3. Vusi Thembekwayo: International rock star of public speaking
“Vision is transferable. It’s your job to help your team see the future that you see. You need to get them to really invest in the process, because business is a process.”
Vital Stats:
- Vusi Thembekwayo is the co- founder of Motiv8 Advisory and Watermark Afrika Fund.
- He is the youngest JSE director in South Africa.
Vusi Thembekwayo speaks at 200+ conferences a year across 17 countries. He’s been called the rock star of public speaking by Australia’s prime minister and a @#*%ing great speaker by Sir Bob Geldhof. At 17, Thembekwayo was already ranked first in Africa for public speaking and went on to receive a third in the world at the English Speaking Union International Competition.
Locally, Thembekwayo is an investor and strategist, but it’s his impact beyond our shores that’s most impressive, and it’s because he’s able to seamlessly blend entertainment with valuable insights.
“For a conference to add real value to business executives they need to be strategic events that build insights and assist audiences to determine their own strategic direction for the year,” he says.
“It’s a basic principle that lies at the core of all successful ventures: Nice-to-haves are no longer enough. Entertaining speakers who don’t also add real value aren’t an organisation’s first choice. The same is true of business partners, suppliers and even employees. If you want to be successful, always evaluate what you bring to the table – and make sure it’s something that your target audience can’t do without.
Top Lesson:
“The key to growth is understanding that by the time you realise your competitor has moved away from you,it’s too late. If you want to be a clear industry leader, you need to be the disruptor. That’s what I try and do, whether it’s through my talks or working with entrepreneurs: I need to help them look for the disruptions in their market – and then understand that they need to be the architects of that disruption, because if they aren’t, someone else will be.”