Everyone needs a bit of new year oomph after the holiday slump. A good business or motivational book can provide a different perspective on how to make life work in the office, in your relationships and even in the gym. Here’s my choice for 2025, ordered alphabetically by title.
Africonomics — A History of Western Ignorance by Bronwen Everill (William Collins)
It’s hard to pin down exactly what Africa’s relationship with the West is. There have always been sincere philanthropists and, at the other extreme, well-known cases of cynical exploitation. Bronwen Everill, an academic connected to Princeton and Stellenbosch University, has travelled and lived in various African countries and is well placed to offer some analysis of the underlying issues. With pertinent case studies, she illustrates where the disconnects happen and why, but her conclusions rest on a few points:
- That western players believe African economies need their help;
- Ignorant of African political economy, they believe there is a set of universal economic laws that can be applied anywhere that Africa’s leaders are simply ignorant of; and
- Western business people wanting to engage with Africa often misunderstand the role of incentives in African business and trade.
Noting that African nations are not entirely without agency in the face of China’s often predatory advances, Everill raises other points that don’t reach the dominant discourse: how, for example, slavery laid down a blueprint for trade that still applies; and while European countries (including Switzerland) after World War 2 received $13.3bn for economic revival under the Marshall Plan, African countries received nothing despite their vital contribution of land, materials and soldiers. A thought-provoking read.
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins (Lioncrest Publishing)
For something different in a genre that can be a bit buttoned up and preachy, try this one by retired US Navy Seal David Goggins. It’s from the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” school of motivation books, but what makes it special is his no-nonsense style, his emphasis on doing rather than talking and his natural storytelling gifts. (Though, be prepared for text sprinkled with the F-word.)
It’s difficult to imagine that a youngster with his background could achieve what he has. “I’ve been at the bottom,” he writes. “It’s like quicksand. It grabs you, sucks you under and won’t let go.” The thing that nearly broke him was his tyrannical father, who jeopardised his sons’ education by forcing them to work through the night at his skating rink.
Goggins goes on the run with his put-upon mother; they live in cheap accommodation and he’s sent to a school where’s he’s racially bullied and becomes depressed and overweight. Joining the Civil Air Patrol while still at high school helps him out of the mire, but it’s his own decision to “call myself out on my BS” that really propels him forward.
Readers will enjoy his “challenges” at the end of each chapter.
How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement by Christine Benz (Harriman House)
With only 6% of SA’s population on track to retire comfortably, this book is pertinent to individuals of all ages.
After all, it’s never too early to start saving for retirement, and compound interest can perform miracles.
The author is a columnist for Morningstar.com, a website that provides investment research and management services, including ratings for mutual funds and exchange traded funds. For this book she asked 20 retirement thought leaders to share what they believe is instrumental for a successful retirement.
The advice given ranges from basic financial matters to lifestyle considerations to help the investor to optimise their allocations for retirement.
The contributors include retirement researcher Wade Pfau, who helps readers identify their individual retirement income style, while portfolio manager David Blanchett explores how spending patterns might change after leaving employment.
William Bernstein, a financial theorist and neurologist, advises on organising your portfolio to support in-retirement cash flows. Among the “softer” considerations, Ramit Sethi, an entrepreneur and financial coach, suggests ways to tweak spending so it creates more happiness, while psychology professor Laura Carstensen looks at the value of nurturing relationships.
The book is full of practical advice delivered with sensitivity to help people explore how best to retire and to do so with more confidence.
If I can U can: Improve your Mindset — Achieve your Goals by Barney Beukes (Blue Weaver)
This is a memoir by a white working-class South African, a voice too seldom heard. It’s a remarkable story of how a Boksburg boy went to the US’s MIT, honed his entrepreneurship skills and became CEO of a multimillion-rand equipment company.
Barney Beukes never loses his down-to-earth touch, though, and the book is spiced up with slang and anecdotes from what he calls the wrong side of the tracks.
When he was 14, his father, a 60-a-day, brandy-and-Coke man, announced that would no longer be paying for him. Any child would crumple up in a heap, and Beukes did. However, he got a job at the local bottle store, where he got slave wages, but enjoyed the feeling of having cash jingling in his pocket and progressed to Checkers for more pay.
A job at a bank led to promotions and he ventured into sales. He says hard work, diligence and courtesy got him through, but tells how he was royally “screwed over” by people he trusted. But he never stayed down.
The Beukes method involves getting active, going to gym first thing, even when days look grim. That’s where he met his (second) wife, who has been instrumental to his new personal and professional happiness.
This is a page turner and powerful motivator, with helpful insights and tasks at the end of each chapter.
Nice Girls Still don’t get the Corner Office by Lois P Frankel (Balance)
Lois P Frankel, a counselling psychologist and president of Corporate Coaching International, has published several books on how to succeed in business but is perhaps best known for her bible for women on how to succeed in the corporate space.
