Embracing the Power of Digital Storytelling With Zander Media Founder and CEO Robin Zander

In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Zander Media’s founder and CEO, Robin Zander. We discuss his career path, why he values creativity and digital storytelling, and his work in video production at Zander Media. We also talk about his new documentary, “Parenthood @ Work.”

Robin is an event organizer, community curator, podcaster, acrobat and so much more. He refers to himself as a professional dilettante and a strategist in business, even though he hasn’t always been strategic in his own career path.

Robin’s path has always been spurred by curiosity and a desire to learn, from taking over the Responsive Conference and opening Robin’s Cafe to becoming an adviser to multiple companies and launching Zander Media.

“From 2016 to 2019, I was simultaneously running a B2B future of work, HR business conference and a brick-and-mortar restaurant cafe and event space called Robin's Cafe. And I feel like that dichotomy sums up my career pretty well, which is trying to figure out how to do things,” he says.

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The Path to Zander Media

When Robin started Robin’s Cafe, he never intended to pursue that industry for the long haul. So when the opportunity came for him to open a second location, Robin decided instead to sell the business. But he quickly realized his mistake: “The mistake was not enough digital storytelling about what it actually takes to build a restaurant while doing it right,” he says.

Robin wanted to showcase the experiences that employees created for customers. He wanted to capitalize on what he learned as a restauranteur, which was that “my sensitivity of being able to be emotionally available, be empathetic to my employees was a competitive advantage in business.”

He was deeply affected when a former employee pulled him aside and said, “Hey Robin, this is the very best job I’ve ever had.” This mic drop moment for Robin showed how a positive workplace contributes to a person’s transformation.

It’s what Robin values at Zander Media, too. “One of the strategic advantages that we as Zander Media have always held is, first of all, working with great people, right? In terms of our clients or in terms of the folks that we're interviewing and have the privilege to sit down with,” he says.

Showcasing the Power of Storytelling

Robin’s mission in life and in Zander Media is to share powerful stories. While he’s not in HR, he sees the power of transforming people for the better.

“Who do people become as a result of the quality of work, the quality of organization they get to work within. I think those are really the stories that stand out to me, and we see them everywhere,” Zander says.

Another way his curiosity and love of storytelling manifested was even before the pandemic, when Robin heard conversations about distributed companies and employees who were parents and caregivers. And when the pandemic hit, causing the cancellation of the Responsive Conference, Robin looked to redirect the energy of the conference into a different effort.

“What does it mean to be a working parent or a working caregiver? And in many ways, those are less public, right? We don’t see them, but they impact,” Robin says.

So Robin and his team created the documentary “Parenthood @ Work,” written and directed by Jonathan Kofhal, Zander Media’s video director. They decided to interview working professionals in HR to get authentic stories.

“We, as a team, had never done a documentary before. In the first year, none of the interviews we did were in person, so all of them were remote,” he says. “We did them via Zoom, via complicated, digital setups, but all shot on 4K, very high definition.

“So Jonathan was at home with one camera on him in Austin, and Merritt Anderson was in San Jose, California, with another camera on her,” Robin continues. “And we did the whole thing, which was a huge labor of love and a really, really compelling story.”

“Labor of love” is an important phrase because Robin believes “we don't talk enough. I think, about love at work — where there is bond, where there is kindness, and that that really elicits the best stories.”

All of those things — the quality of work, distributed work, caring for others — combine to fuel Zander’s purpose.

“It's one thing to talk about remote and distributed work. It's another thing entirely to build a company where people love to work and love each other, regardless of where they're located,” Robin says. “And so for me, Zander Media was sort of an homage to how to do digital storytelling at scale, but there are so many compelling human stories that need to be told.”

People in This Episode

• Robin Zander: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Zander Media website