Vusi Thembekwayo

Do you remember the TV game with the 100 in 1 cassettes? Do you remember having to stand-up to change the TV channel or using an HB pencil to rewind you SILK or SHAI music cassette? Worse still, do you remember the A and B sided radio cassette that a had a slight hiss or shrill when you played it. Come to think of it, that hiss, kinda’ gave it its character much like the almost inaudible sound of dust on the old-school LP players. Whatever happened to the good ol’days when talent was all you needed.

When I grew up school holidays were filled with the entire neighbourhood playing I’skopti and street against street soccer tournaments. Each street had its own “star”, an individual that played better than anyone else from that street. We even gave them cool international names like “Maradona wa-banna” and Dr. Khumalo. Contrary to the real Dr. Khumalo, ours had a skin complexion darker than a car security guard from Limpopo. He was dark, ugly and had the reddest (excuse the incorrect use of English, but its January) lips you ever saw, but give credit where it’s due; guy was a helluva’ soccerplayer. I wondered past his house the other day when I was visiting my mother and was told that he was in prison for some of other crime. Isn’t it funny how in every township, no matter how big or small there are more than enough of these stories: extremely talented individuals who achieved nothing with their talent. They threw it away for a ready supply of Carling Black Label, dating the local hot girl (who by the time they’d “shela’d” her, had been with more taxi drivers and Shuga-daddies than Brooke had had husbands on that God-awful daily soap) and a reputation for being the coolest loser amongst the losers.
Such great talent, wasted!

I have over the past few months been on a national roadshow with the premium mens’ lifestyle magazine, Destiny Man and Remy Martin talking to men of substance about substantive matters. During each presentation I raise the issue of talent. We talk entrepreneurship exclusively of talent in this country. Consider this, “where would the world be without Mark Zuckerberg’s contribution to it by way of facebook?” or “where would the employees of Capricorn FM be had Given Mkhari not taken his talent and passion for media and turned it into real economic enterprise?” Examples of people who have turned their talents into turnover are limitless. I have before made this point and will continue to insist on this, the real barrier to youth entrepreneurship development in South Africa is not access to capital, its rather that young people don’t understand the economic value of their God given talents. What separates the above examples is that they had the vision to see how their talent could change the world. Maybe Loocha magazine should coordinate a perfect storm: they fill the room with young, hungry and talented people and I deliver not only these motivational stories but also our business readiness methodology where we teach you not only how to monetize your talent but also how to manage it like a business. Just a thought.

But what we must all concede is that what separated timeless musicians like Billy Holiday, Ray Charles and Michael Jackson is that they understood the power of talent and used it to change the world. I have been to parts of the world where clubs play Brenda Fassie and Yvonne Chaka-Chaka and people (who have no knowledge of isiZulu) dance as if it were their last night out. What it is that makes their music this relevant? Why are they so iconic? Simple, they understood the power of their talents and used them.
This New Year can be a year of triumph or trial for you. It can be a year of joy or jealousy. It can be a year of life or loss. You choose.

Just remember: God tends to claim back his talents from those who don’t use them.

I find it interesting that no matter where you are in our beautiful country, no matter your economic situation or political disposition, no matter your religious pasture or cultural values, we, all of us young people (depending on your locality) having some colloquial way of referring to December that is synonymous with a good time often irresponsibly so. It would seem at the face of it, that young people – yours and my generation – cannot be gathered around a substantive social issue with common cause. Whether its youth unemployment, poverty or access to resources ours is concerned with neither. We just want to party. True?

Before I continue, let me add my now famous disclaimer: I am not a prude! I, just like you, enjoy a good time. Ok ke.
What are the facts? Since the year 2000, more young people have died from alcohol related traffic accidents than from wars or civil restitution; and for every successful youth business created, sixteen young people are incarcerated for alcohol related offences. We could argue ad nausea about why this is, but my feeling is that we haven’t taken ownership of our generational destiny yet. We are still unclear about what we want our generation to achieve. We don’t know what contribution our generation will make to society and we don’t think about what our common future will look like.

