Wait & Speak Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Prof Clayton Williams, author of What Strategy Is: The 18 Fundamental Laws of Strategy, a thought-provoking synthesis that distils decades of strategic thinking into a clear, disciplined framework.

We explore the foundations behind the 18 laws, what inspired Clayton to write the book, and how leaders can use these principles to sharpen strategic clarity, avoid common pitfalls, and make more coherent strategic choices in complex and uncertain environments.

The book is available in print and on audiobook.

Guest Bio: Prof Clayton Williams, Chief Strategy & Policy Advisor | Author | Professor of Strategy & Applied Complexity Science.

Clayton Williams grew up between two worlds - the Kruger, which remains his true home and first love, and the corporate world shaped by organisations such as Mondi, Sappi, Massmart, and Liberty. His childhood was split between wildlife reserves and boardrooms, ecosystems and economics. His mother’s studies in nature conservation drew him into fieldwork early on, sparking both a love of learning and an instinct for seeing systems as living, dynamic networks.

As a teenager, inspired by the TV series JAG, Clayton set his sights on flying. He earned his pilot’s licence at 15 and ignored career counsellors who warned he would be bored. By 19, he was CEO of the flying school where he had trained; by 21, he had completed a management buyout. That early immersion in leadership shaped his view of organisations as adaptive organisms that must be cultivated, not merely managed.

Over the following years, he led several mid-cap companies through transformation programmes, worked in consulting, and spent five years in banking across a wide range of sectors. Today, he serves as Chief Strategy Adviser to a national investment institution, helping to align capital with the Netherlands’ societal and environmental agenda. He describes his work not as traditional leadership, but as strategy cultivation: building the strategic organism that can think, decide, and act coherently.

His academic journey began unexpectedly. Standing in for his then-wife at a business school lecture, he discovered a passion for teaching and research. Later, while at Nedbank, he worked closely with Dr Amy Jansen, a rigorous practitioner-academic who sharpened his thinking and introduced him to a more scientific discipline of strategy.

That collaboration planted the seed for What Strategy Is: The 18 Fundamental Laws of Strategy. Frustrated that even after winning his university’s strategy prize he still could not clearly define what strategy is, Clayton set out to build a falsifiable, scientific foundation for the field. Drawing on complexity science, thermodynamics, and information theory, his work reframes strategy as a universal adaptive process - how intelligent systems, from companies to ecosystems, collapse uncertainty into advantage.

Everything, he says, traces back to the Kruger: “That’s where I first learned that survival, whether in nature or in business, depends on sensing, adapting, and cohering. In the end, that’s all strategy really is.”

Final note: If you found this conversation valuable, please share it with your network or leave a rating wherever you listen to podcasts, it really helps grow the conversation.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational and discussion purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Listeners should consult a qualified advisor before making any business or investment decisions.

Episode overview:

In this episode, I speak with Richard Hammond, Co-Founder and CEO of Uncrowd, an experience-analytics company that uses the Friction vs Reward (FvR) model to help organisations understand how customers choose between competing offerings. Richard has extensive experience in retail, loyalty, and customer-insight roles. He is the author of:

• Friction/Reward: Be Your Customer’s First Choice (Pearson, 2019)
• Smart Retail: Winning Ideas and Strategies from the Most Successful Retailers in the World (4th ed., Pearson Business)

He works at the intersection of behavioural insight, retail strategy, and analytics, and is widely recognised for his thinking on retail-choice dynamics. Over the years, Richard has translated the insights of his book into practical, strategic tools through Uncrowd.

Our conversation explores both the foundations of the FvR framework and how it has evolved since the book was published. We talk about real-world retail applications, common blind spots for leaders when it comes to customer choice, and practical lessons any organisation can apply to build smarter decisions, clearer value, and more effective retail strategy.

Follow his work:

• LinkedIn
• Uncrowd

Other resources mentioned:

• Gap Selling: Get to the Root of Why People Buy - a book Richard referenced as influential during our conversation, which he shared as a useful complementary perspective.

Final note: If you found this conversation valuable, please share it with your network or leave a rating wherever you listen to your podcasts, it really helps us grow the conversation.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational and discussion purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Listeners should consult a qualified advisor before making any business or investment decisions.

Episode Overview:

In this episode, I speak with Jeffrey Roberts, a strategist and organizational researcher who works at the intersection of theory, practice, and decision-making. We discuss how organizations really make strategic choices, and why the hardest part of strategy is often defining the real problem. Jeffrey shares insights on sense-making, systems thinking, and what it means to “muddle through” complexity rather than trying to find the perfect plan.

If you’re interested in strategy, foresight, or how leaders can turn data and uncertainty into better decisions, this conversation is for you.

About Jeffrey Roberts:

Jeff is a Partner in the UK Strategy3 & UK Data Labs practices.  A specialist in corporate strategy, organisation design, and business transformation he works with clients to identify commercial growth opportunities and organise to capture them. 

