Name: Gilad David Maayan

Title: CEO

Organisation: Agile SEO

Gilad David Maayan is CEO and Founder of Agile SEO, working with leading tech brands like IBM, Intel, NetApp, and Imperva on large-scale enterprise SEO and content projects. He is also the winner of three international technical communication awards for exceptional technical content projects.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Gilad's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Communicating my vision and business objectives to the teams who need to execute it, and designing processes to make them successful.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I worked for 10 years as a marketing expert and technical communicator for technology companies. At some point I realized my ability to create technical content at scale is very valuable, and founded my agency, Agile SEO, which works with B2B and technology companies to create SEO-focused content for professional and technical audiences. Over the years the agency grew and we have worked with over 200 leading technology brands. Today I serve both as CEO, SEO lead, and chief editor in our organization. I am personally involved in all our SEO projects and personally review hundreds of technical articles we produce every month.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

As a religious Jew, I wake up around 5-6pm and start my day with a traditional prayer service and spiritual learning. I start work at around 9pm, my mornings are devoted to our highest value activity, content production for our customers. I take a lunch break at 12 and in the afternoon, focus my time on client meetings and leading SEO strategy for our clients. I finish my work day around 7-8pm, spend a bit of time with my family, and try to get to bed by 10:30pm.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

That if you want something done, you have to first do it yourself and be the best at it. This is the only way you can train, lead, and motivate teams.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss. This book changed my mindset from that of a small company billing by the hour to a globally-leading agency providing strategic services and billing according to the value they provide.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Be hands on. Understand exactly what people are doing and how long it is taking them. If something is unclear, ask questions, even if it's difficult, and put everything out in the open.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

In 2021-2 we had a huge surge in demand and had to grow our agency by 2X in a short period of time. My team and I had to work very long hours and rebuild our processes to address many more clients with demanding requirements. Instead of scaling by just hiring more people, we wanted to do it smart. We managed to double our capacity without doubling our workforce, by improving all our work processes and removing redundancies. We actually made all our clients happier, and supported the additional demand, while reducing overall costs.