Throughout history young people have been the force that’s pushed civilization forward. Young people started the civil disobedience campaign in America, young people started civil riots against the French slave masters in Cote d’Ivoire who tried to impose a head tax that would have seen a majority black citizenry finance the privileges of a minority white elite. Young people created the major technology firms whose products are so ubiquitous today, you’d swear you and I where born with a iPad in the one hand and an BlackBerry in the other. Yet, even with all these examples at our google fingertips, young people are still the most affected when it comes to unemployment, crime and sexual diseases. History – it seems – is not without a sense of irony.

I am not impressed by the young people we see demonstrating the lack of service delivery in the townships. I am not impressed by the noisemakers who are far too concerned with winning their political agenda than advancing youth issues.

As you attend the December festivals and celebrations, I want you ask yourself the question, what will it take? What will it take for our generation to meet, gather, discuss, debate & mobilise ourselves to solve our issues. For as long as we let the older generations set the agenda on youth matters we will continue to feel ignored, unattended and disenfranchised. In posing this question to many young people, the answer I always get is, “it aint cool to be conscious of the lasting impact of our current actions”. We feel like its better that less is said around issues that matter. How about we stage a street bash and instead of serving alcohol we serve knowledge, factual content and stories of what other young people are doing; instead of playing L’vovo Dirango’s latest hit, we play inspirational speeches by Steve Biko, Haile Silasie and Kwane Nkrumah & instead of partying until midnight, we argue ferociously on substantive issues. In essence, how about we stage a night vigil aimed at educating, sharing and inspiring all of us to take charge.

December is a time for relaxing, partying, connecting with old friends and family. Lets just remember to do it responsibly, after all as Morgan Freeman says in the 1989 hit movie Lean on Me, “Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm”.

Fcuk the world!

Disclaimer: This article is for the mental consumption of a young person. The language that’s about to follow should be acceptable to many – albeit not all – of you.

How many times are people going to tell you what you can and cannot do just because you are young? I am sick of the “you are not ready yet” statements that are being hurled at young people daily. How many of our childhood friends are now confined to being cashiers at their local grocers or being interns at the same firm for months on end. I am less irritated that they are being undermined like this, but rather more perturbed that they are accepting it.

If (and yes my Grade 10 English teacher did tell me never to start a sentence with a conjunction) the world will not give you want you want; you must take it. If the world doesn’t believe in you; your ambitions; ideas and perspective then fcuk the world.

I am inspired by the generation of Steve Jobs, Steve Biko and Kenoru Hampi ( the world youngest chess grandmaster at 15-years old). If you follow history, the people that have changed the norms of human sociology have always been young people. When Patrice Lumumba was imprisoned, he was all but a young man in 20s. Jobs (a college dropout) created the Apple business when he was 21years old and Steve Biko was more significant at 28 then many 65year-olds alive today.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that as young people we shouldn’t revere age, wisdom and experience but truthfully I think it is that very experience that is over-rated. The one thing all of the above people have in common is not education, race or background; it is rather they were all NAÏVE enough to think that they can do the most outrageous things. You see experience is, to coin an overused youth expression, “not all that”. Experience will tell you what you cannot do, what you should not do, what is social unacceptable to do. Fcuk that!

Our revolution today is about how we take our entire country forward, jointly as young people of all races. We need to be brave enough to challenge authority, to do what is unpopular and to cause trouble. We must be a “disruptive attack” on our societal norms. Imagine if Sydney Poitier in the now critically acclaimed 1967 movie “in the heat of the night” refused to slap-back Rod Steiger (a white man) because it might cause a stir. Where would we be?

I don’t want to be part of – as we are now called – a simple “party generation”. I want to be a part of a generation of troublemakers, rebel rousers and manufacturers of discomfort. I want to be part of a group of people more motivated by the difference we can make, than the economic benefits that come with keeping to the status quo.

I am 26 years old, arguably the most accomplished speaker in South Africa and yet nowhere near my peak. I have just returned from speaking to 40, 000 people at the Berkley stadium in the US. I have been ranked 3rd in the world and speak in 17 countries every-year. My competitors hate me because I cause them a great deal of discomfort: I LOVE THAT! I am not here to honour the status quo; I am here to let all young people know that anything is possible, if you are willing to cause a bit of trouble.

Speakers Bootcamp: What is it?

