Tag: leadership

There is a narrative building around artificial intelligence (AI) that deeply concerns me. It is a narrative rooted in fear. People fear being replaced. They fear being left behind. They fear not understanding the technology. They also fear experimenting and getting it wrong. Yet, from where I sit, AI is not something we can afford to fear from the sidelines. Instead, we need to engage with it. We need to learn from it, play with it, challenge it, shape it and adopt it.

Many organisations believe they have a communication problem. Teams are working in silos. Messages are being misunderstood. Decisions are not filtering through. People are not taking enough ownership. However, these challenges often signal something deeper.

Trust is the foundation of every relationship, whether in business, sport, friendship, or marriage. Once broken, can it ever truly be restored? Or must we create something entirely new?

The author returns with an urgent call to reimagine the essentials of courageous leadership. In a time of deep uncertainty, bluster, hubris and even cruelty are increasingly being accepted as acceptable leadership traits. However, the author delivers practical and actionable insights.

In a low-growth economy, organisations struggle to expand revenue. They therefore face increasing pressure to unlock efficiencies and do more with less. Consider a major South African bank. It recently celebrated a successful AI-powered fraud detection pilot. The results looked impressive. The system delivered faster detection, fewer false positives and measurable savings. Leadership felt energised.

Most South African business leaders did not start their businesses to spend their days managing customer escalations. They also did not expect to second-guess managers or complete work they delegated six months earlier. Yet this is exactly where many of them end up.

The World Economic Forum predicts that nearly 40% of on-the-job skills will change by 2030. The capabilities gaining ground are not just technical. Creative thinking, resilience and analytical thinking are also rising alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data. In addition, the tasks least likely to be automated require human judgment, the ability to sit with complexity and the capacity to understand people well enough to solve the right problem.

We have entered an economy where the most valuable asset is no longer capital, technology, or even talent. It is cognitive capacity.

Two remarkable economic turnarounds demonstrate what becomes possible when countries support the right sectors, develop relevant skills and strengthen cooperation between government and business. We exist to create genuine and lasting economic opportunities for young South Africans. We constantly evaluate where we invest, what we support and why those decisions matter.

South Africa's hospitality sector faces a paradox. Guests have returned, occupancy rates are recovering, and travel demand has regained strong momentum. According to Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, South Africa welcomed 10.485 million international visitors in 2025. This marked a historic record and surpassed pre-pandemic figures.