Podcast
Wait & Speak Podcast
Hosted by Requier Wait · EN
Welcome to the Wait & Speak Podcast, hosted by Dr Requier Wait. We explore what makes strategy "stick" by bridging the gap between academic rigor and operational reality.
While robust strategy formulation is the foundation, the real challenge lies in execution - where boardroom slide decks must transform into organisational behaviour. In each episode, we interrogate the ideas, choices, and practices that turn strategy into measurable impact.
Join us for conversations with global thinkers, business leaders, and C-suite operators as we distil actionable insights for the modern organisation.
Strategic Clarity. Systemic Impact. Built for leaders ready to make it stick.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
#43 Reclaiming the Soul of Strategy: Building Customer-Centric Organizations with Bernard J. Jaworski
3w ago00:53:25Tap to summarizeThis episode explores how modern organizations can reclaim the 'soul' of strategy by returning to the fundamental directive: the creation and retention of customers. I am joined by Bernard J. Jaworski, the Drucker Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts at the Drucker School. Bernie is one of the world's leading voices on corporate strategy and organic growth. In this session, we unpack the 'customer blind spot' that plagues many firms today, discuss how to bridge the execution gap between legacy structures and customer-centric vision, and explore the 'Customer Choice Cascade' - a framework designed to move strategy beyond mere competitor obsession. Drawing on the core principles of his book, The Soul of Strategy (co-authored with David E. Sprott), this conversation reveals how true customer centricity requires more than a shift in focus; it demands disciplined, evidence-based habits necessary to turn your strategic intent into lasting, real-world impact. About the guest: Bernie Jaworski is the Drucker Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts, which is named in honor of Peter Drucker, the founder of modern management and the namesake of the Drucker School. Bernie is a ISBM and American Marketing Association Fellow. He is recipient of the three major Journal of Marketing awards – the Alpha Kappa Psi award (received twice), the Maynard award, and the Sheth award. He also received the Converse award and the Vijay Mahajan lifetime achievement award for contributions to marketing. His 2020 book on Organic Growth (with Bob Lurie) received the Leonard Berry AMA book of the year award. His work is highly cited (over 57,000 citations as of December 2024). He has been voted MBA teacher of the year (both at USC and Drucker). Jaworski comes to the Drucker School from the Switzerland-based IMD, a highly regarded international business school. Prior to working at IMD, Jaworski spent a decade as a senior partner of the Monitor Group, a global management consulting firm. During his Monitor career, he co-founded and co-led two of the global practice areas, the e-commerce practice and the executive education unit. Among other activities, he was a senior team member of a number of significant multi-year corporate transformations for multinational clients in a variety of sectors, notably pharmaceuticals, biotech and medical devices. From 1996 to 1999, Jaworski served as the Jeanne and David Tappan Marketing Fellow and a tenured full professor of marketing at the University of Southern California He has also served on the faculty at the University of Arizona and as a visiting professor at Harvard Business School as well as on the review boards of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the Journal of Marketing Research. He is the co-author four textbooks on e-commerce and two management focused books (the most recent “Creating the Organization of the Future” with Virginia Cheung). and has taught topics including leadership, corporate strategy, and service management. About The Soul of Strategy - Building Customer-Centric Organizations: In The Soul of Strategy, Bernard J. Jaworski and David E. Sprott deliver an eye-opening new approach to business organizational strategy. The authors build on the classic work of Peter Drucker while retaining expanding in a current fashion a laser focus on the inescapable reality that the prime directive of every commercial firm is to create and keep paying its customers – whether it be a commercial business, a non-profit, NGO, or public sector organization. The book walks you through a comprehensive customer acquisition and retention strategy framework, and provides grounding the reader in core concepts related to intelligence gathering and customer behaviour. 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.
