Bryan Hattingh's Risky Business
Sep 2, 2026 · 40 min · 8 segments
In Episode 38 of *Risky Business*, host Bryan Hattingh and co-host Jonathan Shaw welcome Steve Johnson, founder and CEO of Growth Leaders Africa. The episode opens with a poignant dedication to…
Steve JohnsonGuest
Bryan HattinghHostJonathan ShawHost
Yes, and the interesting thing is that when that director gave me the challenge to go and work amongst the communities, they also gave me the opportunity to study further at university.
And so while I was working, learning at a distance, I got a degree in adult education just to make sure that I was doing the right stuff.
And some of the most amazing and some of the most creative ways of working with adults were the people that were in the faculty with us in Zimbabwe, University of Zimbabwe at the time.
And I was so fortunate to have done that because that molded me and made me understand the cultural basis of much of what we were doing.
And it was the book, Indaba My Children by Vazimo Zulu Credo Mutwa, who was one of the great Sangomas of the Zulu people here in South Africa.
And so I devoured it and kind of almost immersed myself in that ethos of Ubuntu.
And so when I was studying at university in Zimbabwe, it resonated so deeply with me.
And subsequently, I've worked with thousands and thousands and thousands of rural communities, understanding their deep psyche.
The thing that really picked up my need to research was a guy on 702 radio the other day, some months back, actually explaining the ethos of our African people.
And he was explaining where we largely miss out on the understanding of the Bantu people in Southern Africa is they see themselves as merely a small piece in the bigger environment of the world.
The people are part of the environment and it's not that when people get together, they form a community.
And if you're, if you don't, subscribe to the traditions and customs, et cetera, then you are excommunicated by just being left out, okay? Because you're not being a human, okay? And so when I've worked with many of these communities in Botswana or wherever, I almost feel I'm at home, okay, to the degree that without kind of sounding arrogant, okay, that I've been accepted as a member of the Botswana people.
Credo Mutwa inducted me because I got to work with him eventually, amazingly.
And It's just that if you approach it, the life, the way that the communal perspective is, it's much richer.
You don't just automatically say, well, I am me and therefore you owe me something.
It's that ethos, I think, that somehow we in Southern Africa need to kind of get back to in many different ways.
Yes, and the interesting thing is that when that director gave me the challenge to go and work amongst the communities, they also gave me the opportunity to study further at university.
And so while I was working, learning at a distance, I got a degree in adult education just to make sure that I was doing the right stuff.
And some of the most amazing and some of the most creative ways of working with adults were the people that were in the faculty with us in Zimbabwe, University of Zimbabwe at the time.
And I was so fortunate to have done that because that molded me and made me understand the cultural basis of much of what we were doing.
And it was the book, Indaba My Children by Vazimo Zulu Credo Mutwa, who was one of the great Sangomas of the Zulu people here in South Africa.
And so I devoured it and kind of almost immersed myself in that ethos of Ubuntu.
And so when I was studying at university in Zimbabwe, it resonated so deeply with me.
And subsequently, I've worked with thousands and thousands and thousands of rural communities, understanding their deep psyche.
The thing that really picked up my need to research was a guy on 702 radio the other day, some months back, actually explaining the ethos of our African people.
And he was explaining where we largely miss out on the understanding of the Bantu people in Southern Africa is they see themselves as merely a small piece in the bigger environment of the world.
The people are part of the environment and it's not that when people get together, they form a community.
And if you're, if you don't, subscribe to the traditions and customs, et cetera, then you are excommunicated by just being left out, okay? Because you're not being a human, okay? And so when I've worked with many of these communities in Botswana or wherever, I almost feel I'm at home, okay, to the degree that without kind of sounding arrogant, okay, that I've been accepted as a member of the Botswana people.
Credo Mutwa inducted me because I got to work with him eventually, amazingly.
And It's just that if you approach it, the life, the way that the communal perspective is, it's much richer.
You don't just automatically say, well, I am me and therefore you owe me something.
It's that ethos, I think, that somehow we in Southern Africa need to kind of get back to in many different ways.
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