiting a client in Guelph, ON. My job was to train a staff of 20+ web publishers, designers, content creators and managers on the things that we at SEOmoz do best - viral marketing, site/content development, usability/design analysis and social media marketing. The training itself was excellent - better than many of the training sessions I've conducted in the past and I want to share the reasons why:
- A Passionate Audience
The group I talked to in Guelph was literally excited about learning. For more than 12 hours of intensive search marketing training, the 22 folks in the room hung on every word, asked probing questions and cared intensely about the success of their projects. That kind of commitment comes from inside, but it's also built by corporate structure and management - in recongizing great employees and smart decisions. - Specific Goals & Relevant Projects
Unlike some of the folks I've worked with in the past, the Guelph group could directly apply their training to active sites. This was evident as I'd reveal a specific tactic and see half the group scribble on their notepads, then move on to the next point and see another bunch jot down a URL or idea. - Supportive Management
At one point near the end of our training, the founder and President of the company came in to the room, listened (and participated) during some content brainstorming and announced to his staff that they had complete creative control and freedom to make content decisions on their sites. As we'd run across a site and criticize or make recommendations, the management never told the staff, "no," and continually let their people (and my input) steer decision-making on both general recommendations and specific ideas.
With these components in place, the group was able to take far more advantage of our time together than would have been possible otherwise. In the future, as I travel for training, I'll be attempting to put these pieces into place before my arrival. If you're considering getting training or on-site consulting for SEO (no matter who the consultant might be), let me urge you to do likewise.
That's actually not all I learned. I picked up something small, something that might seem trivial or insignificant - just a quick fact, but, unbelievably, it's had a massive impact on me. While I was in Guelph, I got to spend a few minutes with its most famous (or infamous) SEO resident - Jake Baillie, aka bakedjake (of Guelph-based TrueLocal). Just a quick background on Jake - he attended the first ever SES shows in San Francisco, he's been a contributing member of WebMasterWorld and a speaker at PubCon and the SES series for years. He ran a very successful consulting business (and sites of his own), before stepping into the lead role at TrueLocal, where he manages a large team of programmers, marketers and support staff. Jake's firm has offices in Australia, Canada & the UK and they're rolling out new products as I type.
What did I find out that changed me so significantly? I found out Jake's age. He's 25 (I turned 27 this summer). And, that tiny fact made me realize that I've been holding myself back based on utterly false impressions I've had about what a person could accomplish in a company leadership role at that age. Jake's concrete example is now in my head, lighting the way and showing me that you don't have to be 35 or 40 to manage a big team composed of largely older and more experienced members. Jake works his people hard, he's earned their respect and he doesn't get flak for his youth.
It's not that Jake's an idol or a hero to me, or even that I agree with all of his decisions, but it's a real life example, and in this case, that fit the bill. I've had fears in the past about hiring people older than I am, managing strong personalities or letting the feelings of others dictate my decisions. It's been a weakness for many years (and probably one that a lot of young executives have), but I've been feeling more confident and more capable ever since I put that example into my frame of reference. Almost seems a bit (how would the British say it?) "dodgy" to think of what a big difference a little number can make.
one thing I've learnt in this game is that age is totally irrelevant. Most of the people I deal with and fraternise with are younger than most of my kids - I love their enthusiasm and confidence and would have no problems working 'for'them and learning from them. This is a young industry - so, in a way, we are all young (well that's my theory and I'm sticking to it - come hell or alzheimers)
Truly stimulating one Rand. Particularly I'm surprised to know of Jake's achievement spanning multiple countries at an age when people still struggle to assume the leadership role forget about being the top boss.
This is really a good punch for me to focus more clearly in my job considering that I'm atleast a year younger to Jake.
Great post Rand. I really enjoyed learning that youth is appreciated in this industry. I am only 24 and running a search marketing group so it is always great to hear the success of other young professionals in the field.
I'm glad to hear that you're conquering your demons, Rand. You're the captain of this here ship, and it's tough to see your confidence waver over certain issues. I'm thrilled to see you continue to grow and mature as a leader and as an executive (and as my friend...awwwww).
