So much freedom, so much choice, so many opportunities to matter. And yet, our cultural instinct is to find a place to hold us, a spot where we are safe from the responsibility/obligation/opportunity to choose. Because if we choose, then we are responsible, aren't we? The cage keeps us in, certainly, but it also keeps…

Tweets were sent. Dictators were toppled. One of the key success factors for any movement is communication. The Arab spring is one example where social media was used effectively. It only takes two things to turn a group of people into a movement: - A shared interest - A way to communicate The communication can…

Leaders have followers. Managers have employees. Movements need a leader(s), leaders keep the momentum going. A leaderless movement often results in conflicts going un-resolved. It is very easy for a leaderless movement to be hijacked by irrelevant agendas of members. Here's what's changed: Some people admire the new and stylish far more than they respect…

A movement is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. A movement needs only two things to be a movement: a shared interest and a way to communicate. Movements need leadership. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change. Humans cannot help…

What separates movements from everybody else is that movements do. They don’t make excuses. South Africa’s liberation movements, Occupy Wall Streets, movements that marched to Tahir Square in Egypt, #RhodesMustFall and now #FeesMustFall are some examples of movements that matters. We grew up in movements, be it community movement, family movement, work movement, even churches…

Everyone has a story, every business has a story and every product or service has a story. Knowing your story is one thing, tell your story is another. Telling a great story is even more a important. The following are some of the ingredients of telling a great story: Great stories succeed because they are…

Most people care the most about the things that touch, move, and inspire them. Customers make decisions based on emotion, and then look for the facts that support these decisions. Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to learn how to craft stories from their personal experience and the world at large that make an emotional connection,…

The entrepreneur’s challenge is to effectively communicate their value proposition, not only to customers, but also to vendors, partners, investors, and their own team. Especially for technical founders, this is normally all about presenting impressive facts. But in reality facts only go so far. Stories often work better, because humans don’t always make rational decisions,…

Once upon a time.... We don’t have an information shortage, we have an attention shortage. - Seth Godin Like to hear a great story? How about telling stories? Extraordinary stories and storytelling are a great way to spread ideas. People remember stories more than they remember facts. Facts are meaningless without a contextual story. To influence…

The Writer Files is an online interview of various writers about their books and their writing styles. It is a form of getting to know the writer, their writing style and to tell their stories. About the writer: Tiisetso Maloma Who are you and what do you do? I am an entrepreneur, founder of STARTUP…

Customers understand that most businesses don't really care about them, at all. The whole business thing has been industrialised and productized and turned into yet another profit center. Therefore customers miss being missed, they miss the humanity of business. They miss being told that they matter, instead they are constantly told that they can't get…

The other day I was buying something at Pick n’ Pay and the cashier asked me if I had a loyalty card. I buy books a lot at Exclusive Books and I every time the assistant asks if I have a club card or something like that. I’m sure if I had those cards, I…