Lets us tell you what the Speakers Bootcamp is not: its another a workshop only for motivational speakers that want to better their business. Our Speakers Bootcamp is for anyone looking to improve their public speaking ability and turn themselves into a presentation rock star! Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a young professional, a manager or just someone wanting to better themselves and stand out from the crowd, the Speakers BootCamp is for you.

Convened by 2-time World Public Speaking Champion Vusi Thembekwayo, the Speakers BootCamp is a program designed to turn anyone into a public speaking genius.

How many times have you had to prepare & deliver a presentation for your team or work environment and then thought “that could have gone better”? Better still, are you the person that gets so nervous when given the task that you can barely cope with the pressure of expectations? Through the BootCamp we give you the tools to speak better, look better and do better. Our team of evangelists are experts at their particular trade. Whether its giving you the cutting-edge to do on designing presentations or latest and best tips on Personal Branding, these guys Rock!

Our program has been tailored and delivered to several corporate clients with rave reviews. Check the review section for some of that feedback. Book here for the next Speakers Bootcamp.

Speakers Bootcamp: what not to expect!

Fortunately our Speakers Bootcamp is a lot of fun. Everyone participates and everyone contributes to the content. We have an evangelist network that includes thought leaders and industry experts like Personal Brand philosopher Timothy Maurice Webster, visual communication guru Job Bakama and media expert Thato Mataboge amongst others. Their dynamic backgrounds contribute to the Speakers content, depth and variety to the Speakers Bootcamp.

So whether you want to be clearer about your personal brand essence or you want to shock your colleagues and friends with what can only be described a kick-ass presentations & a new you, the Speakers Bootcamp is where you should be.

Check the review section for some feedback to previous BootCamps.

Speakers Bootcamp: who should come and why.

Forget what you do for a living, if you want to better arm yourself with a handy-bag of tools, tricks and abilities that will separate you from your peers then this is the space to be part of. The Speakers Bootcamp is best described by its tag line, speakers better: look better: do better. For young professional, managers and entrepreneurs though the impact is instant and hard-hitting. Think about this: your life’s most important career moments all have one common thread, public speaking. Whether its pitching for new business, presenting an innovation to your work team or inspiring your clients and staff, public speaking is always the skill required.

So frankly, come to the bootcamp if you want to get ahead!

check out the Speakers Bootcamp website on www.speakersbootcamp.co.za or call 011 513 3512

I am often bemused by how many of us, young people, who run 1man bands called ourselves CEOs. Whilst I think our ambition is admirable, I find it symptomatic of this “title crazed” society we live in where CAs and MBAs (and whatever other As) put their qualifications on the business cards. There is nothing wrong with being proud of what you’ve done and achieved but where this title syndrome takes us is to a place where it is better that I am perceived to be something than that I become it.

In my few years on this earth, I have been reading P&Ls; managing margins and firing people for as long as care to remember. Yet each of the people I have encountered and admired, like Steven Cohen; MD of Softline Pastel, have never flashed the titles or education at me. The fact that I know Steven is a CA is consequence of me meeting him at a SAICA event, it wasn’t on his business card or in his elevator speech.

Why am I making this point?

Simple, when we aspiring business people stop over-selling the illusion, cut the clutter and represent our truth we will truly begin to conquer. The BS and the clutter simply stands in the way of what can be and we spend our time trying to live to an illusion that neither we, nor our perceived victims believe. We must educate ourselves: you cannot be a CEO unless you have a board. So that the fact that many one-man-bands constituted as cc called themselves CEOs is frankly a reflection of their “lack of”. Lack of what? Lack of discipline to cut the clutter, get past the bullshit and just achieve. Lack of acquiring knowledge about the many buzzwords and concepts out there. Lacks of believing in the self! Lack of wanting to be seen as the guy behind the action. I still get involved in every transaction with every customer that my company services. This isn’t because we are small (even though we are); it is because I have systems in the business that tell me what is happening at any given time.

Just in case you were wondering, my business card reads Vusi Thembekwayo, Rock Star of speakers!

My appeal then is that we educate ourselves on what these concepts mean before we adopt and mutilate them!

How many times have you read the “50 ways to improve your public speaking” books? I find it somewhat amusing that generally, not always; the very authors of these books have mediocre speaking styles themselves. How many people have you spoken to who have actually had their lives magically transformed by these books? My guess is ZERO. The reason for this is actually quite simple: public speaking is not about technique or skill, it’s about psychology.

