The One's Who Made Me V.1 Kevin D. Turner

Back at the beginning of the pandemic, I followed Sonal Bahl into a Clubhouse room. You remember? That social audio platform that had a shorter shelf life than ice cream in 100' heat? I joined because Sonal was a friend that I looked up to and inside the room, there was Stephen Quinn ?? and this guy Kevin D. Turner . I didn't know what to make of Kevin at first. At the time the only LinkedIn expert I followed was John Espirian so when I started listening to Kevin, with his big personality I almost felt like I was betraying John. I was also a bit immature at that point.

It took me about six months before I really started paying attention and connecting with Kevin. I looked forward to his posts and insight and always got excited when I would find something I thought was new that I could share with him.

Half the time what I sent him wasn't new at all but that was ok.

Eventually I jumped on a call and he helped me with my profile. The changes were immensely helpful and as someone that is pretty good on this platform I was shocked how much I didn't know.

The more we got to know each other the stronger my affinity for Kevin grew. When I was at Amazon, I would send his posts to all the hiring managers and regular managers in our division and added about how this could help us recruit. His posts eventually got circulated throughout the entire company and I had been working on finding a way to get him as a guest speaker at the time of the mass layoffs.

Likewise, whenever someone would ask for a LinkedIn coach, Kevin and his lovely spouse Dana S Turner are always at the top of my list.

The way the president looks at each new feature, does his research, allows others to inform him on discoveries and then gives them credit while staying forever ahead of much of what the actual employees of LinkedIn know goes to show how passionate, collaborative and dedicated he is to helping not only himself succeed but everyone on it.

The only sad part, is that LinkedIn has committed an egregious error by never having made him a 'Top Voice,' and no, I am not talking about Community Top Voice, which is another conversation. By Kevin's own admission he never feels like he will ever be recognized in that respect and while he harbors no ill will and continues to show love to this global community. I on the other hand will say Shame on YOU LinkedIn. This man has dedicated his life to making this place better and he does it better than 99.99999% of the world. He doesn't 'deserve' that recognition...no...he has EARNED it.

Why Kevin is So Special to Me

Growing up, I did not have a lot of male role models. My dad was and is around and he is my best friend, but I never knew my grandfather's and was bullied from a very young age. Generally speaking, I have a bias against (most) men.

At some point in getting to know Kevin, he became more than a friend. He became a father figure, or mentor...I haven't quite been able to figure it out exactly.

What I do know, is that I look up to him.When I am working on something for the platform I want his approval and insight. I ask for his guidance when I don't know something or need reassurance.

I trust him.

That is an extremely rare feeling for me. To be able to trust someone and know they have my best interests at heart. The crazy thing is we have never met in person, and frankly, I don't know him THAT well personally. I guess some people you just connect with and you don't need to question it.

So there you go. Volume 1 of my new Newsletter, 'The One's That Made Me.' This newsletter is going to give me an opportunity to highlight those people that have helped shape who I am and let others know exactly why they are so special.

I don't know who will be next or have any specific order in mind, I just knew Kevin had to be first.

I hope all of you find value in this new content offering and stay tuned for future editions. There are a few people I have tagged above that I can promise I will be highlighting.

I'll leave you with this, people assume others know we appreciate them, but that is not guaranteed, show appreciate while you can. We never know when a friendly voice, a show of thanks is the thing someone needs to keep them going.

Until Next Time.

Dan