Snafu w/ Robin Zander

Hello and welcome back to the Robin Zander show! Today's guest is Merritt Quisumbing Anderson, an employment attorney, former Head of People at Github, a mother of 3, and founder of Merritt+ Consulting. Merritt also happens to be an adviser to Zander Media, and my dear friend. In this episode, we cover Merritt's history, ranging from her experience as a child of immigrants to how she has built a c...

Marie Szuts is the consummate professional dilettante. Marie grew up in a family of musicians, and in University picked up the extremely nerdy, and quite beautiful Viola da Gamba at University, which she continues to play at the highest levels today. Along the way, she obtained a Masters of Divinity Studies from Yale, became Managing Editor for food magazines, and then found herself as the Vice Pr...

Today's interview is with my friend, Eric Bahn, the co-founder of Hustle Fund. I admire Eric for his authenticity on the internet, the kinds of organizations that he backs and promotes, and, most importantly for his, minivan dad life! Eric always stays true to himself - in a world that, that encourages the opposite. I'm really excited for this interview. I hope you enjoy!

My guest today is Aaron Beashel, Founder of Attributor and former Head of Marketing at SafetyCulture and Campaign Monitor. Aaron is passionate about getting away from the venture capital funding model and the world-changing moonshot mentality that it mandates. In this conversation, he shares a wealth of ideas for how to build and sustain a company that's NOT aiming for a billion dollars in annual...

Today's episode is an interview that I gave on the Agile Wire Podcast, all about Responsive Org and the future of work. We talk about building resilient and adaptable organizations. We talk about Agile and Responsive, those movements, and what they mean. And there's a lot in here about how to build organizations that are truly adaptable and can thrive in tumultuous circumstances. I hope you enjoy.

I'm excited to share Episode 3 of Ask RPZ, with my friend Aubrey Blanche. This this episode we tackle some big, philosophical questions like: "What's a moment from your life of bridging understanding across differences?"  "What's a powerful moment of recognizing universal truth? We also get down to brass tax with: "What's the worst business decision you've ever made?" (Any decision made hastily an...

My guest today is Kalee Gardella, founder of KMG collective.  KMG collective is a consultancy which works to foster network and community among some of the better known venture capital firms in the world. I was really struck when I first met Kalee, by her words, "Serve those with the courage and conviction to build from scratch." And being somebody who builds my companies from scratch as well, I'm...

I've built two successful businesses and am deep in the weeds of growing my third, Zander Media. What you miss when I say that is the dozen or so failed businesses I've started along the way or that never really got off the ground. One of the biggest factors that contributed to my success with building businesses has been an unexpected quality – solving a problem that I have. It's silly, it's humb...

Welcome to Episode 2 of our new show Ask RPZ, where I sit down with questions about anything! But in particular, about business, movement, and self-awareness. In today's episode I tackle a variety of questions, including: -Do you get bored doing the same thing every day? -What were some of my lessons building and selling Robin's Cafe? -How do I stay diligent and productive all the time? -How has t...

Today's guest is Morgan Chaney, Senior Director of Marketing at Blueboard. Blueboard is an organization that helps companies like Pinterest, Eventbrite, Gopro, and more reward their employees with memorable and meaningful experiences. In this conversation, Morgan and I cover her background, the importance of leadership, and what works in the contemporary ecosystem of marketing to create a lasting...

Hello and welcome to the Robin Zander Show! Today my colleagues at Zander Media are asking me a few questions about work and home. It's always fun to turn the interviews around on myself, especially because self awareness and self inquiry are at the core of how I live my life. These questions delve into the balance of intensity and intentionality that I'm finding as I grow my company right now. We...

My guest today is Zach Morrison, the CEO of Tinuiti, one of North America's largest independent digital marketing agencies. Tinuiti manages more than $1.5 billion in advertising, spent across the triopoly of Google, Facebook, Amazon. I learned about Tinuiti when their founder spoke at my annual event, Responsive Conference, in 2017. Throughout its history, Tinuti has led the way as an extraordinar...

