Browse through our episodes below

S03 E01: Season 3 Premier

We launched the third season of Table Manners for Robots. The show format has been upgraded. We had a ton of feedback and questions from the live audience. Unfortunately, in the excitement of things, I didn’t get to many of the comments and questions. But, I made a promise to provide answers to all questions in the next and future shows. Videsha Proothveerajh, CEO and Chairperson of the Board, Lexis Nexis South Africa, opened up the discussion with a frank and open discussion on the potential she see’s in Africa. She talked about some of the exciting work she is leading, together with some of her personal experiences as a mother and CEO. Dr Nick Bradshaw, the leader behind AI Expo Africa, shared valuable insight on the state of 4IR in Africa. I was curious to understand the state of progress in Africa together with Africa’s unique contributions to the development of 4IR technologies. Nick addressed my questions and left me with a lot of confidence about where things are headed.

S2 E10: A great grand finale indeed –
Unite for Small Year-End Finalé

With Dumisani Moyo

We closed off our final 2020 season of Table Manners for Robots with a bang! What a fun episode. Dumisani Moyo, Head of Midmarket at SAP Africa joined us as our expert guest. Dumi has a characteristic way of sharing pearls of wisdom in an easy and light way. It was a pleasure listening to him share his perspective on how dramatically business is evolving right now.

The thing I loved most was our discussion about our mighty South African spirit. We spoke about the power and breadth of local innovation. We also touched on the resilience that our markets continue to demonstrate. I cannot deny – I was beaming as a proud South African through the discussion. Thanks Dumi for revitalising that energy in us.

With that, we are grateful to have been connected with you through 2020. It has been a tough year. I sincerely hope that our shows and emails have brought some light (if not light-heartedness) through some of the darker moments. We were fuelled only by a drive to inspire and bring hope.
Thank you for walking this journey with us. We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful, well-earned break. Happy holidays! We look forward to reconnecting in 2021.

Best to you, my friend.

Special episode: Productivity in a new world of work

With Edmund Lombard & Rakesh Parbho

I know it sounds like I am always excited about our webinar content. And well, let’s be honest, maybe I am. But this time was different… I promise. I learned so much from our speakers. The advice was real and practical. We covered team productivity, in a way that extends beyond just tools and systems. We really unearthed many of the people issues that we just don’t talk about for some reason. In fact, there was a moment when I had to stop and give Rak, CEO of Westcon Comstor, serious praise based on the pearls of wisdom he shared. I’m sure that’s what they call a breakthrough moment. Oh well, I hope you enjoy this one…

Are you prepared for the post-pandemic
business landscape?

With Brian Madden, Bernard Schietekat and Natalie Van Staden

With all the webinars going on right now, it’s hard to say which one is worth the time. This particular interview with Brian Madden blew my mind. It is remarkable just how much we have to change our outlook regarding post-pandemic computing. As Brian mentions during the interview, we knew a lot of the right answers before the pandemic. The pandemic taught us something remarkable about implementation. Brian exposed one of the biggest learnings that the pandemic brought to bear: Which takes priority, security or productivity? Even as the webinar host, I had to take a minute and digest this golden nugget. In short, this webinar proved to be one of the most insightful discussions for me personally. I suggest that all leaders (IT and otherwise) make the best of this recording. It is very valuable in today’s context. It would be pure folly to miss out.

S02 E09: Creative Business Solutions

With Martin Boruvka and David Creecy

During yesterday’s show, we talked about the importance of retaining your personal flair, no matter the work you do. It makes sense, right? If you do something, don’t be yet another cookie cutter. Bring your own personal magic. Adding your personal touch is an important way to build brand loyalty and move away from the competition. While business leaders recognise this, so many still opt for templatised business systems. They usually do this for speed and cost. Yet, in doing so, they risk losing the unique process that made them successful in the first place. Yes it’s true, complex, bespoke system configurations have earned a bad name. But this is because the wrong people (often incompetent) ran too long on projects and couldn’t get it right (while still billing their clients). But that doesn’t mean that you cannot capture your unique processes at the right price, with the right talent! This was a big lesson for me personally.

S02 E08: Medium business challenges in
a post-pandemic world

With Tessa Clark and Nishith Saxena

Today we had a blast with guests Tessa and Nishith. As part of the #uniteforsmall core message, we talked about how to get around business challenges over this period. We focussed more on medium sized businesses today. We looked at the complexities of these organisations and how we can overcome them toward effective solutions. Business leaders in this segment face a very unique set of circumstances, not always obvious from the outside. I gained a lot of insight today by unpacking these with our expert panellists.

S02 E07: Post pandemic
“finance for non-financial managers”

With Paulo Almeida and Lesego Mosupye

Yesterday’s show was a ton of fun. In fact, we received our most positive feedback yet. Lesego, an esteemed CFO shared very practical pearls of wisdom on financial management in small to medium businesses. From inventory to cashflow management, he gave very specific and relevant advice. We had the pleasure of learning from the ever-playful and insightful Paulo, joining us from Portugal, who shared rich examples of how businesses are coping around the world. All round, it was an insightful and inspiring discussion.

S02 E06: How to capitalise on the
opportunity in the food industry

with Paulo Almeida and Brendan Barry

In this episode, we shed light on a vital domestic industry: food manufacturing. Both our expert panelists, Brendan and Paulo, gave us sound advice on how to better manage the current crisis. Beyond this, they gave us “food for thought” on ways to repurpose our production facilities. Like most industries at this time, food manufacturing is undergoing a metamorphosis. What opportunities are there from people inside and outside the industry? How can we make the best of this change?

