The One-Eyed Man with Mike Stopforth

Phila Msimang — University of Stellenbosch | Lecturer In this episode I talk to Phila Msimang about misinformation and fake news, the need for trustworthy, reliable institutions, and then we veer into a conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of having difficult conversations if we are to advance society. I met Phila at a workshop hosted by the University of Stellenbo...

Pierre du Plessis — Speaker and Author In this episode I talk to author, speaker and self-proclaimed 'dissident preacher' Pierre du Plessis about his book Train Naked, his work as a speaker, facilitator and coach, and the power of belief. Pierre recently launched a new project called Palaestra - a community of practice that encourages its members to train to become better human beings and do work...

Dr Aisha Pandor — SweepSouth | Co-founder In this episode I speak to Aisha Pandor about the tech start-up and funding ecosystem in South Africa, about the unique challenges of running highly scalable platform businesses, and about how her partners and team have navigated some of the unpredictability of the last 6 months. Aisha holds a PhD in Human Genetics from UCT, is the co-founder of the incred...

Duke Malan — Africa Works Ventures | Partner In this episode I talk to Duke Malan about his broad ranging experience in the South African corporate world, his decision to move to Hong Kong, and the lessons he's learned along the way. We cover his worldview around innovation and social impact, the power and importance of mentorship, his vision for ed tech, finding a way to reignite the SA tourism s...

Gavin Weale — Digify Africa | Founder and CEO I speak to Gavin Weale about how critical practical experience is in fast-tracking new digital talent into the workplace, and how they've solved this massive challenge with Digify Africa and its partners. Digify Africa has its roots in publishing and has always been known for giving disenfranchised youth a voice. As the organisation has evolved over th...

Karidas Tshintsholo — Khula! | CEO Josh Adler — ALA | VP In this episode I talk to Karidas and Josh about the importance of nurturing entrepreneurial and leadership talent on the African continent as early as possible. Josh Adler is the Vice President of Growth and Entrepreneurship at the African Leadership Academy. One of the ALA's more successful programmes is the Anzisha Fellowship and Prize, w...

Max Pichulik — Impact Amplifier | Co-founder In this episode I talk to impact pioneer, mindfulness expert and social entrepreneurship thought leader Maximilian Pichulik. Max has decades worth of experience navigating the scale and complexity of the social impact space in South Africa and beyond our borders. He has a thoughtful, balanced view of the challenges and opportunities facing social entrep...

Aunnie Patton Power — Intelligent Impact | Founder I talk to Aunnie Patton Power about innovative and creative ways to redesign finance - and specifically venture capital - to improve access to funding, build more sustainable organisations, and deliver better impact. Aunnie was one of the stand out lecturers from my Masters programme at LSE in her course on Exponential Technology for Social Impact...

Tom Fels — Animarem | CEO I talk to Tom Fels, branding expert and conscious capitalism advocate about his mission to create a new movement of business leadership in South Africa and beyond. Tom is the founder and CEO of Animarem, a boutique impact advisory that powers visionary, purpose-driven growth for their corporate clients. Tom is an old colleague from the advertising industry, has worked in...

Arthur Attwell — Electric Book Works | MD I talk to entrepreneur and innovator Arthur Attwell about the publishing industry and the social impact of better access to information, lessons learned from the successes and failures of his entrepreneurship journey, and a range of other topics. Arthur is the co-founder and managing director of Electric Book Works, an agency that turns ordinary publicatio...

Prof Vasti Roodt — Univ Stellenbosch | Dept of Philosophy If you could press pause on society, how would you redesign it? In this episode I speak to Professor Vasti Roodt about a theory of justice (fairness) that might be the key to building a better world for everyone, regardless of their social standing or resources. Vasti is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Universi...

