Steve Hopkins at Responsive Conference 2017…
I’m pleased to share this talk at Responsive Conference 2017 with Steve Hopkins (@stevehopkins), Director of Customer Success at Culture Amp and a founding member of the Responsive Org movement. Steve is passionate about helping clients develop a responsive operating culture that they can be proud of. At Culture Amp, Steve does this by guiding […]
Aaron Dignan at Responsive Conference 2017…
I’m pleased to share this keynote address by my friend Aaron Dignan (@aarondignan), founder of The Ready, at Responsive Conference 2017. Aaron Dignan sees the same phenomenon everywhere he looks. Our most trusted and important institutions – in business, healthcare, government, philanthropy, and beyond – are struggling. They’re confronted with the fact that the scale […]
Mark Fisher on Serious Fitness for…
My guest today is Mark Fisher, who regularly shows up wearing a unicorn head – atypical of someone who runs several gyms in midtown manhattan. Mark is the co-owner of Mark Fisher Fitness and the consulting group, Business for Unicorns. Mark and I share a common background in the performing arts, and it was fun for me to […]
Sunny Bates: How To Build A…
I first got to know today’s guest through my work at Socos, alongside Vivienne Ming. Over the last several years, I’ve heard a name mentioned in a variety of unlikely contexts – by Chris Anderson, the CEO of TED, Perry Chen, the Co-Founder of Kickstarter, and Beth Comstock, the Vice Chair at GE. My guest […]
Andrew Barnett on Coffee, Culture and…
My guest Andrew Barnett (@andrewbbarnett) is the founder of Linea Caffe, a coffee roastery and wholesale company, which was one of the first vendors we began working with at Robin’s Cafe in 2016. In this interview, we discuss how Andrew first introduced himself to me in those early days of the cafe, the humanness that […]
Adam Pisoni and Robin Zander –…
This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Robin’s Cafe with Adam Pisoni, co-founder and former CTO at Yammer, co-founder of the Responsive Org movement, and founder and CEO at Abl Schools. If you missed it, I recommend starting with our first podcast episode back in 2016! In conversation from stage and […]
Spoiled Yogurt and Small Business Fortitude – A Robin’s Cafe Story
It was 8:00 a.m. and I had just received another urgent call. We had just sold yogurt & granola to a handful of customers, and only then did the barista preparing those breakfasts realize that all of our yogurt had spoiled. I had been quietly drinking tea, and working my way through the morning’s email, […]
Anil Dash and the Quest to…
I’m really excited for this interview with Anil Dash, which was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2nd Annual Responsive Conference in September 2017. Anil Dash is an entrepreneur, activist and writer recognized as one of the most prominent advocates for a more humane, inclusive and ethical tech industry. He is the CEO of […]
How Charles Best Created DonorsChoose.org –…
Charles Best (@CharlesBest), is an American philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding platform for K-12 teachers in US schools. Charles launched the organization seventeen years ago out of a Bronx public high school where he was teaching. Since then, DonorsChoose.org has become one of Oprah Winfrey’s “ultimate favorite […]
No Call, No Show: Robin’s Cafe Memorial
If you’ve been reading the series about Robin’s Café, you know that the cafe got off to a rough start. It was chaotic and frantic and terrifying, but those feelings were put into perspective when we lost our early employee in a tragic accident. This post is in honor of Frank. — The first week of opening […]
How to Make a Holacracy* with Skim Milk
What does it mean to create a Responsive coffeeshop? This is Part II in a series about Robin’s Café, a coffeeshop at 3153 17th Street, San Francisco. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading Part I. Espresso at 3am I woke up in a cold sweat. Glancing at my clock it was 3am and I had been asleep […]
Robin’s Cafe — An Origin Story
On April 27, 2016 I opened a cafe. And since opening Robin’s Café the most common question I receive is, “Have you always wanted to own a cafe?” Honestly, it had never even occurred to me until 30 days before I signed the lease. For years now I’ve juggled a variety of gigs in very different industries. […]
Pam Slim on Capoeira, Building a…
My guest today is the award-winning author, speaker and small business strategist Pamela Slim (@pamslim). I first began following Pam’s work with the publication of her first book, Escape from Cubicle Nation, and have watched with enthusiasm as she has transitioned over her career across several very different industries and classes of business. Her […]
Jenny Blake on Fear, Physical Routines…
Today’s guest is my friend Jenny Blake (@jenny_blake) an author, career and business strategist and speaker who helps people organize their brain, and build sustainable, dynamic careers. She is the author of PIVOT: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One and led a workshop at the 1st annual Responsive Conference in September […]
Didier Elzinga on storytelling, leadership and…
Didier Elzinga (@didierelzinga) is the CEO & Founder of Culture Amp – the world’s leading Culture Analytics platform. Didier was previously the CEO of Rising Sun Pictures (a leading Hollywood visual effects company) and founder of Rising Sun Research (winner of a Technical Academy Award). What is particularly interesting is what Didier learned about leadership, […]
Srini Rao and the Art of…
My guest today, Srini Rao (@unmistakableCEO), is an author and the founder and host of the popular podcast, the Unmistakable Creative, where he’s interviewed over five hundred creative people. Former guests on the show include Tim Ferriss, Simon Sinek, and Seth Godin. His first, self-published book The Art of Being Unmistakable got the attention of media […]