He has worked across geographies and sectors helping clients to invent and activate new markets, build novel business models, grow into new categories, value future opportunities, introduce products, define and defend their political interests, transform their operating models, and redesign their organisations for improved performance.

His 20+ year career includes management consultancy and in-house roles (BAT: business transformation and strategy).

He was named by Rethink Retail as a Top Retail expert for 2023, 2024, & 2025.

He holds a PhD in Sociology and frequently lectures on strategy, organisations, and quantitative methods.

Follow Jeffrey’s work here:

• LinkedIn
• Substack

Books mentioned:

• Abbott, Andrew Delano. Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences. W. W. Norton & Company, 2004.
• Hammond, Richard. Friction/Reward: Be your customer's first choice. Pearson, 2019.

Final note:

If you found this conversation valuable, please share it with your network or leave a rating wherever you listen to your podcasts, it really helps us grow the conversation.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational and discussion purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Listeners should consult a qualified advisor before making any business or investment decisions.

Episode Overview:
In this episode of Wait & Speak, I speak with John Loos about the signals shaping South Africa’s property market, from national trends and micro shifts to sentiment tracking, economic headwinds, and the factors influencing the near-term outlook.

You’ll also hear us refer to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC): the major global recession of 2008–2009, triggered by the collapse of the U.S. housing market. We explore how that moment reshaped property markets and consider which lessons may still be relevant today.

About John Loos:
John Loos is a senior economist at FNB Commercial Property Finance. He started his career as an economist at the National Treasury under Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, then worked as a macroeconomist for Global Insight (now S&P Global). At Absa Group, he coordinated macroeconomic forecasting and was named 2004 Reuters Economist of the Year. Since joining FNB in 2006, John has developed the FNB Property Barometer, a leading source of housing market analysis in South Africa, and currently focuses on commercial property, conducting surveys such as the FNB Commercial Property Broker Survey.

Follow John’s work here: https://za.linkedin.com/in/john-loos-299a3a51

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Please consult a qualified advisor before making any decisions.

Bonus Tip: Don’t forget to subscribe to Wait & Speak for more insights where signals meet strategy. Please leave a review if you enjoyed this conversation!

In this episode, I speak with Prof Wim Naudé. Wim is an economist active in academia, business and public policy making. His focus is on innovation, technology and trade, and their consequences for human well-being, security, and prosperity. According to the Stanford and Elsevier rankings (version 5) Wim is among the top 2% of scientists in the world. ScholarGPS ranks Wim amongst the top 0,05% of scientists in the world, and rates him as a Highly Ranked Scholar™ in the field of Artificial Intelligence (#32 globally).

We discuss Wim’s research on the economics of AI and how this is something that is seldom taught or researched at business schools. Business schools do well to teach their students advanced data science, including the techniques of modern AI and the ethical principles that should be applied in its use. This is however not enough. Wim suggests that understanding the bigger picture is necessary if current and future leaders are to properly govern, not only the technology of AI, but the entire global digital economy.

Further reading:

Naudé W, Gries T, Dimitri N. Artificial Intelligence: Economic Perspectives and Models. Cambridge University Press; 2024.

Wim’s IZA Discussion Paper on this topic: What They Don’t Teach You about Artificial Intelligence at Business School: Stagnation, Oil, and War

In this episode, I speak with Willem Gous about how aspiring entrepreneurs can shift their mindset to unlock their entrepreneurial potential. As the founder of The Human Entrepreneur, Willem helps people to become self-employed through entrepreneurship training and building a business to become financially sustainable.

Willem Gous, an entrepreneur for more than 25 years and ASEB (African Startup Ecosystem Builder Awards) Startup Mentor of the Year 2023 South Africa, is a South African entrepreneur who developed a recipe for job creation in Africa. In his business, The Human Entrepreneur, he works with unemployed people in townships. He helps them develop the right mindset, mental fitness, and rhythm of success to start a profitable business with customers without external funding in just 5 weeks.

His focus on micro-entrepreneurship continues with his latest book, “Side Hustle Success - A Low-Cost, Low-Risk Way to Make More Money in 5 Easy Steps”. Written for Africa, easy, simple and contextual to the African continent, it focuses on awakening the entrepreneurial spirit in schools, universities and communities.

Website: https://TheHumanEntrepreneur.org   

LinkedIn: http://za.linkedin.com/in/willemgous

In this episode, I speak with Felicity Hodkinson about how coaching can unlock previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity, and leadership.

Felicity Hodkinson is an experienced International Coaching Federation (ICF) credentialed PCC (Professional Certified Coach) level coach who works with individuals at all stages and transitions of their working life. She enables individuals to both connect to, and also show more of their inherent talent in their lives and work. She has a reputation for coaching in a style that has been described as ‘challenging, not soft’.  She works intuitively and intelligently to create a space for growth that is bespoke for each client. 

With over 20 years experience in marketing, commercial and change management within the food and retail industry, across both small business and corporate FTSE100 companies, Felicity brings lived experience to her passion for coaching. She holds an MSc in Organisational Transformation, and her continued development includes a Diploma in Supervision: A Relational Process. 