Psychology? Yes, psychology!

In training and working as a professional speaker, what has without question propelled my career is understanding and mastering the psychological aspects of public speaking. I say aspects in plural because there are many. The problem with many of the books out there is that the focus is internal. It’s all about changing your behaviours and technique. And to the extent that there is a drive to foster understanding your audience, its simply statements like “know your audience”. Finish and klaar. That’s not enough!

Whether you’re a young professional, a manager or an entrepreneur/business owner, public speaking is one of the most critical skills you can ever have. A huge part of being successful rests on your ability to persuade others, and that’s all public speaking is, persuasion. If you cant connect with people, you cannot persuade them and if you cannot persuade, you will never be successful. I just read a tweet by Claire Mawisa saying that said not all good leaders are good public speakers & vice versa. What nonsense! Or actually … you’re right Claire, but all great leaders are decent public speakers.

In today’s society, public speaking is more important than ever. I have too much to share on this subject so my next few blogs will focus on this.

So let me leave with the proverbial 3-tips for public speaking:

1. Forget technique, the audience doesn’t care about your technique, they want to hear you. The authentic you. Your story & your perspective.

2. What the story?
People love stories so give them stories. Honest authentic stories that cannot be duplicated and make the delivery honest and heart-felt.

3. Don’t try and be funny. It never works. If you are funny, then great, if not then don’t manufacture a sense of humour – just do you.

What separates Wael Ghonim from that young person who lives as a victim of his circumstance in Swaziland? What separated Patrice Lumumba from all those that came before him that didn’t achieve what he did? What ever happened to MC Hammer?

You may think that these questions have nothing to do with each other but you couldn’t be further from the truth. Each of the above individuals – no matter their notoriety or achievements – have one thing in common: the moment! The moment is something we all have every single day. It’s that opportunity to start something great, to change something archaic or to challenge something unjust. The moment is that point at which we each make the decision that we are no longer satisfied with the prevailing status quo and then DARE to change it.  If you don’t know Wael Ghonim, he is the youth that ran revolution 2.0  – the Facebook and twitter campaign that ultimately toppled now former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. For his efforts he was detained for 10 days without charge. If you think about it, Wael was stupid enough to think that he can change the lives of everyone that lived in Egypt. Who or what was he? Nothing! Just another civilian.

(Watch this video for why he did what he did here!)

Why then do we not hear of similar stories coming from countries closer to home: Simple: young people of that society have yet to discover their moment! Moments are what separate winners from losers, visionaries from “plain-Janes” and revolutionaries from just that other guy. They exist in business, politics and even bridging cultural divides.  What is left then is for each of us young people to discover and capture our moments.

In studying each of the above cases, I found that they have 3 things in common.

1. They took the leap of insanity

To change something that has been a convention (or a system) you have to be crazy. You have to believe against all odds that you have something nobody else has, a certain “edge”. Often that edge is just an illusion, but you must believe in it nonetheless. Patrice Lumumba believed his edge was that his people called on him to restore their dignity. They never did by the way, not explicitly.

1. They had the courage of perseverance

There is a reason “conventional wisdom” is conventional: that because it easier that way. Taking the decision to change something is easy. Taking the emotional decision to stick with the 1^st decision? That’s hard. What separates then achievers from near-do-wells is that they take the “emotional decision” to stick with their initial decision.

1. They had a strong “Why”

Even MC Hammer had a very strong “why” for doing what he did. Money? Respect? Fame? Who knows? Each of the above 3 cases have very different whys: Wael wanted to restore Egypt’s dignity, Patrice wanted to free his people and MC Hammer wanted to dance and be famous. In understanding human achievement is less important that we understand how they did it, but rather we unravel why they did it!

As a youth today our challenge is simple, seek first our individual moment and then seek to understand the “why”.

Service is about intent

Lets just make this clear: I love my country…. Now that we got that out the way.
Perhaps my experience is shaped by the fact that I flew Air Mauritius business class (and by the way Com-Air and SAA – you should call these guys for lessons) but I just spent 5 days amazing with my wife in the island of Mauritius.

