Non Fiction Book Club

Author and futurist Bronwyn Williams takes us through the incredible CULTURAL AMNESIA by Clive James, touching on why purpose has to cost something, and what liberalism needs to do to stay relevant. Also we talk about solutionists and her great book SURVIVE THE AI APOCOLYPSE

In this episode of the Non Fiction book club, we discuss Hubert Joly’s excellent story of the turnaround at Best Buy THE HEART OF BUSINESS.  We are joined by the excellent Pepe Marias, respected creative and agency leader, and researcher and practitioner of purpose in business.

How do you sell a service?  This is the deceptively simple question that Harry Beckwith brilliantly solves in his seminal work SELLING THE INVISIBLE. Join Rich Mulholland, best selling author, multi company founder, and brilliant speaker as he discusses this thought changing book, and how it has influenced his thinking.   In this episode of the Non Fiction book club we discuss selling the ambulanc...

In this episode, we are joined by one of my favourite authors, the brilliant Khaya Dlanga. A great story teller opens up new worlds for the reader.  And Khaya has so many worlds to open up for us.  He brings to life rural village life. He lets us into the Joburg high life, and he trusts us with a journey through some of his most difficult moments and he navigates tragedy, loss and guilt.  All the...

How do brands grow? In this episode, we dive into the "marketing bible": Byron Sharp’s How Brands Grow. To help us separate marketing myths from scientific reality, I’m joined by Will Battersby, CEO of BOS Brands. Will brings a unique perspective to the table, discussing how he applies Sharp’s evidence-based laws to the fast-moving, high-energy world of BOS. We move beyond the fluff to d...

Real innovation is hard, and most companies are just "walking dead" organizations waiting to fail. On the Season 1 finale of The Non Fiction Book Club, the powerhouse CMO of Spur Corporation, Vuyokazi Henda, dives into Elvin Turner’s ‘Be Less Zombie’. Drawing on her massive experience at Unilever and Spur, Vuyo explores how to build a sustainable innovation engine and escape the "zombification" of...

What actually works in raising countries out of poverty? On this episode of The Non Fiction Book Club, ecosystem builder and CEO for Africa at Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, Ant Farr, discusses the ‘The Prosperity Paradox’  We discuss market-creating innovation, the concept of ‘competing against nothing’, and what he is already seeing on the ground in South and East Africa as he applies thi...

In our enthusiasm for generative AI we have forgotten that AI is fundamentally predictive.  In this episode of The Non Fiction Book Club, digital pioneer Mike Stopforth discusses the brilliant 2022 book, ‘Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence’ by Agarwal, Gans, and Goldfarb. We dive into the shift from generative AI to near-zero cost prediction, how decisions wi...

The key to a good negotiation is listening well!.  On this episode of The Non Fiction Book Club, the brilliant lawyer and Startup ecosystem builder Adrian Dommisse discusses the excellent book ‘Never split the difference’ by Chris Voss.  We discuss late night DJ voice, calibrated questions, tactical empathy, getting to ‘thats right’ and the power of ‘No’ versus the deceit of ‘Yes’.

Healthspan beats lifespan.  Dr Michael Mol joins us to talk about the brilliant book ‘Outlive’ by Peter Attia.  We talk about why it's so hard to make sensible decisions, what it means to live life well until your last day, and some of the ways to think about the changes that can make your last decades more fulfilling. It was wonderful to have Michael on the Non Fiction book club talking all t...

Your company is not the hero of the story! Join John Bradshaw and Kieno Kammies as they discuss the brilliant Storybrand 2.0 by Don Miller and Kieno shares his journey in story telling.  Kieno is funny, insightful and wonderfully vulnerable about his journey into the ecosystem builder he is today. A big thank you to INN8, our headline sponsor for Season 1.

Join us as TJ Strydom, author of book ‘Capitec: Stalking Giants’, unpacks the unusual history and success of Capitec. Discover how their founders' unconventional background shaped the bank's unique approach. TJ shares the highs and lows of the writing process, offering a vulnerable, insightful, and very funny look into the world of authorship.

What if you could change all the rules in your company in order to make it feel more meaningful?  In this episode of the Non Fiction Book Club, John Bradshaw talks to Yuppiechef Andrew Smith about the book ‘Maverick’ by Ricardo Semler, a brilliant tale of how Semler inherited his fathers business and broke all the rules.  Smith shares his own journey with Yuppiechef and how they tried to do things...