Transcribe →#42 Making "Finance 3.0" Stick: Strategy Execution in the Lion’s Den
May 100:41:04Tap to summarizeThis episode explores the strategic discipline required to execute a disruptive vision for the future of finance. I am joined by Connie Bloem, Co-founder and Managing Director of Mesh - a digital capital markets ecosystem pioneering the transition to 'Finance 3.0.' Since 2019, Mesh has worked to democratise wealth by tokenising real-world assets, from corporate bonds to institutional real estate. A major milestone in this journey came in July 2024, when Mesh became Africa’s first fully licensed issuance platform for tokenised assets. We discuss the transition from a three-year technical 'hardening' phase to this landmark regulatory achievement, and we explore the leadership choices required to make strategy 'stick' when building the future of capital markets. About the guest: Connie Bloem, Mesh Co-founder and Managing Director: A former management consultant, Connie is committed to transforming financial markets through technology. With a background in industrial and financial engineering, she excels in design thinking and agile development. Connie’s vision is to provide widespread access to future financial markets. She brings expertise from roles at Accenture and Andile, where she contributed to treasury systems and digital banking apps. About Mesh: Mesh.trade is a digital ecosystem for raising capital and trading capital markets assets. Founded on the belief that capital markets should be easy to access, simple to use and transparent, Mesh has built the underlying infrastructure for the future of finance. Through its streamlined, end-to-end global capital markets infrastructure, Mesh provides standardised tools and simplified workflows for complex market mechanisms and multi-geography regulatory requirements. Using the best of leading edge blockchain technology, Mesh has removed the need for many existing market intermediaries, removed the traditional barriers to entry, eliminated excessive participation costs, and made capital raising and investing much more efficient for all market participants. Mesh provides a multi-sided financial markets infrastructure within its ecosystem to connect issuers and investors directly to each other in a trusted way, facilitating easy interaction and secure, compliant and efficient trade. If you’d like to explore the documents mentioned in the discussion, you can find it here: IMF: Tokenized Finance note by Tobias Adrian National Treasury: South Africa’s Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, 2026 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.
Transcribe →#41 Executing the "One Lesaka" Strategy and Integrating a Fintech Ecosystem
Apr 2900:38:06Tap to summarizeThis episode explores the strategic evolution of Lesaka as it transitions from its legacy roots into a unified, human-centric fintech ecosystem. I am joined by Lincoln Mali, CEO: Southern Africa of Lesaka, to discuss the 'One Lesaka' Strategy — a mission to integrate major brands like Kazang, Connect, and Adumo into a single, cohesive platform serving merchants and consumers. We go behind the scenes of the landmark Bank Zero acquisition and the recent launch of the ZARU stablecoin, examining how Lesaka is leveraging modern 'rails' and blockchain technology to close the execution gap and digitize the informal economy across Southern Africa. About the guest: Lincoln was appointed as Lesaka’s Chief Executive Officer: Southern Africa on May 1, 2021. He is a financial services executive with over 25 years in the industry. Until April 2021, he was the Head of Group Card and Payments at Standard Bank Group, having served in many different roles within that organisation since 2001. Lincoln chaired the board of directors of Diners Club South Africa until April 2021 and was a member of the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Business Council for Visa. Besides his other qualifications, he has attended an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and holds various diplomas in banking and management. Qualifications: MBA (Henley Management College); LLB (Rhodes University); BA (Law and Politics) (Rhodes University). Expertise: Strong relationships and network with key industry players in South Africa; motivational leadership style. He is also the author of the best-selling book, Blazing a Trail: Lessons for African Leadership, which outlines his journey from student activist to corporate leader and provides a framework for ethical, human-centric leadership . All proceeds from the book support the Lincoln Mali Leadership Foundation, which focuses on youth development, school sports, and feeding schemes in informal settlements. About Lesaka: Lesaka is a South African financial technology company delivering services to consumers (B2C) and merchants (B2B) across Southern Africa through proprietary banking and payment technologies. Their offerings include banking, lending, and insurance products for consumers, as well as cash management, bill payment, value‑added services, business funding, and card acquiring solutions for retail merchants. Founded in 1997 and strengthened by the acquisition of the Connect Group in 2022, Lesaka has entered a new era under a refreshed leadership team with international experience. The name Lesaka—meaning “kraal” in seSotho and seTswana—reflects their mission to build and protect the financial wellbeing of communities. By championing financial inclusion, they open new possibilities for underserved markets and drive meaningful fintech‑enabled solutions across Southern Africa. 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.