Right here with you guys. I was a #1 sales guy at 19-20, and have almost 8 years of customer service, sales, and marketing experience. When I started studying internet marketing concepts and began my quest to start an agency at 21, a got plenty of laughs. Now at 24 and still going, professionals that have known me are starting to realize that I really do know my stuff and take me seriously. I think the more popular our industry becomes the more our peers in the workplace will look to us young guns (i.e. alot of the SEO industry) who understand technology better than they do for advice. P.S. Rand, when I found out you were only 27 a few months ago it gave me a burst of confidence knowing that someone could accomplish so much at such a young age. Keep up the good work!
Based on what I have seen of this companies portfolio of sites, I can believe this. It seems they have a very open mind and are constantly trying different content structures to see what works the best. These are usually the people who do best in all aspects of life because they are about action. It is better to take the wrong action then to sit around and do nothing to try and figure out what the right action is.
That sounds like great advice stonecold.
Good if this new fact helps you put that behind you rand. I was managing a team of twelve developers, librarians etc. at the tender age of 23 - pretty much all of them being older than me.
For me, being able to do it well, was to do with having technical expertise - being able to talk to anyone on my team doing any task with a real understanding of what they were doing. And to treat people as people. And earn respect doing both of these. Combine that with acknowledging what you don't know and you're doing well.
Anyway from everything we see on this blog, feedback from your staff, the conferences etc. you're well able for it!
Now I've reached thirty, I'm finally following what you have already done and setting up my own business. A lot to do with finding the right partner (setting up the right suppport network) - my brother in this case!
*Baillie
It is certainly about time that you put that whole age hangup behind you. :) Age is nothing. It is experience that people are really trying to guage, and that is not linked to age at all really, because some people learn faster, and some spend years in places they gain little experience.
People like yourself and Jake have packed more experience into your first ten years out of high-school than many people might pack into a whole career.
Natural talent matters. Experience matters. Age is just a number telling you how long until they reach retirement. :D
Hola Rand,
Good for you. It's a long time since I looked at 25, or 27. In my own experience, it took me a while before I understood the value of hiring someone who challenges you in expertise - perhaps someone even more qualified.
What I found is that once I took on this challenge, I grew faster than ever. It's a very cool thing.
Ha ha....its never a matter of age once you've earned respect. Its something I learned when way back in the day and I was 19 and was the youngest member of a management team who's next youngest age was 38. I used to disguise my voice when I picked up the phone and managed people remotely all over the USA from a tiny office in Los Angeles and rarely got out into the field for fear I would be 'found out'. Once I learned that people treated you differently once you earned their respect, I found it didn't matter.
I've been speaking alongside Jake on various panels all over the world on various SEO topics and just like you Rand, I've always been amazed at his age but not once discounted the respect that I would afford a fellow panelist because he earned my respect a long time ago and in fact Jake has been my 'go to' guy on a variety of problems over the years.
How did he earn my respect? Well several years ago I once had a problem with a major publicly held ecommerce site that I had gone to every rock star SEO that I knew (yes, the ones you are thinking of are on that list - ahem, yes - even that guy) and no one could figure it out. In a last measure of desperation, I decided to throw a $10,000 challenge out on WebmasterWorld to see if anyone could steer me in the right direction. On a hunch, before I issued the challenge, I pinged Jake with the challenge and he called me up within 10 minutes telling me he had already posted the solution to a private url, thus earning $1,000 a minute from me. The fact that he made it sound so easy and that I even had search engine reps stumped at this problem made it all the more incredulous that he was able to figure it out and so quickly.
So now as you know, I surround myself with a lot of young folks and I'm never too proud to think they are too young and that I cant learn from them, this is a very young and progressive industry and if people think that they cant learn from young folks like yourself then this isnt the industry for them, I'm sure that there are a lot of older people (that also bring a wealth of knowledge to the table say from a business acumen perspective) that would jump at the chance to learn more effective web 2.0 strategies from you.
25? What!!! Wow! I would never have guessed that young, either... Not because he looks old, but because of everything he has accomplished already.
I hear you on age being an inhibitor. I think a lot of it has to do with perception and attitude. Sometimes the most trivial bit of information may alter your "frame of reference" and give you some perspective.
Edit: Bad grammar... proly still. It's late (early?).