In my line of work I experience dozens of hotels yearly. I get to see all the mottos that companies have about services. Phrases like the customer is king, customer service is key and my personal favourite, “its all about the customer”. What I have experienced makes what we do in SA look like exactly what it is, a deliberate but desperate and often-misdirected effort.

Mauritius largest contributor to GDP is tourism, here’s why:

a. Everything is clean
In the services business, presentation is everything. I should know (I run a services business). From arrival at the SSR International Airport and the spotless freeways to checking in at Le Meridian Hotel my wife and I were treated like royalty.
You get the distinct sense that everyone from the transfer driver to the concierge has been looking to having just poor old you as their guest.

Service is given with a smile. A genuine smile! Everything is explained in detail and whatever you want you can have.

b. They want to serve you
Nothing (and I mean quite literally not a thing) is ever too much trouble, cant be done, needs the managers intervention, takes too long so that you just let it go or that all time favourite excuse, “Sir, its policy”. They have only 1 policy: do what the customer wants.
If their action could speak they would something like. “You have trusted me with this! Really. I’m so honoured. Watch how well I’m going to do it”

c. Customer services is about intent, not reward or systems
I would have thought I was privileged to stay at one great hotel or meet the really good but rare transfer driver but every single experience was par excellence. From the 3 young cruise operators (entrepreneurs) to the receptionist that had the kitchen prepare a special cake for my wife on her birthday; everybody just wanted to see me happy.

When leaving my room a lady bumped into me whilst cleaning the corridor, she stopped what she was doing just to help me and wife carry my load to the reception area. There an army of staff who tried to extend us every comfort met us, and attended to every need. From the Mini-Bar items I wanted to return (about which the manager didn’t quote some non-existent policy on returns) to the towels that we received complimentary to use at the beach – they guys just really wanted us happy.

I will not mention the amazing spa experience and the personal trainer at the hotel gym (Yes, a personal trainer at a hotel gym)

d. They trust their customer
It’s just hit me how untrustworthy we are as South Africans, even of the very people with whom we do business daily. With us it’s “rather safe than sorry” and “sure I will do that for you, just as soon as you sign on this line”. When I told the manager how much liquor my wife and I had consumed, he believed me no need to check. When I told the taxi driver that I would phone him as soon as my wife and I were done at the club, he gave me his card and told me he is available throughout the night. No upfront deposit or swearing to some higher power required.
For me this has been the biggest lesson, trust your customer to do what they say they are going to do, and they will do it.

So here I seat, now in economy SAA with the flight attendant just having screamed in my ear about what drink I like, and I remember where we are going, Home: where good services is like leather seat in a VW Golf, an optional extra.

Follow me on twitter:@vusispeaker

At first I was a little confused but now I am rather perturbed.

You may have seen these ads about documentaries on TV that talk about how those born after the release of Nelson Mandela are the born frees! They infer that the release of one man – regardless of how grand his contribution the liberation of this country may or may not be – is tantamount the complete emancipation of an entire people.

This doesn’t surprise me. This is the same thinking which believes that if your maid (who as function of the history of this country happens to be black) tells you something, then that is the opinion of all black people as a whole.

I am reminded of a particular episode on One Day Leader where my co-judge and I had a rather heated disagreement. When next we saw each other he went on to tell me that his maid was disturbed by my “belligerence” and didn’t understand where I was coming from. This – by the way – was after I had taken contestant Johan’s head off about his position on a particular debate. What Eric in essence was saying that if his maid (black) held a certain view, then surely all black people resonate with that same view.

This school of thought is not far away from the now controversial business people that prefer exotic Asian cuisine to i-papa ne nyama. It makes assumptions at so many levels that to begin to unpack would result in a sociology thesis.
This may come as a surprise to you, but I quite like Kenny Kunene. I like what he represents and what he’s meteoric rise to fame says about the social evolution of us as a people and a citizenry. Let me be clear: as a businessperson I loathe what his antics have done to the emerging entrepreneur but I am highly pleased by his social symbolism.

You see Kenny Kunene is symptomatic of a generation that thinks, sees itself and behaves like “FREED” people – not free people. Freed people have a point of reference that is informed by their difficult past: the under-services townships we grew up in, the less than par education we received, the deliberate expulsion of the black trader from the executive quarters of the business and the socialization that made us believe we were not worthy. In-fact, you could argue that what happened in this country is not dissimilar to someone locking you up for 300 hundred years and then 1 day opening the prison-cell doors and telling you, you are now a free man. How would you deal with that? You entire existence has been based on surviving a repressive system in which freedom and other civil liberties were a privilege afforded a corrupt few.