Diversity, Inclusion, and Company Culture with…
My guest today is Jennifer Brown (@jenniferbrown), author of the recently published book “Inclusion.” Jennifer runs Jennifer Brown Consulting, a global consultancy that working with Fortune 500s to improve their diversity and inclusion initiatives. Even more than her work in D&I though, I’ve been impressed with Jenn’s enthusiastic immersion in all of the challenges to […]
Doug Kirkpatrick on The Morning Star Company and Building Self-Managed Organizations
Doug Kirkpatrick is the author of Beyond Empowerment: The Age of the Self-Managed Organization. He spent the first season of his business career in the manufacturing sector, principally with The Morning Star Company of Sacramento, California. In addition to being a world leader in the food industry, the Morning Star Company is known for being […]
Joel Gascoigne, Buffer CEO interview at…
Today’s guest – I’m thrilled to announce – is Joel Gascoigne – the co-founder and CEO of the social media company Buffer. This interview is an experiment, recorded live at the Responsive Conference on September 20th, 2016. I’ve admired Joel and his company for several years, as they have paved the way for a new […]
How Not to Join a Cult…
Bob Gower (@bobgower) has one of the most eclectic career paths of anyone I know. I met Bob after he published the article “From Sex Cult to C-Suite” and I was so intrigued by the range of things he had done in his life that I reached out to him. We have been collaborating ever […]
Meredith Haberfeld on Fostering Leadership and Building High Performing Organizations
My guest today, Meredith Haberfeld (@merhaberfeld), is the co-founder of Think Human, a coaching company that has worked with a wide variety of organizations – including, among many others, SoulCycle, Spotify, and Flat Iron Health – to foster leadership and build high performing organizations. Meredith looks at things from a unique viewpoint bridging a scientific, […]
Adam Pisoni on Founding Yammer, Responsive…
My guest today – Adam Pisoni (@Adampisoni) – is the co-founder and former CTO of Yammer, a business communication software company which sold to Microsoft for over 1 Billion dollars. I met Adam last year as a part of the Responsive Org community, which Adam co-created. Adam’s new company A.b.l. is the next step in building […]
Steve Hopkins – Coffee Connoisseur, Yammer,…
My guest today, Steve Hopkins (@Stevehopkins), is one of the original signators of the Responsive.org movement. In this interview we discuss Steve’s history and his current work with the start-up, Culture Amp. We cover his experience building Yammer alongside our mutual friend, Adam Pisoni, why he moved to San Francisco from Australia, and his love […]
The Doctor of Hip-Hop Blake Brandes on the Benefit of Random Encounters, Hip-Hop for Good, and Dropping the Beat
Blake Brandes (@BlakeBrandes) is a motivational speaker, hip-hop educator, and music producer. He was the recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, one of the most competitive postgraduate awards in the world, which he used to complete his Master’s and PhD on hip-hop and global youth cultures at the University of Kent in England. While he was completing his PhD, […]
Steve Scott: Authority on Publishing, Writing…
My guest today, Steve Scott (@stevescott1), is an authority on self-publishing. Steve is an extraordinarily prolific writer, author, and Internet entrepreneur. Steve has published 60+ books on Amazon, several of which made the difference for me to publish my first book start writing and publishing. I first learned about Steve Scott from an interview he did on […]
Michael Krigsman on CxO Talk, Photography, and What Makes a Compelling Story
Michael Krigsman (@mkrigsman), founder of CxO Talk, is internationally recognized for his work as an industry analyst and commentator, and a man of many interests. A writer, interviewer, speaker, and professional photographer, Michael finds ways to share his passions across a wide variety of media. We discuss Michael’s interviews at CxO Talk as well as his love for […]
IDEAS X Lab: Cultivating Innovation between Civic, Business and the Arts
Today I’m excited to bring you a four-way interview with members of IDEAS x Lab (@ideasxlab), a company bringing together artists and corporations to cultivate a more creative, productive workforce. If you’ve listened to prior episodes, then you probably know that this podcast is about improving performance and changing how we work. I interview artists, educators and strategies […]
Sam Aquillano on Building the Design Museum Foundation, Design Process, and the Importance of Play
Sam Aquillano (@samaquillano) is a creative entrepreneur who is bringing new life to what we think of when we talk about museums. Sam is the Founder and Executive Director of Design Museum Foundation, which is challenging norms by bringing his museum to where people already are. Currently located in Boston, Portland, and San Francisco, Design […]
Amy Cueva discusses Mad*Pow, Health and…
Amy Cueva (@AmyCueva) believes that design can improve the human condition. It was with that mission and vision that she co-founded Mad*Pow in 2000 and has built an award-winning design and digital agency which serves industries from health to financial services and beyond. But quite apart from having spend the last 15 years building her […]
Mike Arauz on Reimagining Work for the 21st Century
Mike Arauz (@mikearauz) is a founding member and acting president of August, a New York-based consulting firm which helps organizations keep up in an increasing fast-paced world. Mike is also co-author of Responsive.org, a community leading the self-organization movement. Mike is passionate about helping companies to innovate quickly, to make their dent in the universe. […]