Newsletter 27 September: Suggested reading list for JZ – and anyone wanting to expand their knowledge base

Published on:

28 Sept 2013, 9:41 am

Hi there,

It might have been a short week for the rest of South Africa, but we've had a belter on Biznewz. Traffic on the site has set a succession of records thanks to some superb blogs and articles as you'll see from the list of our Best Read Stories at the bottom of the newsletter. Keep those contributions coming.

As a voracious reader, I was bemused by the claim from a Cape Town academic that my President, Jacob Zuma, eschews books. In fact he doesn't read at all. It's beyond me how anyone who isn't always growing their knowledge through reading could have a snowball's chance of running a spaza shop, let alone a country. So I reject the allegation out of hand. As every loyal SA citizen must.

To help prove the point I fired off an email to Zuma's right hand, former FirstRand director and my Newcastle home-boy Mac Maharaj. Come on Mac, tell us it's not true, I implored. Better still, give us some insight into what the Prez reads during those long international flights and in the early hours before he nods off after a long day of attending to affairs of State.

Mac responded: "So, Alec, you want to dignify gossip and treat it as a basis for making news!" Nope, went my email retort – but rather to use the misinformed "gossip" as the basis from which to show reality. Unfortunately, that had no impact either as Mac came back with "Sorry I am not there to help gossip make news." And so the conversation ended.

But it also got me thinking about a note from a community member who, following my reference to Robert Cialdini's Influence wanted to know if there were any other books I'd recommend. What if, instead of his rejection of the gossip, Mac had asked for some suggestions for the Presidential bookshelf?

Sure Mac. My privilege. I'd obviously steer clear of biographies of great political leaders like Churchill, JFK, Thatcher, Lincoln, Cicero and the not so great Mao. Obviously JZ would have already read those from cover to cover.

My list would have started with stuff he might not have been exposed to. Kicking off with Scott Peck's Road Less Travelled and its sister People of the Lie – so JZ could more easily identify evil ones around him. And then Dale Carnegie's masterpiece but unfortunately named How To Win Friends and Influence People – it changed Warren Buffett's life.

The other Buffett favourite, The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham would also be on the shelf right next to a classic, John Naisbitt's Megatrends. Both would help in deciding how to best allocate the R4-trillion in taxpayers' capital to be spent on the grand infrastructure programme.

And for some broader perspective, Nassim Taleb's spectacularly brilliant Fooled By Randomness and, of course, Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and my contemporary favourite (recommended by SA's top strategist Tony Manning), the #1 global thinker Clayton Christensen's How Will You Measure Your Life.

There are eight great books to enhance anyone's understanding of the complex world we inhabit as well as their own lives. Even a President's. But Mac didn't ask. So I guess JZ doesn't need any advice on what to read. Wouldn't mind seeing his "best of" list. Maybe Mac will be able to twist the Presidential arm.

Until next week.

Best
Alec