Dean McCoubrey — MySociaLife.com | Founder Expert lessons in parenting digitally enabled tweens and teens In this episode I talk to Dean McCoubrey about how to be a better parent to digitally connected children. Dean is a successful media entrepreneur and the founder of MySociaLife (www.mysocialife.com), an education company that examines the invisible physiological, emotional, mental and neurolog...

Andrew Blades — EPA Victoria | Manager, Risk and Compliance A deep dive into complexity with a leading 'uncertainty navigator' Can you tell from the title of this episode that I've been watching a LOT of Frozen 2 while on lock down? In this episode I talk to Andrew Blades, an uncertainty navigator and polymath, about how to lead in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world. Andrew...

Rapelang Rabana — Rekindle Learning | Founder and Chair How technology is leading the learning and personal development revolution "In this episode I talk to Rapelang Rabana about the education and edtech revolution, digital transformation, and how crises can be an opportunity to radically re-calibrate corporate vision and strategy. Rapelang is the founder and chair at Rekindle Learning, a tech en...

Richard Mulholland — Missing Link | CEO Why some companies (and leaders) thrive in a crisis, and why many don't Why do some companies thrive in a crisis, and others fail? Why does uncertainty bring the best out of some leaders, and leave others completely ineffective? In this episode of the One-Eyed Man I talk to global speaker, serial entrepreneur and all round smart dude Richard Mulholland about...

Richard Wright — Speaker, Author, Endurance Athlete We're all terminal, to a greater or lesser degree. So what do you do now? The conclusion to my three-part discussion with Richard Wright - the metaphorical marathon portion of our show - tells the story of his journey to today. How he dealt with his second cancer diagnosis, his athletic victories under treatment, severe personal trauma and incred...

Richard Wright — Speaker, Author, Endurance Athlete Strong. Feeling good. Strong. Powerful. A mantra that beat cancer. Episode two of our three-part series takes us further into Richard's first cancer diagnosis, using the metaphor of an Ironman triathlon. We hit our first transition, and embark on a grueling 180 km cycle together. Richard bares all as we discover what it feels like to be given 6 m...

Richard Wright — Speaker, Author, Endurance Athlete Lessons in how to survive and thrive uncertainty and adversity Imagine what it takes to run 42 km. A full marathon. Now, imagine doing so after cycling non-stop for 180 km. Now, imagine doing both after a 3.8 km swim. This is the journey every aspiring endurance triathlete must take to earn the coveted moniker of Ironman. Now, imagine doing all o...

Simon Dingle — Inves Capital | CEO A deep(er) dive into Bitcoin and blockchain technology In this episode I talk to Simon Dingle, CEO of Inves Capital and Lettuce, about the philosophy of money, incentives, the dysfunction of the central banking system, the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies and more. Simon is a dear friend, someone who has been a rock and a sounding board in many key moments in my...

Sam Rockey — Thompson Harrison | Co-founder Lessons and learnings from the bleeding edge of leadership development. In this episode I talk to Sam Rockey, co-founder of Thompson Harrison, a London-based leadership and organisational development consulting business. We talk about the questions modern leaders are being forced to ask to stay relevant, the value of an appreciation for complexity and nu...

Lerato Semenya — Chromatic | Managing Director How effective leaders are turning heaps of data into insight and wisdom. In this episode I talk to Lerato Semenya, a data and transformation evangelist, and the founder of Chromatic Consulting, about how leaders can extract better insights out of data and analytics for a competitive advantage. Lerato has just launched her new venture to assist corpora...

Jacques Rousseau — UCT | Lecturer If there was a gym for your brain, would you pay a subscription? In this episode I talk to Jacques Rousseau, lecturer at the University of Cape Town, author, and secular activist about critical thinking and ethics. We explore the benefits of applying rational thought to effective leadership, the pros and cons of social media (and specifically Twitter), the lost ar...

"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." - Desiderius Erasmus MikeStopforth.com · MikeStopforth.com · Connect with Mike on LinkedIn · Follow Mike on Twitter · 48h crisis communication consultancy