Snafu w/ Robin Zander
Welcome to Snafu, a podcast about sales, persuasion, and work. Amidst all the change going on in the world today, “durable" skills are often the most resilient.
Snafu is a podcast for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and ambitious professionals who need to sell – but aren’t quite comfortable yet.
Robin Zander has spent more than 20 years tackling things he doesn’t know how to do. From starting a restaurant in three weeks without any prior restaurant experience to performing as a self-taught acrobat with the San Francisco Opera, Robin has built his life and career around learning new things.
But growth isn’t all upside. Trying new things comes with lots of failures. On Snafu, Robin sits down with authors and entrepreneurs to talk about a more human approach to sales, persuasion, and work.
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 26 minutes
- Episodes
- 101
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
An Interview with Cindy Gordon - Head of People at Policygenius
I took a 36 hour trip to New York City recently, and among other meetings, I had the pleasure of 30 minutes on camera with Cindy Gordon, Head of People at Policygenius.
Cindy spoke at Responsive Co…
Having Intentional Relationships (and Clear Boundaries)
Friendship isn't something that most people do intentionally. Ordinarily, we "fall" into and out of relationships and friendships, without thinking through what we want or why we are there.
In this v…
How to Get Over Childhood Resentment With Your Parents
One day, after my first year of college, I came home and proposed to my parents that we have a real relationship. I had always been grateful to have them, but I had never really made the choice activ…
Brave New Work with Aaron Dignan
Our most trusted and important institutions – in business, healthcare, government, philanthropy, and beyond – are struggling. They're confronted with the fact that the scale and bureaucracy that once…
How To Relate To Anybody
My father's ability to speak to different audiences in a language that was familiar to them has always stuck with me all of my life.
Individually, we all have the ability to chose how we relate to th…
Entrepreneurship, Business, and the Freedom to Work On Your Own Terms
Running your own business isn't about throwing around stacks of $100 dollar bills. It is about taking ultimate responsibility, doing the work necessary, and making hard decisions.
When you run your o…
What Is Resistance?
Steve Pressfield coined to term "Resistance" in his incredible book "The Way of Art".
When it comes to any job, you have to do the work. If you are putting on events, you have to sell tickets. If you…
What's Your One Thing
We are all so busy, distracted, and distract-able. We are surrounded by social media and news pulling us in a million different directions.
The solution to that is very simple: identify the one thing…
How I Came To Love Learning
One of my earliest memories at 8 years old, is trying to keep up with my father as he ran his very first marathon. I was heartbroken that I could only make it about 200 yards compared to his 26.2.
A…
Learn to Move by Going Small
If you want to change a behavior long term, make sure you celebrate the small victories. Reward yourself for your success - no matter how tiny or ridiculous - and you will be more likely to repeat th…
How to Change Your Behavior | Step 1: Start Small
There are things for each of us that we want to improve, behaviors that we want to change. The first and most important step is to start small. Whatever new habit you want to establish is, make it as…
How to Start the Fitness Habit? Take small easy steps to make it stick.
"Behavior design", a term coined by BJ Fogg, PhD., means how to design behaviors to them easier to adopt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._J._Fogg
I think about this a lot in fitness and in movement.…
The Fitness Habit
We have all been told to exercise more. “Just do it”. Get more fit. Fitness is a multi-billion dollar industry built around shame.
And yet, wellness is the foundation upon which our emotions, intelle…
How To Sell (By Only Selling To People Who Are Already Bought In)
I would like to share some great advice I once got from Professor B.J. Fogg at Stanford. He told me to never sell to people who don't already want what you are selling. Trying to persuade people who …
How to Sell Anything - What Most People Get Wrong about Sales
Selling has a bad reputation.
Most us think about "used car salesmen" kinds of selling and there is plenty of that! At Robin's Cafe, we used to get dozens of calls every single day from start-ups t…
Fear Is My North Star
I've realized recently that fear is my North Star. Whereas most people shy away from things that they are scared of, I frequently go towards my fears or use them to adjust course.
In the same way tha…
Memento Mori: Remember Death
How would you live your life differently if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?
We're all so busy rushing through our lives that we sometimes forget to pause and remember that we have fleeting t…
I'm Scared to Start (Doing The Only Work That Matters)
Even though I've run Responsive Conference and various other events with more than a $1000 ticket, this February is the first time I'm running workshops entirely by myself.
I'm nervous. So, I've b…
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 th…
How to Foster a Culture of Belonging
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 com…