My tribute to Kevin, my mentor & friend

Sorry - this posting isn't even going to attempt to be funny. Feel free to skip right past it, but I feel the desire to write my feelings.

I lost someone last week who was very special to me. A very different kind of loss than any I have experienced before... I have lost family members and friends before, but last week, I lost my mentor.

He was my boss in title... the Chief Marketing Officer at 1-800 CONTACTS. When I have tried to talk to others about him, they seem almost dismayed that I would feel such a sense of personal loss about someone not related. Which makes me incredibly sad... it shows me how rare a true mentor is... anyone who has had a great mentor would understand my grief.

Kevin was an amazing person. He was so full of life that you learned about life just by watching him... He was an amazing marketer and business man... sitting in a meeting or a 1 on 1 with him was like drinking from the fire hose of knowledge... whatever capacity you had to drink, he had more than enough to provide. He was such a strong advocate for him employees - even on the huge and/or new projects or roles where you weren't sure if you could do it, he always knew and somehow made you believe that you could. He was a great coach - able to provide guidance and direction in a subtle and completely inoffensive way. He was lavish with his praise... which only made you want to do better. He was a tremendous leader... anyone in the company who's seen the executive team interact knew that Kevin WAS the executive team. He was a wonderful friend. The most amazing thing about Kevin was that he was not all these things just to me, but to all who knew him. You didn't have to work directly for Kevin, or even interact with him much, to recognize what an amazing person he was and to learn from him.

My favorite memory of Kevin, possibly because it was my last real interaction with him before he died, occurred the Friday before his death. We were on a conference call with Wal-Mart. They had been stalling and delaying on a project I was leading. I had communicated this delay to Kevin and, as the great boss he always was, he fully understood his role as facilitator... to remove obstacles for his people. We got on this conference call and he started yelling, calling out people who were failing to make timely decisions, demanding action from Wal-Mart executives, etc. If I were on the other end of the phone call, I would have thought he was incredibly demanding and frankly, a little scary. But they didn't have the perspective of sitting next to him... being able to see him. The whole time, he had a huge smile on his face and was giving me two thumbs up... letting me know it was all for show. It was so Kevin.

My feelings are so complicated... I feel so much gratitude- that I was able to know him for almost 4 years and work directly for him for 2 years. I feel so much regret- that my capacity to drink wasn't greater during the time his fountain of knowledge was available. I feel so robbed - 4 years was such a short time to learn all he had to offer. I feel so hopeless - I can't imagine I will ever find a mentor like him again. I feel so much desire... to be for someone else what he was for me. I feel so much pain - I will deeply miss my friend.

Words fall short - he was an amazing man.