S02 E05: How to survive the pressure of
regulated industries through the pandemic

with Ian Theron and Michael Webb

With all the change in the market, we need to consider the impact on regulated industries. How are small to medium businesses coping in an already heavily regulated environment? Are controls relaxing? Both our speakers, Michael and Ian, gave very realistic insight. They provided handy and practical tips on how to navigate the demands of the regulators. PPE was also addressed. A lot of businesses flocked to PPE as an opportunity. However, regulation is creeping in quickly and a lot of those businesses are not coping. Michael and Ian shed light on what to do to keep thriving.

S02 E04: Getting people management right
through the difficulty of Covid-19

with Shiraz Khota and Rezan Seedat

Today’s show was remarkable in terms of people insight. The people issue during lockdown has been the single biggest area of concern for employers, managers and HR professionals. We tackled the hard topics: Are salary cuts acceptable? Is it better to retrench or reduce pay? What about companies that use COVID-19 as an excuse to introduce tough measures on employees? How do we bring out the best in people during remote work? What should we focus on? Wow, I was impressed with the thoughts and ideas shared by our very expert guests, Rezad and Shiraz. They tackled these “elephants” head on in a very real, honest and frank manner.

S02 E03: Managing a legal practice in the new world

with Victor Van Der Watt and Louis Podbielski

The #uniteforsmall series continues to grow. Yesterday, we dealt specifically with the legal sector. Law practices are certainly facing pressure. We delved deeply into their workflows and identified what needs to change as we move into a post-pandemic future. Our guest expert from Lexis Nexis, Louis Podbielski, provided insightful guidance on how structural changes are impacting the way law practices need to function. Our guest expert from iOCO, Victor Van Der Watt, gave us useful suggestions on how to use technology to eliminate the new burden on practices.We examined “new” issues like how to easily manage video records after accumulating big archives of video data over several years

S02 E02: Setting up e-commerce for
post pandemic businesses

with Lionel De Oliveira and Sean Fowles

They brought a fresh and young perspective on the importance of ecommerce in our current times. They made clear that an online “shopping experience’ is essential to staying afloat in a post-pandemic economy. I was startled to learn that this applies to B2B businesses as much as B2C. We looked at a number of business scenarios that leaders are having to overcome now. Things are not easy right now, that’s for sure! The good news is that solutions are perhaps easier than we think. There are a number of people out there willing to be flexible on terms and payment arrangements. Another revelatory moment was discovering that you don’t even need to spend tens of thousands (monthly) to consider an end-to-end ecommerce platform that integrates with inventory! Imagine that!

S02 E01: How to manage inventory post COVID-19

with Martin Van Blerk and Jenny Van Blerk

We kicked off our #uniteforsmall series the best way possible. Our expert guests from SysFinPro provided practical advice in vital areas. We received exact tips on how to manage cashflow, keep suppliers happy and make good decisions regarding inventory. During these pressing times, we all can do with a “second opinion” to help us minimise risk. It’s always valuable to hear best practices, especially from seasoned professionals. We are grateful to our speakers for being authentic, sincere and down-to-earth. This kind of honest advice in the SA context is very pertinent right now. We urge all entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders to make the best of this session.

S01 E06: How to outmanoeuvre the
dramatic shift in South African consumer behaviour

with Kristina Sutton and Kelvin Jonck from YOUKNOW

As business leaders, we’re tasked with making calculated decisions. At a time when we’re experiencing the previously unseen, the answer is more insight… not less. Join us for a rich conversation with expert panelists as we navigate the world of insight. How do we improve foresight? How do we take some of the risk out of our current decision making?

S01 E05: A magical mid-week escape

with Larry Soffer and Greg Orme

What happens when the author of the UK’s best business book 2020 meets SA’s top mentalist? No? Well, neither did we until we ran this show.

Well, someone’s mind got read, live on air. Amidst the fun, banter and antics, we actually wound up with some pearls of wisdom.

S01 E04: Take Back Control Of Your Data

with Iniel Dreyer from DMP SA and Steve Botha from Aveng

COVID-19 has shown us the importance of effective business continuity. Disaster recovery along with good data protection are primary components for smooth sailing. Managing a multi-cloud environment does not have to be complex. Join us for a conversation with the experts to help get the right data strategy in motion.

S01 E03: Get a firm handle on your costs

with Andy Strathearn and Rhiedwaan Valley from Plan-IT

Leaders need to be cost-conscious now more than ever. Today, a lot of businesses have to work harder for revenue. Costs have to be tightly controlled. Join us for a discussion with expert panellists who will help business leaders make effective decisions.

S01 E02: Getting Things Done In A Remote Workplace

with Isabel Papadakis from SAP and Martin Van Wyk from Westrocon Seidor

Professional services workers need the right support. Sustainable remote work is impossible in the absence of the right systems. Join us for a discussion with expert panellists who will help business leaders make effective decisions.

S01 E01: Reducing landline costs in
a remote work environment

with Nicolas Blank from NBConsult and Tim Lothering from Microsoft

Telephone Costs Need To Be Better Managed. It is vital to be cost-conscious at this time. Double click to see the detail for yourself. Ensure you are leverage existing tools like Microsoft Teams to their full extent. Don’t blindly renew your PABX. Join us for a discussion with expert panellists who will help business leaders make these decisions.