Non Fiction Book Club

Real innovation is hard, and most companies are just "walking dead" organizations waiting to fail. On the Season 1 finale of The Non Fiction Book Club, the powerhouse CMO of Spur Corporation, Vuyokazi Henda, dives into Elvin Turner’s ‘Be Less Zombie’. Drawing on her massive experience at Unilever and Spur, Vuyo explores how to build a sustainable innovation engine and escape the "zombification" of corporate life.We discuss the unique challenges of innovating within a franchise, the power of rapid experimentation, the "just do it" test methodology, and why real change always starts with yourself.This is our final episode of the season! Thank you for an incredible journey so far—stay tuned for some big announcements regarding Season 2.

What actually works in raising countries out of poverty? On this episode of The Non Fiction Book Club, ecosystem builder and CEO for Africa at Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, Ant Farr, discusses the ‘The Prosperity Paradox’  We discuss market-creating innovation, the concept of ‘competing against nothing’, and what he is already seeing on the ground in South and East Africa as he applies this thinking to raising up entrepreneurs.

In our enthusiasm for generative AI we have forgotten that AI is fundamentally predictive.  In this episode of The Non Fiction Book Club, digital pioneer Mike Stopforth discusses the brilliant 2022 book, ‘Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence’ by Agarwal, Gans, and Goldfarb. We dive into the shift from generative AI to near-zero cost prediction, how decisions will split between judgement and prediction, why incumbents struggle with systems solutions, and Mike's experience wrestling with organizational adaptation to massive technological change.

The key to a good negotiation is listening well!.  On this episode of The Non Fiction Book Club, the brilliant lawyer and Startup ecosystem builder Adrian Dommisse discusses the excellent book ‘Never split the difference’ by Chris Voss.  We discuss late night DJ voice, calibrated questions, tactical empathy, getting to ‘thats right’ and the power of ‘No’ versus the deceit of ‘Yes’.

Healthspan beats lifespan.  Dr Michael Mol joins us to talk about the brilliant book ‘Outlive’ by Peter Attia.  We talk about why it's so hard to make sensible decisions, what it means to live life well until your last day, and some of the ways to think about the changes that can make your last decades more fulfilling.It was wonderful to have Michael on the Non Fiction book club talking all things health, and providing practical thoughts to extended health.Sign up to the newsletter on www.nonfictionbookclub.com to get 10% off every book we review.A big thank you to INN8, our headline sponsor for Season 1.