Whispers of an entrepreneur

Globally there seems to be a fundamental lack of leadership, lack of business leaders, political leaders and effective community leaders. Leadership has become such a misaligned and undervalued characteristic - this is visible in the amount of corporations that have been found guilty of fraud, corruption and collusion.  What a time we as South Africans have lived through - Madiba changed the fate of us all - he led us like no other leader in the history of our country and laid a legacy of inspiration we are yet to take up. Leadership in its basic fundamental is the serving people who make up one’s sphere of influence.  Never has there been a time that people have desired to become “leaders” as what we find today.  The past decade has introduced us to a sector long thought and believed did not exist.  A grouping that has sought positions of leadership within government and in communities -not to be an influence for the better but to position as a B...

As the popular adages goes, 'There are no shortcuts to success' and "There is no easy route to creating wealth" I have made no secrets on my love for Stellenbosch and moreover, my adoption of some of its leading entrepreneurs as my role models. I have had the great pleasure of spending my formative years as a young adult in Stellenbosch.  As student my rooting and fundamental beliefs were shaped and influenced by the town, its ambiance and all that that the institution embodied. The town of Stellenbosch  hosts a population of well  over 200 000 people,  spanning an area of  831.04 km². The town is a  vibrant economic area, with an active tourism market. M ajority of the population is white. The community also has some of the highest levels of education of any town in the country. For a small town, it offers and contributes to the fiscus more than its fair share. If that is the case, why then do we not learn valuable lessons from th...

As far as possible I try not to write about politics - firstly I am not a political scientist and I have never held any senior position in any political party. So I do not have experience in politics.  Though my political ancestral home is the African National Congress (ANC), besides being a student leader, I have never been interested in formal politics.   Politics however, intertwines with business and the economy. I have recently been recognizing some structural, governance and business issues facing the governing party. Setting the ideology aside, organizational growth is similar irrespective of organisation.  In Patrick Lencioni’s book, “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team ”, he highlights the pitfalls faced by many teams. These are: Inattention to results, Avoidance of accountability, Lack of commitment, Fear of conflict and lastly, Absence of trust. I will therefore try to elaborate on each point and how the once mighty ANC has let itself suffer from eac...

The issue of land is quite a contentious one - throughout the world, people find their identity in the land they live on and in as well as the language they speak. If offers a sense of belonging not inherent in us but derived from something tangible.  As the great speech from Thabo Mbeki states: I am an African, I derive my being from…. We all derive our sense of identity from things outside of us. Teaching my first son about our clan, clan name and totems that accompany it, give rise to his identity. Where our clan hails from eSheshegu, a small village outside eDutywa the Eastern Cape. Now the question of land - I have had the great pleasure of traversing the Cape Provinces, this being the Northern, Western and Eastern Capes. What a beautiful country we live in. Massive tracks of land belonging to white farmers as well as the South African government throughout the areas I have visited.  Being in the agricultural industry I have come to understand the value...