Transcribe →#40 How Challenger Banks Execute Strategy at Scale with Cheslyn Jacobs
Apr 800:41:31Tap to summarizeThis episode explores how strategy is executed inside a fast-growing challenger bank and what it takes to translate strategic intent into measurable impact at scale. I speak with Cheslyn Jacobs, CEO of GoTyme Bank, one of South Africa’s fastest-growing digital banks. As a founding team member, Cheslyn has been central to shaping the bank’s model and scaling it to millions of customers. We discuss the strategic choices, organisational capabilities, and leadership decisions that help strategy stick in a fast-moving financial services market. About the guest: Cheslyn Jacobs is Chief Executive Officer of GoTyme Bank, one of South Africa’s leading digital challenger banks. A founding team member, he has played a central role in building the business and shaping its customer-centric, technology-driven banking model. Cheslyn was appointed CEO effective January 2026, following leadership roles including Chief Commercial Officer, where he was responsible for revenue growth, sales and customer engagement as the bank scaled its operations. Since launching in 2019, GoTyme Bank has grown to serve millions of customers through its accessible and transparent digital banking model. Prior to joining GoTyme, Jacobs held roles at Standard Bank and Deloitte. He holds a BCom in Industrial Psychology from the University of the Western Cape and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. About GoTyme Bank: GoTyme Bank, formerly TymeBank, is a leading digital bank in South Africa and part of the global Tyme Group – a digital banking group operating across multiple markets (Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore) and serving 20 million customers. Since launching in February 2019, the South African bank has grown rapidly to serve over 12 million customers, with a clear focus on simplicity, transparency, and empowerment. Designed to make everyday banking more accessible, GoTyme Bank offers zero monthly banking fees, digital onboarding that takes less than 5 minutes, free instant payments, and market-leading savings rates. GoTyme Bank has been recognised globally, including being named on the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list in 2025, reflecting its impact on digital banking innovation. Customers can access services through a combination of the GoTyme app, service kiosks, and a network of retail partners that support cash-in and cash-out transactions. In addition to retail banking, GoTyme Bank plays an important role in supporting small businesses through its merchant cash advance offering, helping to expand access to funding for millions of SMEs across the country. If you’d like to explore the leadership books Cheslyn mentioned, you can find it here: Leadership: The Care and Growth Model Intent: Exploring the Core of Being Human 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.
Transcribe →#39 Making Strategy Work: Lessons for Leaders and Founders | with Alex M H Smith
Mar 1100:50:01Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I speak with Alex M H Smith about what real strategy looks like beyond frameworks and slide decks. We discuss how leaders can recognise weak strategy, why many organisations end up competing in the same ways as everyone else, and what it takes to develop positioning that actually works in practice. Who this episode is for: founders, executives, and strategists looking to build strategies that stand out and actually work in practice. Key topics in this episode Why many strategies fail when they move from boardroom discussions to real-world execution The problem of competitive sameness and how organisations fall into it A South African brand that demonstrates strong strategy in action Alex’s idea of “street strategy” - strategy learned from observing real companies rather than academic frameworks Practical principles founders and executives can use to develop stronger strategy About the guest Alex has spent the past decade helping founders and CEOs think more clearly about strategy, and he is the author of the bestselling book No Bullsh*t Strategy. His path into strategy, however, has been unconventional. Without an MBA, PhD, or corporate consulting background, Alex developed his thinking by closely studying some of the world’s most successful brands and distilling practical lessons about what makes them work. The result is a perspective on strategy that is deliberately simple, direct, and grounded in real-world business practice — what Alex describes as “street strategy.” 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.