She is committed to expanding the availability, access and quality of professional coaching and supports coaches with Mentor Coaching for ICF credentialing and with supervision. In 2020, Felicity led the UK Chapter of the ICF in the role of President, and remains a committed member of the ICF. 

Connect with her:

• On LinkedIn
• Via her website: bendtheriver.org
• Visit ICF: https://coachingfederation.org/

Have you ever had the feeling that you're treading water professionally; that you're coming up against limits in terms of what you can achieve? In his new book, Christian Greiser shares insights on how we can reset our mental attitude and achieve success and fulfilment. He draws on insights from his many years of experience as an executive coach and incorporates research findings, case studies and exercises.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Christian about the book: Remove, Replace, Restart – The Essential Maintenance Manual for Your Engine for Success.

In addition, we talked about what good coaching looks like and the benefits of meditation for professional development.

More about Christian:

Christian Greiser is an executive coach and management consultant. He guides thought leaders, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs on their personal development journeys, helping them figure out their values, talents, and strengths. As he does so, he brings not only his perspective as a senior strategy consultant with operational leadership experience, but also an intuitive understanding for the role of personality in business. Prior to establishing his own consultancy, Christian held the role of Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and led one of the largest practice groups worldwide. An engineer by education, he occupied managerial roles at German industrial conglomerate Mannesmann AG before entering the world of consulting. He studied in Braunschweig, Paris, and London and is a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching (McLean/Harvard Medical School). Christian has been featured in Knowledge@Wharton and Forbes. He is author of the book “Remove, Replace, Restart – the Essential Maintenance Manual for your Engine for Success” (GABAL).

Christian and his wife divide their time between the German town of Meerbusch, near Düsseldorf, and the Greek island of Corfu. Christian has been practicing meditation with Zen masters of Europe and Asia for more than fifteen years and is the founder of a global mindfulness network. Insights from this meditation practice are also incorporated into his coaching.

• Christian’s website: https://www.greiseradvisory.com/
• Get a copy of the book: Remove, Replace, Restart – The Essential Maintenance Manual for Your Engine for Success

 

I spoke with Emilio Galli-Zugaro about Communicative Leadership, gaining credibility and trust with your stakeholders, the fork test as a leadership analogy, and how leaders can practice communicative leadership.

Emilio Galli-Zugaro is founder and Managing Director of the Orvieto Academy for Communicative Leadership and Senior Advisor of Methodos S.p.A Milan, The Change Management Company. He is member of the board of the Allianz Foundation in Munich and the Giovanni Bassetti Foundation in Milan. He sits in several advisory boards (Safe Deposit Bank of Norway, Actyx, Gk Personalberatung et al.). As a Certified Business Coach he coaches C-suite people, teaches and publishes on leadership issues. From 1992 to 2015 he was Head of Group Communications of Allianz. He studied political science in Würzburg and Rome and worked at different PR levels in Rome, inter alia as head of PR of the Organization of Italian Chambers of Commerce.

From 1985 until 1992 Emilio worked as a journalist and correspondent for various international media like Fortune, Wirtschaftswoche, L‘Indipendente, Finanz und Wirtschaft, The European. Since 1996 he has been an Associate Lecturer of Corporate Communication and Crisis Communication at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. He also lectures Communicative Leadership at the executive programs of esmt, Berlin, since 2006. In 2016 he has founded the Orvieto Academy for Communicative Leadership offering leadership workshops in Germany and in Umbria (Italy) for executives and communications professionals (www.orvieto-academy.com).

In January 2017 Pearson FT, UK, published Emilio and his daughter Clementina Galli-Zugaro’s book on Communicative Leadership (“The Listening Leader”). In June 2018, Ariston/RandomHouse has published his latest book “Ich bin so frei – Raus aus dem Hamsterrad und rein in den richtigen Job” (“I am free – out of the hamster wheel and into the right job”), written together with Jannike Stöhr. In 2023 he completed the WABC Chartered Business Coach Programme

• You can contact Emilio via his website: https://www.galli-zugaro.com/
• Emilio and his daughter Clementina Galli-Zugaro’s book on Communicative Leadership can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Leader-performance-communicative-leadership/dp/1292142162 

I spoke with Dr Cobus Oosthuizen about the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for organisational leaders, and how leaders can orientate themselves for a future of exponential automation across the various sectors of the economy.

Cobus is the Dean of Postgraduate Business Programmes at Boston City Campus, South Africa. His research focus is on leadership cognition, mental modalities, and neuroplasticity to enact peak leadership performance.

He is a member of the Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS) and an endorser to the Responsible Research in Business Management (RRBM) initiative. He serves on the conference board of the International Business Conference (IBC), and is also a member of the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) Africa Chapter Steering Committee.

In April of this year (2023), Cobus received the Morné Mostert award for a Futures-related PhD thesis at the Stellenbosch Business School: “A 4IR Integrated intelligence Taxonomy and Measurement Framework for Top Management.”

Cobus holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and a PhD in Leadership (Futures).

Link to publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacobus-Oosthuizen