Wait & Speak Podcast

Episode overview: In this episode, I speak with Richard Hammond, Co-Founder and CEO of Uncrowd, an experience-analytics company that uses the Friction vs Reward (FvR) model to help organisations understand how customers choose between competing offerings. Richard has extensive experience in retail, loyalty, and customer-insight roles. He is the author of: Friction/Reward: Be Your Customer’s First Choice (Pearson, 2019) Smart Retail: Winning Ideas and Strategies from the Most Successful Retailers in the World (4th ed., Pearson Business) He works at the intersection of behavioural insight, retail strategy, and analytics, and is widely recognised for his thinking on retail-choice dynamics. Over the years, Richard has translated the insights of his book into practical, strategic tools through Uncrowd. Our conversation explores both the foundations of the FvR framework and how it has evolved since the book was published. We talk about real-world retail applications, common blind spots for leaders when it comes to customer choice, and practical lessons any organisation can apply to build smarter decisions, clearer value, and more effective retail strategy. Follow his work: LinkedIn Uncrowd Other resources mentioned: Gap Selling: Get to the Root of Why People Buy - a book Richard referenced as influential during our conversation, which he shared as a useful complementary perspective. Final note: If you found this conversation valuable, please share it with your network or leave a rating wherever you listen to your podcasts, it really helps us grow the conversation. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational and discussion purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Listeners should consult a qualified advisor before making any business or investment decisions.

Episode Overview: In this episode, I speak with Jeffrey Roberts, a strategist and organizational researcher who works at the intersection of theory, practice, and decision-making. We discuss how organizations really make strategic choices, and why the hardest part of strategy is often defining the real problem. Jeffrey shares insights on sense-making, systems thinking, and what it means to “muddle through” complexity rather than trying to find the perfect plan. If you’re interested in strategy, foresight, or how leaders can turn data and uncertainty into better decisions, this conversation is for you. About Jeffrey Roberts: Jeff is a Partner in the UK Strategy3 & UK Data Labs practices.  A specialist in corporate strategy, organisation design, and business transformation he works with clients to identify commercial growth opportunities and organise to capture them.  He has worked across geographies and sectors helping clients to invent and activate new markets, build novel business models, grow into new categories, value future opportunities, introduce products, define and defend their political interests, transform their operating models, and redesign their organisations for improved performance. His 20+ year career includes management consultancy and in-house roles (BAT: business transformation and strategy). He was named by Rethink Retail as a Top Retail expert for 2023, 2024, & 2025. He holds a PhD in Sociology and frequently lectures on strategy, organisations, and quantitative methods. Follow Jeffrey’s work here: LinkedIn Substack Books mentioned: Abbott, Andrew Delano. Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences. W. W. Norton & Company, 2004. Hammond, Richard. Friction/Reward: Be your customer's first choice. Pearson, 2019. Final note: If you found this conversation valuable, please share it with your network or leave a rating wherever you listen to your podcasts, it really helps us grow the conversation. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational and discussion purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Listeners should consult a qualified advisor before making any business or investment decisions.

Episode Overview:In this episode of Wait & Speak, I speak with John Loos about the signals shaping South Africa’s property market, from national trends and micro shifts to sentiment tracking, economic headwinds, and the factors influencing the near-term outlook. You’ll also hear us refer to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC): the major global recession of 2008–2009, triggered by the collapse of the U.S. housing market. We explore how that moment reshaped property markets and consider which lessons may still be relevant today. About John Loos:John Loos is a senior economist at FNB Commercial Property Finance. He started his career as an economist at the National Treasury under Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, then worked as a macroeconomist for Global Insight (now S&P Global). At Absa Group, he coordinated macroeconomic forecasting and was named 2004 Reuters Economist of the Year. Since joining FNB in 2006, John has developed the FNB Property Barometer, a leading source of housing market analysis in South Africa, and currently focuses on commercial property, conducting surveys such as the FNB Commercial Property Broker Survey. Follow John’s work here: https://za.linkedin.com/in/john-loos-299a3a51 Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Please consult a qualified advisor before making any decisions. Bonus Tip: Don’t forget to subscribe to Wait & Speak for more insights where signals meet strategy. Please leave a review if you enjoyed this conversation!

In this episode, I speak with Prof Wim Naudé. Wim is an economist active in academia, business and public policy making. His focus is on innovation, technology and trade, and their consequences for human well-being, security, and prosperity. According to the Stanford and Elsevier rankings (version 5) Wim is among the top 2% of scientists in the world. ScholarGPS ranks Wim amongst the top 0,05% of scientists in the world, and rates him as a Highly Ranked Scholar™ in the field of Artificial Intelligence (#32 globally). We discuss Wim’s research on the economics of AI and how this is something that is seldom taught or researched at business schools. Business schools do well to teach their students advanced data science, including the techniques of modern AI and the ethical principles that should be applied in its use. This is however not enough. Wim suggests that understanding the bigger picture is necessary if current and future leaders are to properly govern, not only the technology of AI, but the entire global digital economy. Further reading: Naudé W, Gries T, Dimitri N. Artificial Intelligence: Economic Perspectives and Models. Cambridge University Press; 2024. Wim’s IZA Discussion Paper on this topic: What They Don’t Teach You about Artificial Intelligence at Business School: Stagnation, Oil, and War

In this episode, I speak with Willem Gous about how aspiring entrepreneurs can shift their mindset to unlock their entrepreneurial potential. As the founder of The Human Entrepreneur, Willem helps people to become self-employed through entrepreneurship training and building a business to become financially sustainable. Willem Gous, an entrepreneur for more than 25 years and ASEB (African Startup Ecosystem Builder Awards) Startup Mentor of the Year 2023 South Africa, is a South African entrepreneur who developed a recipe for job creation in Africa. In his business, The Human Entrepreneur, he works with unemployed people in townships. He helps them develop the right mindset, mental fitness, and rhythm of success to start a profitable business with customers without external funding in just 5 weeks. His focus on micro-entrepreneurship continues with his latest book, “Side Hustle Success - A Low-Cost, Low-Risk Way to Make More Money in 5 Easy Steps”. Written for Africa, easy, simple and contextual to the African continent, it focuses on awakening the entrepreneurial spirit in schools, universities and communities. Website: https://TheHumanEntrepreneur.org    LinkedIn: http://za.linkedin.com/in/willemgous