Blurb
“Never Waste a Good Crisis” was born in the wake of Covid-19. However, the book elaborates on many other challenges that leaders in corporate South Africa have had to deal with – including deeply personal ones. Is leadership an art? Can you learn it? Can anyone be a leader?
Carié Maas asks 20 seasoned leaders what their leadership philosophies are, and their opinions vary as widely as the industries they come from. The lessons they share from their journeys up the corporate ladder will inspire, encourage and challenge the reader.
About the author
Carié Maas works in the financial services industry but started her career in journalism, mostly on the production side of financial publications. She wrote the Jannie Mouton biography, “And Then They Fired Me”, also published in Afrikaans as “En toe fire hulle my”, and “From Corner Café to JSE Giant: The Famous Brands Story”. Her novel “Koljander” won the debut section of the Great Afrikaans Novel Competition in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Jan Rabie Rapport Prize. Her second novel, “Die miskruier en die maan”, was shortlisted for the Eugène Marais prize in 2022.
Extract
‘For most of my career I was always the youngest guy in the room,’ he says. When asked about professional jealousy, he explains that there will always be a bit of that, ‘but you have to know what you are doing and be firm in what you are doing – push forward and make it happen’. How you lead initially and how you lead later are very different. As you mature as a leader, ‘you learn not to sweat the small stuff ’.
Joosub doesn’t think that you are born a leader, but that the experience you gain helps you become one: ‘The exposure that you get is extremely important.’ Part of working for the same company all your life boils down to how you are wired and the opportunities the company offers you. Are you continuously learning and progressing? Are you being looked after? If the company is not recognising you, you should ask to move within the company, or jump ship. ‘I believe in creating my own opportunities,’ Joosub says. He loves explaining to his children, too, that when you push boundaries, you help leadership recognise your potential. Nothing will happen ‘if you sit in your corner and just do what you are told’ and only want to do the minimum. Just drifting through life will get you nowhere. Once again, Joosub references the importance of passion: ‘I look at the passion in what people do, at how they wake up every morning and see how they can move the needle and make things better.’
Encouraging this is the most important aspect of leadership, according to Joosub.
‘But the people who work for me will tell you I am not one to wallow in glory.’ It is a case of ‘well done, what’s next?’ The market is moving forward, and you must move forward too. That is the major point of doing business: ‘It is about continuous improvement. You have to [push] to do better.’ Innovation is the name of the game, and you need to learn from other industries and other players in the market, or you will fall by the wayside. How do you keep improving the growth rate? Where is tomorrow’s revenue coming from? While maximising the existing business, you must explore new opportunities: ‘That is the culture you want to create. Maintenance doesn’t fire up a company.’
This kind of drive is what Joosub looks for when he has to appoint other leaders. ‘For me, the most important ingredient is passion: What is the person’s modus operandi, and will they energise the team to take it forward?’ Joosub doesn’t want to hire people with a consultancy view who tell you what is wrong with the world but have no idea how to fix it: ‘The leadership within the team must get [its members] to rise to the demands, and be smart enough to keep driving the team towards innovation and success.’
Apart from that, you have to hire experts in particular areas. It is important to promote from within, and thus validate people, but in a new area you have to make sure that you have the right skills set so that you can achieve success.
Joosub also believes that dedicated units with the right resources and focus enable growth – without big, bold decisions and capital, you are not going anywhere. And you need a clear plan and strategy. Once you have assessed your company’s future and how you want things to be, how do you go about achieving it? ‘Then you need the capital and the people to deliver on that strategy.’
If a partnership will get you a better result, that is what you must establish. You also have to consider the uniqueness of your product or service offering and how it adds to the company’s purpose of connecting people.
‘I don’t think there’s a silver bullet. As long as there is a culture of passion and you are bringing your people along with you.’
That is why he believes in appointing selfstarters in a company as big as Vodacom.
‘If they are not creating the energy, vibe and passion in the teams, you won’t get it.’
Does he find it easy to delegate, then?
‘When you have been in the detail, there is always the chance that you want to get into the detail again,’ Joosub admits. But then you are almost forced to let go to focus on the big picture, and that comes with experience. ‘Once you have created the focus in the teams and have empowered them, you have to give them the ability to get on with it.’ But when there is a problem area, ‘you must be willing to roll up your sleeves’ and steer the ship back on course.
‘There will be storms, you know?’ he says. But, ever the optimist, Joosub’s view is based on the entrepreneurial lessons he learnt in his youth: that you can find opportunity even in adversity. As a child, Joosub discovered that if you box something smartly, you can outpace the competition. Which is why, during Covid-19, the company offered clients smaller bundles to make them more affordable. You simply need to keep looking for opportunities – they are out there.
But is Joosub not growing tired of always coming up with something new and being responsible for a major brand with millions of clients in an everchanging industry? For staff and shareholders and society? Having had such an early start at that?
‘It is a big weight on your shoulders,’ he admits. ‘But that is why you have to make sure that you have a plan, that you are not aimlessly drifting.’ Over the years, Joosub has learnt to navigate the storms. Once again, he mentions passion: ‘For me, the big thing is that you have to be passionate about what you are doing. If you are not, then change, or find something else. You have to be honest with yourself.’
He loves his job because he can see that he is making a difference in people’s lives, and that the company is living its purpose. ‘It mostly speaks to my need to give back to society, and the company gives me the ability to be part of something bigger.’ Joosub then lists a number of charities he supports.
‘But it is also exciting to come to work because of the changes that are happening – being part of a project and making a difference makes [work] compelling.’ There are still many fields in which Vodacom can make a difference, such as digital and financial inclusion, creating more diverse management teams in terms of gender, and developing future skills, such as data analytics. What makes leadership sustainable for Joosub is that there is always a new dream and something new to chase.
He admits that the challenges can sometimes be draining, but that he has learnt to manage things over the years. However, he warns that a highpowered job does not come without serious commitment: ‘To be honest, it is difficult. [Success] does not come without hard work, and you do land up sacrificing your time with your family.’
Joosub tries to be home for supper, but then returns to his desk later. ‘It is the type of job where you can take a call at ten or eleven at night.’ It is hard but fulfilling, and you can see your hard work manifesting in various ways.
As the CEO of Vodacom, Joosub can easily afford every imaginable gadget or electronic toy, so does he ever spoil himself?
He laughs. You have to stay on top of things, as they are changing constantly, he concedes, but it does frustrate him if his kids don’t go out and interact with their friends. While his son prefers online chess, Joosub personally still loves playing on a physical board. Yes, he has an iPad for downloading books, but he loves an oldfashioned softcover – and please, let it be a thriller over December and not a business book for once.
But there is one family tradition that he won’t give up for all the hightech cappuccino machines in the world: every night his family waits for him to boil water, oldstyle, pour it onto the Ricoffy granules and mix in the Cremora. These small rituals are what money cannot, and does not want, to buy.
“Never Waste a Good Crisis” is published by Penguin Random House publishers and retails at R250.