Why you should focus on a single customer
You’ve probably heard that you should focus on a specific type of customer or prospect. I’ve always found this to be a struggle because I don’t want to work with just one type of client! I like a lot of people and want my business to serve a variety, as well. Today’s article is about […]
What is the Future of Work?
In 2016, I started a business conference about an obscure idea called “the future of work.” Seven years ago, a lot of the tensions that we’ve seen accelerated in the last few years weren’t well known. AI wasn’t a ubiquitous tool. Most of us weren’t working on Zoom every day. Even the importance of connection […]
The difference between marketing and sales
I taught a workshop a few weeks ago for a handful of entrepreneurs who wanted to get better at selling. I asked attendees what they thought of when they heard the word “salesman.” I expected answers like used car salesmen and telemarketers, but instead attendees described the challenges of creating social media content. I realized […]
The car salesman bias
Most consumers are leery of car salesmen. And that’s understandable because car sales usually means a lack of price transparency, a high price tag, and pressure. As soon as I walk into a car dealership – and I’ve purchased more than my share of used cars! – my hackles rise up because I’m approached by […]
How to sell without a network or connections
In 2016, I was given an amazing opportunity to take ownership of a global community called Responsive.org. After running my first ever business event early in the year, I decided to create my first business conference, Responsive Conference, 9 months later. I’m a circus performer. I had never attended a business conference, not to mention produced one, […]
How to raise money
In 2016, I started a cafe with no prior experience in less than a month. Robin’s Cafe is still in San Francisco today. And though I no longer get discounts, we should meet for coffee there sometime! I had to raise $50,000 to purchase the assets I needed to start the business – espresso machine, ovens, […]
Do What Matters
Whenever you are tackling a new project – starting a business, adopting a habit, or supporting a friend – there are a myriad of to-dos. The key is to pick the right one.
The Psychology of Money, Ramit Sethi, and Wanting to Crawl Out of My Own Skin
I was standing on the hilltop, sweating, having just run up 1200 vertical feet in under 10 minutes. The loose gravel shifted underfoot and tears stained my face. I was upset and afraid, and wanted to crawl out of my own skin. The reason: I was in credit card debt. That was an afternoon ten […]
A Day in the Life of Robin P. Zander
This video is a day in the life building my company, Zander Media. We’ve experienced a lot of growth over the last few months, and I’m learning to navigate the company through that change. Today’s video shows the blend of personal and professional that makes up my daily life; everything I’m doing to build the […]
Practical Entrepreneurship: Curiosity, Empathy, and Growth
Empathy is Superpower I was on set recently with a Zander Media client conducting a dozen interviews, and I was reflecting on the interview process. Zander Media got its start through my own ability to show up compassionately with people who might or might not be comfortable on camera. We recorded their answers, made sure […]
Jeremy Liew, partner at Lightspeed Venture…
My guest today is Jeremy Liew (@jeremysliew), a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. Jeremy heads up investments in consumer technology at Lightspeed, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and has invested in iconic and culturally relevant companies, including Snap, Giphy, Rothy’s, Affirm, Honest, Cheddar, and many more. Jeremy is willing to embrace the beginner’s […]
Mark Brand, Food Activism and A Better Life Foundation
I first met Mark Brand through his talk at Responsive Conference 2017. The conversation in today’s episode is broad in scope, but the central thread is Mark’s tireless effort towards improving equality for all people. In Mark’s world, that is predominantly through getting people fed. As a former restaurateur myself, I’m blown away by what […]
A Tribute to Tony Hsieh
The months leading up to Responsive Conference 2016 were a whirlwind. Earlier that year, I had opened Robin’s Cafe, and the cafe was scheduled to cater the first annual Responsive Conference. I had never run an industry-defining business conference before and was learning the ropes on the fly – balancing cafe inventory alongside sponsorship calls […]
Jude Gomila: Golden and Mapping Human…
Welcome back to the Robin Zander Show! For today’s episode, I sat down with Jude Gomila to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur and his start-up Golden. I first met Jude, and learned about Golden, when Zander Media was hired to create an explainer video about the company. We had 10 days to get […]
“Master Your Code” with Darren Gold of The Trium Group
I meet with a lot of individuals and companies exploring both personal and professional performance. Especially through curating Responsive Conference over the last five years, I’ve had the great privilege to meet with change leaders around the world. There are a lot of very innovative approaches to change being practiced in the world today! One […]
Be More Loving with Sales –…