I've always been insecure about my voice. For whatever reason, it never occurred to me before that I could train my own voice, just like I train handstands, writing, and business. But a few months ago, I started taking voice lessons. My understanding of my own voice on both a technical and an intuitive level has increased at the same time as my confidence. It's humbling to share this insecurity of...

Katie Bisbee is the Chief Marketing Officer of one of the most innovative non-profits in the world - Donors Choose. DonorsChoose.org was one of the very first organizations to use crowdfunding, before that was even a coined term. Donors contribute on the website, and that money then goes to supporting teachers and schoolchildren with the tools needed to have the best public school experience possi...

I'm so excited to introduce my guest today: Michele Floriani, Chief Marketing Officer at Sequoia Consulting Group.  Sequoia started out as an HR broker 20 years ago, but has morphed into a full service provider, bringing HR tools to companies from early stage startups through to enterprise companies.  Michele comes from a fine art and business background, and he blends these in his work today lead...

This is one of the toughest parts of my life to look back on. And there is so much value in looking at ourselves, understanding our history, bringing those moments to the present and asking, "Who do I want to become?"  Without having overcome challenges in my childhood, I would never have had the confidence to open up a cafe or start a media company. Strength comes from understanding our past, and...

Today's delightful guest is Jacqui Gibson-Clark, CEO of Job Portraits.  Job Portraits is an employer branding studio, which helps fast growing companies showcase their culture and values to prospective hires.  Jacqui brings a decisive vision to her work with Job Portraits that comes from years of hands-on learning in the field. She's also full of delight, laughter, and practicality. In this conver...

One of my most important self-awareness practices is my daily writing habit. And I've always written a lot, not just for the blog or publishing books, but for myself to synthesize my own learnings. In today's episode, I talk about how I approach writing each day, and what I try to get out of it. Over the past ten years, I've built up a deeply supportive practice. Thanks for taking a few moments to...

Today's guest is Aubrey Blanche, who is both the Director of Equitable Design for People and Product at Culture Amp and the CEO of Mathpath. Aubrey is laser-focused on equitable design, and if you have any interest at all in diversity, equity, and inclusion you should follow her on Twitter.  In today's conversation, Aubrey dives deep into the nuances of what it means to build organizations that st...

I've had intensive physical practice - a movement practice - from quite a young age. But i n almost 3 decades of maintaining a rigorous movement practice, I have struggled to define myself and what I do.  Classical ballet, surfing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, juggling, trapeze, Capoeira, gymnastics - I have done all of these and more, but no term fits or encompasses me fully. In today's episode, I share...

My guest today is Allison Baum Gates, a General Partner at SemperVirens Venture Capital and a lecturer at the Business School at Columbia University and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Allison got her start working in finance and investing, but quickly saw that technology was changing everything about her work and our world. So Allison decided to go into technology, and to focus on inv...

My guest toda y is Graham North, creator and head of Brand Camp at the iconic ad agency of Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners, the team behind Got Milk and many memorable campaigns. Graham just won "Strategic Planner of the Year," and Jeff Goodby has said, "Graham is spearheading a new way of thinking and approach to clients' problems."  But what excites me the most about talking with Graham is how...

This podcast is a little bit different. As part of a rebranding exercise for this website, my YouTube channel, and RPZ overall, I recently sat down with Jonathan Kofahl, my dear friend and producer/director at Zander Media, for an interview...with me! Jonathan and I have known each other since 2017 when he filmed the Rework CEO Summit, which I put on in Boulder, Colorado. We've been in collaborati...

As part of the updates to this website and across the RPZ brand, I've recently sat down for a half dozen interviews with close friends. And instead of the typical "Robin conducts an interview", I have asked them to interview me.  Today's interview is with my dear friend, Nate Floyd. Nate and I have known each other for several years as members of SF Movement Practice . Beyond our shared physical p...

My guest today is Gayle Karen Young Whyte, former head of People and Culture at Wikimedia (the parent company behind Wikipedia). These days Gayle is very politically active and consulting with a select group of executives on organizational and culture change. I've known Gayle since she spoke at the first Responsive Conference in San Francisco in 2016, and have followed her work ever since. In this...