Think about it. Why is it a big deal when 30-year-old black entrepreneurs move from being employed to driving Aston Martins in 1 year? Why is it a big deal when political organisation leaders move from abject poverty to extreme opulence and lavish lifestyles? Simple: We are not used to this.

We have been taught to pull each other down so much and for so long that I have never heard of someone going to their witch doctor to cast blessings on their neighbor. It is therefore for this reason that the likes of Kenny are good for us. They are a reflection of where we are as a people. We embrace the need to be seen to be, not the desire to just be.

We flash our newly acquired wealth at each other with such vulgarity that it has offended statesmen living in our country. Our social commentators and in particular Rap artists write what can only be described as lies in reference to their apparent wealth (thank you Khuli Chana for breaking the trend) when in the words of Thebe, many of them “basokola bonke!” We gather at the kasi carwash every weekend so that we can display to those we’ve left behind that the grass is greener over the highway. We have this insatiable need to show-off what we cant afford, to live a life we don’t enjoy so that we can earn the respect of those with whom we would rather not associate. CRAZY! In the words of the American poet Black Ice, “External blingers is all we can be because deep inside we’ve been given nothing to shine on.”

But this is the behaviour of a “freed” people.

We will not be a free people until these very privileges become every day reality and a way of life for most of us, not a select elite. We will not be free until having access to a world-class education system; well run and maintained golf clubs in the townships, neighbours that drive Maserati’s and parents that belong to the PTA becomes part of our normal life.

So I ask the question: do you think we are free?

Watch poet Black Ice here

Why celebrity is meaningless

This is a rather strange piece. I am sitting in this exclusive hotel with the iPod pumping good tunes in my ears and the now ubiquitous Mac on my lap. I have just done 3 hours of preparations for my presentation to a group of business people operating in the fuels sector. It suddenly hits me; I still prepare on average (one)1 full hour for each and every single one of my presentations. This may sound rather insane given that I deliver on average eight (8) talks a month but to constantly push the boundary of my best performances ever, it is necessary.

Over the past few days I have been debating in my head what it is that our generation (whether you call us Gen Y’s or Millennial’s) stands for? You would think that with sentiments like “the world is a very small place” becoming part of common cause and conversation, today’s generation would find it even easier to throw its weight behind one ideological position.

Unfortunately we don’t!

You see each generation is defined by something, a common cause for which its youth regardless of nationality or race fought for. The greatest generation defeated fascism and World War 2 (1925 – 1945); the Silent Generation was defined by the challenges and ambiguities of its social context (1911-1924); Baby Boomers had Woodstock, Afros and heels & Generation-X introduced the human race to the personal computer. What about us? What has been our footprint?
Yes (I know) we created Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr but what else? How have we pushed the human race forward? The clear lack of evidence and stories in this regard is reminiscent of one very painful reality: we are of a generation in which people are famous for being famous not for the contribution to mankind.
Factually, today’s young misguided souls are so keen to have their names appear in Sunday World or (Please God) land a deal for a reality show that they will do the most embarrassing things to attract attention. The problem is that we have confused fame with achievement. We have bundled celebrity and notoriety with influence and significance. We celebrate mediocrity, not contribution. Given the above, I would put it you that fame, today, is MEANINGLESS.

I know that the famous faces out-there will simply read this and say I am “Hating”. Not so. I am not interested in their newly acquired fame or their “fabulous lives”. Mine is simply to say this: most of the worlds’ shape-shifters didn’t achieve fame in their own lifetime but they contributed nonetheless because they wanted their lives to be significant. They wanted their legacies to endure through time and generations. That’s is why the names Booker T Washington, Sol Plaatjies and Nelson Mandela will live for time immemorial.

I pray that we – today’s youth – will get this revelation. Maybe VUZU should do a show on this. What does your life mean?

Check out this link for me on generation Millenials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74_kgS9TM4&feature=related

Yet, even with this revelation, I sit here listening to Kanye West, “Wait til I get my monies right”. Why? Well I am not perfect you know.