Welcome to Snafu, a newsletter about authentic influence in a chaotic world.

100 founders, entrepreneurs, and executives gathered at the Oakland Museum of California to explore influence, selling, and AI. Here are a few highlights from the day.

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In early March, 100 founders, entrepreneurs, and executives gathered at the Oakland Museum of California for a day exploring Influence in the Age of AI. Today, I want to share some highlights from the day.

​How to Sell Yourself without Selling Out​

In this opening session, I shared three personal anecdotes from three very different phases of my life and invited attendees to reflect on their relationship to selling. We reflected on the attitudes that result in us showing up in service to our customers.

​Coaching is Selling with Jeff Jaworski and Marie Szuts​

Jeff Jaworski, former sales executive at Google, sat down with coach and former CPO Marie Szuts for a conversation about the intersection of selling and coaching.

Drawing on decades of experience building Google’s global sales coaching program and leading teams to peak performance, Jeff highlighted how coaching principles can enhance sales execution and how sales realities can sharpen coaching practices.

​How to Get Over Rejection with Mandy Mooney​

Rejection is everywhere. It shows up in emails that go unanswered, pitches that stall, and meetings that mysteriously never get rescheduled.

Mandy’s session explored what actually increases your odds and what makes rejection hurt less when you hear “no.” The session unpacked the three factors that enable you to get over rejection and try again.

​Founder-Led Sales with Gagan Biyani​

During this closing session, I sat down for a fireside chat with Udemy and Maven co-founder Gagan Biyani. We discussed growth marketing, AI, founder-led comms, and much more. This interview is also available as a podcast wherever you listen.

Additionally, here are some pictures from throughout the day.

4 (Other) Things I’ve Loved This Week

Idea I’m Thinking About

“There's a version of the world where AI is amazing for humanity, but let's not pretend the enshittification of the entire internet isn't proof of concept for where this is all going."

Podcast I’ve Listened To

​Tristan Harris on the Modern Wisdom Podcast​

This podcast a good accompaniment to the above idea. We’re headed down a dark path with AI, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Book I’ve Loved

​Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult by Ellen Huet

I just finished my friend Ellen Huet’s new book Empire of Orgasm about the sex cult OneTaste.

I lived in San Francisco during the rise and fall of OneTaste, and participated in several organizations that, while not cults per se, had cult-like characteristics.

Ellen tells a very compelling, deeply researched story that should serve as a warning for us all about how belonging and influence can be weaponized.

April Fools Joke That Worked

​Announcing: The Fully Autonomous Conference™​

To end on something a bit more lighthearted, I sent the following to our Responsive Conference newsletter on April 1st.

The Fully Autonomous Conference™ might well happen, but I won't be the one to produce it.

Want more?

Until next week,
Robin