Recently while in NYC, I led a strategy workshop for an exclusive group of CEOs and founders who are building companies designed to thrive in the modern world. Here, we discuss how to have more authenticity in our sales. Respecting others’ time and double checking that they are still available and willing to speak gives […]
How to Create an Amazing Brand…
A few weeks ago, I sat down with Michael Roderick to discuss brand strategy and his work around creating “referrable brands.” This conversation covers a wide range of topics related to brand strategy, including his AIM model which stands for Accessibility, Influence, and Memory. We apply this framework to a variety of business examples, including […]
How to Ask Better Questions with…
In this episode, my friend, Daniel Stillman, interviews me for his podcast, The Conversation Factory. We discuss how to ask better questions, the value of loving, non- judgmental questions, and my story. I hope you enjoy today’s podcast as Daniel flips the script and interviews me on the art of asking questions. Line Notes 1:15 […]
How To Tell Your Story –…
This is a talk that I gave at the HR Transform conference in Las Vegas to the Heads of HR of some of the fastest growing tech companies you have definitely heard of. The context for my talk was storytelling. I pulled on my experience at Robin’s Cafe and Responsive Conference to help others tell […]
What I Learned Going from $50,000 a Year to $50,000 per Month
Money is not a topic that we discuss easily. It’s not something that I was taught in school or that we talked about around the kitchen table in my family. But I have learned that money is a skill that can be learned and practiced. Prior to opening Robin’s Cafe, the most I’d ever earned […]
How to Foster a Culture of Belonging at Work
How do you foster a culture of belonging? This is a very simple tactic that has made a world of difference within my own organizations, and that I’ve been helping other leaders apply within their companies. This article is about the importance of one-on-one meetings. Taking the time to get to know each person within […]
The Biggest Regret From Selling My…
A few weeks ago, I sold Robin’s Cafe. I sold my cafe after spending almost 3 years building it up from nothing. When I began Robin’s Cafe, there was a parking lot across the street. Today, that parking lot is literally a park and a playground. I was able to grow the cafe because of a […]
Have You Always Wanted To Own a Cafe? (Hint: Don’t)
It has been almost 3 years since I began Robin’s Cafe, as a service to the attendees of the conference I was running onsite. I wanted coffee and sandwiches for our conference attendees, saw an opportunity to serve the neighborhood, and on 3 weeks notice, opened a cafe. Now, 3 year later, I have learned […]
Lessons Learned Building (and Selling) Robin’s…
I want to say a couple of words about today’s post and a new format I’m exploring for both The Robin Zander Show podcast and this blog. Over the last 3 years, I’ve conducted over 200 hours of interviews, many of which have ended up on the podcast. I love conducting interviews, and I have […]
Chris Fussell & Rachel Mendelowitz of…
I hope you enjoy this talk from Responsive Conference 2016 with former Navy SEAL and New York Times best-selling author Chris Fussell (@fussellchris) alongside Rachel Mendelowitz (@rachelowitz) as they discuss “Team of Teams” and new ways of organizing companies of the future. Alongside General Stan McChrystal, Chris runs the McChrystal Group – an organizational design consultancy […]
Responsive Audiobook: Chapter 2, The Future…
I’m very pleased to share, exclusively for this podcast, a chapter of my book, Responsive: What It Takes to Create a Thriving Organization. The full audiobook version of Responsive comes out in late September 2018, but in the meantime, I am excited to share it out in podcast form. Here’s an excerpt. Subscribe and […]
Responsive: What It Takes To Create…
I’m very pleased to share, exclusively for this podcast, the first chapter of my book, Responsive: What It Takes to Create a Thriving Organization. The full audiobook version of Responsive comes out in late September 2018, but in the meantime, I am excited to share it out in podcast form. Here’s an excerpt. Subscribe and […]
Bob Gower at Responsive Conference 2016…
Bob Gower (@bobgower) helps organizations become faster, better, and happier. He is an authority on agile development, lean theory, and responsive organizational design, and the author of “Agile Business: A Leader’s Guide to Harnessing Complexity“. Bob has advised leaders at numerous companies—including GE, Ford, Chanel, and Spotify—in creating more effective organizations. He holds an MBA […]
Jennifer Dennard at Responsive Conference 2016…
I hope you enjoy this talk with Jennifer Dennard from Responsive Conference 2016. Jennifer is the co-founder of Range Labs and the former Head of People and Culture at Medium, focusing on organization design, people operations, and diversity & inclusion. Jennifer is passionate about helping teams work together better. In this talk, Jennifer talks about human resources […]
Charles Best at Responsive Conference 2017…
I’m pleased to share this talk at Responsive Conference 2017 with Charles Best (@CharlesBest), founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org. Charles Best is an American philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding platform for K-12 teachers serving in US schools. Charles launched the organization out of a Bronx public high school […]