Transcribe →#38 Shaping Strategy in Dynamic Markets | Prof Adrian Saville
Mar 200:39:32Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I speak with Professor Adrian Saville about the essence of shaping effective strategy in dynamic markets. Adrian is Professor of Economics, Finance and Strategy at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). As Founding Director of the GIBS Centre for African Management and Markets (CAMM) and Founder of Boundless World, he works with leaders to sharpen strategic direction in dynamic environments by addressing three essential questions: Where to compete? How to win? And why does it matter? With deep experience in the investment industry - including building and exiting Cannon Asset Managers and managing a global multi-asset fund - Adrian brings both academic rigor and practical insight to strategic decision-making. He consults widely to blue-chip and high-growth firms across industries such as digital banking, pharmaceuticals and payments, while continuing to teach MBA programmes at GIBS and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. In our conversation, we explore: What defines a truly dynamic market The importance of understanding your business model, your home-market advantage, and the exportability of that advantage The role of key assumptions, culture, and capabilities in shaping strategic performance The tension between growth and profitability, and how leaders should navigate it Tyme Bank as a case study in timing, conviction, and disciplined execution If you’d like to explore the book Adrian mentioned in relation to the Tyme Bank example, you can find it here: It's About Tyme 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.
Transcribe →#37 Why Perspective Shapes Strategy - with Prof Bob de Wit
Feb 1300:53:28Tap to summarizeStrategy is often presented as a search for the “right” answer. But according to Prof Bob de Wit, strategic problems are not puzzles to be solved; they are paradoxes to be navigated. In this episode, I speak with Prof de Wit about why perspective lies at the heart of strategic choice. He is one of the world’s leading strategy thinkers and author of Strategy: An International Perspective (now in its eighth edition, used in over 75 countries). Drawing on decades of research and teaching, Prof De Wit explains why leaders routinely talk past one another, how competing strategic logics create blind spots, and why becoming aware of your own perspective is the first step toward better strategy. We explore: Why strategic problems have no single “right” answer. How leaders can identify and overcome their own blind spots. The tension between competing strategic perspectives (inside-out vs. outside-in, evolution vs. revolution, control vs. adaptation). Why the digital age is reshaping not just business models - but professions, governance, and society itself. What “Society 4.0” means for leaders navigating AI and global power shifts. Prof. De Wit argues that strategy is ultimately about making conscious choices between competing logics - not applying universal formulas. In an era defined by AI, platform power, and accelerating change, that awareness becomes even more critical. For leaders, academics, and strategists alike, this conversation is a reminder that the quality of your strategy depends on the clarity of your perspective. 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.
Transcribe →#36 The Better Strategy OS: Designing Strategy for Real-World Impact
Jan 100:34:50Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I speak with Dr Marc Sniukas, creator of the Better Strategy OS — a practical, execution-focused system that helps leadership teams design, activate, and embed strategy for real results. We explore how leaders can navigate complexity, accelerate growth, and transform their organisations using the Better Strategy OS as a structured, no-nonsense approach to strategy. Guest Bio: Dr Marc Sniukas, Strategy Advisor | Author | Creator of the Better Strategy OS For over 20 years, Marc has helped leadership teams at companies like BMW, DeBeers, Deloitte, HSBC, Danfoss, MTN, and more design and execute strategies that drive real growth, innovation, and transformation. He’s the author of The Art of Opportunity (Wiley) and creator of the Better Strategy OS — a practical, proven system that helps leaders make better strategy, fast. Marc has taught strategy at leading business schools and worked with organizations across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—from global giants to fast-scaling hidden champions. 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.
Transcribe →#35 What Strategy Is: The 18 Fundamental Laws of Strategy
Dec 1500:51:55Tap to summarizeIn 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.
Transcribe →#34 Inside Friction vs Reward: Richard Hammond on Smarter Retail Strategy
Nov 2501:03:01Tap to summarizeEpisode 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.
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