Bruce Whitfield – The One Thing

 I certainly never expected this detour in my plans, as I boarded a plane in Johannesburg bound for the UK a few days ago. But there he was, chatting to a fellow member of the PSA (Professional Speakers Association) at a Business Speaking Summit in Cirencester.

Bruce WhitfieldWhitfield has conducted some 50,000 interviews in his 20-plus years on 702. Many South Africans, especially in the financial sector, would consider him broadcasting royalty. But rather than call him the king, I would say a bishop would more aptly describe him.

My analogy may be, because I write way too many medieval novels. The self-confessed “recovering journalist’s” smile cleared the cobwebs from my forgotten chess brain. Those keen eyes seemed to scan conversations continuously for strategic alliances or juicy titbits of slander. Anyone who has ever crossed a medieval bishop knows that, like journalists, they have long memories. With this in mind, I had to choose my words with care.

Most creative thinkers, when they are starting out, are prone to wrestle with that dreaded feeling we so fondly call ‘Imposter Syndrome’. It is that awful feeling of “Oh my word, what was I thinking? I don’t measure up!”.

What we often forget is that all grandmasters, whether chess players, writers, artists or in my case, video podcasters, had to start at the beginning. I have to be honest, (if only for the benefit of my authors), that I had to suppress a moment of fear when Bruce accepted my invitation to be on the Write Learn and Earn Show by saying, “I am at your disposal.”

In my corner, I had Graeme Codrington, who facilitated the introduction. Graeme is one of the world’s leading futurists and leadership experts. With that in mind, I claim that one day my interview list will also read like, what I call Bruce’s ‘little black book’ of some of the brightest minds on the planet. Nowadays our little black books are replaced by smart phones where with a slide and tap of one or more fingers you can send a request to all your contacts.

That is just what Bruce did when compiling his book “The One Thing.” It is a fascinating idea journey that invites readers and contributors to think about what is the one thing they would do if they were president for half an hour. It is something that even my ten-year-old son, Michael, has an opinion on. So probably you already have an idea of your own.

The contributors to this book read like the royalty of South African business. So if by the end of the day you are too tired to scroll through the business times, you can take a peek into the strategic minds of the captains of our industry. People like the founding CEOs of Aspen Pharmacare, The Yuppie Chef, and Sorbet, all offer their own ideas. But it does not stop there; there are also the CEOs of Future Trust and Standard Bank, and thrown into the mix, a chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.

I was tickled pink when I saw that my hometown, Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth) was the focus of one of the first projects in the book. The contributor to this project was not just thinking about change. Rather, he was taking action and restoring St George’s Park, founded in 1860.

What I discovered during the interview was that Bruce was charming, eloquent, and encouraging.

I did, however, notice the journalistic twinkle when I mentioned a story about a client who had a journalist chase him down the road to get a story. It was that kind of look that a leopard gets when it awakens to the rustle of leaves as an unsuspecting gazelle grazes nearby.

I have to warn you, “Be careful what you say to journalists, even recovering ones. When the story is juicy, they are never afraid to name and shame.” I even had two names dropped in the interview. My authors can breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t name people unless it will help promote their books. If you are still quaking in your boots, re-watch the episode on Reputation Management on my channel.

At the heart of it… Yes, everyone who was at the PSA UK and Ireland Business Summit with me this weekend… Is having an inside joke chuckle… These icons of industry are humans who have a deep love of encouraging new talent in the industry.

I felt the same way when I interviewed award-winning journalist Hamilton Wende. Despite covering several wars, he remains one of the kindest, most humble people I know. Oops, as per usual, my mind is wandering off somewhere again. But back to the present. Not only has Bruce Whitfield shared the wisdom of some remarkable leaders; he just launched a podcast of his own. The Art of Deciding, which had as its debut guest bestselling author Lee Child. That has to make it one of my favourite podcasts straight away.

Somewhere in your world is someone who has the power to introduce you to one of your heroes into your industry.

It may be scary, but as I always ask my readers…

Is your legacy worth investing in?

PS: The video footage for this interview is nestled in the loving care of my production team. I will let you know when it is ready for release.

You can watch my interview with Bruce on Friday 08 November at

South Africa: 10:00 – SAST (UTC +2)

London, United Kingdom – 08:00 GMT (UTC +0)

New York, NY, USA: 03:00 EST (UTC -5)

PS: Thank you Hush Naidoo for letting us use your camera to film this interview. You are a gem.