This updated version adds the word “still” to the title because women aren’t making the progress they should (worldwide, only 8% of top executives are female) and because Frankel has found another 29 behaviours to add to the original 101 she says women learn in girlhood that ultimately sabotage them as adults.
Don’t avoid office politics, says Frankel: “If you don’t play the game, you can’t possibly win.” And stop believing that being the number one multitasker is a virtue; you may just be seen as the willing donkey.
Women should not confuse negotiating with confrontation, she adds, and be direct and confident rather than ask for permission. If you suspect being a well-brought up kid is holding you back, give this a read.
Purposeful Leadership for Africa in the 21st Century by Lumkile Wiseman Nkuhlu (Jonathan Ball)
This is a good source to provide an overarching impression of the reasons Africa is underdeveloped and riven with unsettling conflict and poverty, and what course should be set to bring about improvements.
KPMG chair Lumkile Wiseman Nkuhlu writes that, after apartheid and the various colonial regimes came to an end, independence and freedom was expected to eradicate poverty, ignorance and disease. The new leadership would accelerate economic development and prosperity, and the leaders of the African liberation movements espoused ambitious aims. However, many goals have remained unattained.
Nkuhlu believes that, with intentional and purposeful leadership, Africa can become a global production powerhouse in the second half of this century.
In this book, he explores the leadership strategies, qualities and policies that are needed for an African renewal to enable the continent to become a more strategic and competitive global player.
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell (Abacus Books)
Natural disasters may radically alter lives and landscapes but sociologists like to think that change is all about people.
Former New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell has built a reputation for looking closely into the gaps in social sciences research and ferreting out the real cause for paradigm shifts. Take Miami, for instance.
How did a sleepy hollow in the US’s south become a hub for corruption and vice? And how did an upstanding Chicago businessman become a ruthless fraudster after moving to the Florida city?
Turning to pandemics, what does it take to become a pandemic superspreader? And why would an ivy-league university like Harvard have a strong women’s rugby team? Why did the teens living in a smug, privileged Illinois village suddenly begin killing themselves, and why did some US states have higher deaths from the opioid OxyContin?
The answers will intrigue you as Gladwell solves these and other mysteries in his usual accessible and entertaining way in this book, which comes 25 years after his spectacular debut, The Tipping Point.
The One Thing by Bruce Whitfield (Pan Macmillan SA)
Bruce Whitfield is a familiar and highly rated broadcaster, author and public speaker on the SA circuit. For his latest book, the author of The Upside of Down and Genius approached various academics and business leaders, such as CEOs and company founders, to identify the one thing that, if they were president for half an hour, they would order to be done to give the economy the boost it needs.
The result makes for inspired reading, as foremost academic thought leaders such as University of the Witwatersrand vice-chancellor Judy Dlamini weigh in on the question, as well as business luminaries such as Pick n Pay’s Sean Summers, Seriti Resources co-founder and CEO Mike Teke, and Mandisa Nkwanyana, chair of the Businesswomen’s Association.
Each leader offers their own take on the question, with advice that is infused with their experience in their respective industries. In conclusion, Whitfield offers his own “one thing”, which he says is not as difficult to implement as it sounds.
The Traveller — Crossing borders and connecting Africa by Thebe Ikalafeng (Tafelberg)
Every year Brand Africa releases its Top 100 Most Admired African Brands index, an authoritative guide to the companies to watch if you want to do business on the continent.
Brand Africa’s founder, Thebe Ikalafeng, says his life’s mission is to lead “an urgent brand-led African renaissance” to promote African places, products and people. The African Continental Free Trade Area is boosting intra-Africa trade, he notes, and in The Traveller he outlines how he plans to build the partnerships needed to ensure the success of his project. The book’s name came about because Ikalafeng has visited every African country, from Algeria to Zambia.
He plans to place not only “Made in Africa” brands on the map but also any brand anywhere that is inspired by Africa and contributes to its positive image globally.
In addition, he’d like to see that by 2050, at least 50% of the most admired brands in Africa are indigenous African brands. By then the continent is expected to be about 62% urbanised and account for 40% of the world’s population.
Your Ultimate Personal Finance Guide by Johan Gouws (Penguin Random House SA)
It is never too late, or too early, to become more intentional about your finances. Unexpected life events can severely expose the financial vulnerability of individuals and households who are ill-prepared.
Not having a comprehensive financial plan in place can cause severe, long-lasting, if not permanent, damage to your personal wealth and dreams of a carefree retirement. This book serves as a quick but comprehensive reference guide that provides the necessary insights into each area of your finances at every stage of your life.
It will assist you with self-reflection checkpoints to avoid financial catastrophe due to unexpected economic challenges while maximising your wealth potential. It will help you to construct a sound personal financial plan with or without the assistance of a financial adviser and to identify your money personality, because only by understanding what money means to you will you be better able to manage it.
Applying the principles contained in this guide is guaranteed to improve your chances of achieving your financial goals. It will assist you with living a life of purpose and meaning and help you to leave a lasting legacy as you travel financially secure along your life’s journey.
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