If you want to sell a good story

Accept rock ’n’ roll roadie turned entrepreneur Richard Mulholland’s challenge to be a story seller. Richard believes that the only story that matters when you are pitching to a client is your customer’s story. As the founder of Missing Link Presentation Powerhouse, he trains business executives to build a compelling sales narrative in which the customer becomes the hero of the story.

In his new book, Here Be Dragons: How to Win Deals and Influence Ideas (Tracey McDonald Publishers), Mulholland provides practical, actionable guidance for using powerful storytelling techniques to change minds, drive sales and solve problems.

Available from Loot and Exclusive Books (Release date: 15 November 2021).

When you’re exploring alternative business models

Learn to place less focus on ownership and more focus on access. It’s an idea Time magazine included in its list of ‘10 ideas that will change the world’ back in 2011, and one that has really gained a foothold thanks to the likes of Uber and Airbnb.

In The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Access is the New Ownership (Tracey McDonald Publishers), Kevin Govender details how this economic model focuses on providing access to resources instead of owning them. His insights encourage readers to reimagine and reinvent their business model to offer unique opportunities for humanising technology and developing innovative sharing platforms.

Available from Loot and Raru.

Looking for inspiration from a spirit with a great heart

Embark on a great adventure with musical legend Johnny Clegg as he tells the story of his early years as a musician during apartheid. The lyricism that is the hallmark of his music is tangible on every page while he recounts his quest to find his identity when South Africa was in deep political turmoil. Clegg’s unconventional mother gave him the freedom to explore a musical path in which he was always determined to play the music he wanted to the people who wanted to hear it.

Scatterling of Africa: My Early Years (Pan Macmillan South Africa) is part historical record, part musical memoir but mostly it’s a celebration of a life well lived. The Clegg family describe it as ‘testament to the power of human connection and friendships across cultural, political and social divides’.

Available from Wordsworth Books and Exclusive Books.

When you need motivation to take the next step

Go on a white-knuckle adventure with Robby Kojetin in his exhilarating autobiography Mind Over Mountain: A Mental and Physical Climb to the Top (Jonathan Ball Publishers).

When Robby was just 28 years old, a freak accident at an indoor climbing gym saw him confined to a wheelchair after he broke both his ankles – leaving his dream of becoming a mountaineer in tatters. In the subsequent months and years, he had to deal with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, which could easily have derailed his mountaineering aspirations forever. Robby’s story details his remarkable mental climb as much as the physical one, and how his resilience pushed him to conquer Mount Everest, climb Kilimanjaro nine times and scale five of the Seven Summits. His journey will uplift anyone seeking encouragement for a physical or mental challenge of their own.

Available from Loot and Wordsworth Books.

If your grief has nowhere to go

In the last two years, everyone lost something – a job, relationship, business venture, a loved one, good health – and there’s no one-size-fits-all recovery process says Bridget McNulty, author of The Grief Handbook: A Guide Through the Worst Days of Your Life (Watkins Publishing). McNulty lost her mother suddenly and the book was born out of her attempts to process her emotions and feelings. As it turns out, its timing couldn’t have been better since the world has been dealing with loss on a catastrophic scale.

This interactive journal offers readers room to explore their feelings at their pace, validating every emotion, which is an important part of healing. It’s an empathetic, compassionate and motivating read layered with expert psychological insights and practical advice that makes the journey to healing personal. It strikes the right tone to help finish the year strong.

Available from Takealot and Exclusive Books (Also on Audible).

But wait, there’s more (fiction)…

Children of Sugarcane by Joanne Joseph (Jonathan Ball Publishers) is an intimate and wrenching story of slavery in 19th century Natal told from a woman’s perspective.

Wayfarers’ Hymns by Zakes Mda (Penguin Random House) is a travel adventure told by one of our continent’s great storytellers.

Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka (Bloomsbury) is a crafty whodunnit and acute satirical commentary on how power and greed can corrupt the soul of a nation.