Google boss Alistair Mokoena’s debut book calibrates the path of how to become a successful business leader through self-mastery

Written in simple language and short paragraphs, Servings of Self-Mastery: Bite-sized pep talks to unlock greatness, is one of the easiest to read business books published in recent years, sure to appeal those in business leadership and outside business, wishing to calibrate their own path as leaders in society generally.

Publisher: Tracey McDonald Publishers

ISBN: 978-1-7764432-0-8

Author: Alistair Mokoena

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

Just recently I told a friend about an amazing biography that has been published about a well-known real estate mogul, someone who has started at the very bottom, building his business up to a stage where it has a significant share of the market.

The businessman wrote the book himself. What I admire about this book among other things, is the fact that the author does not have even a Matric certificate, but that did not stop him from establishing a business in a highly competitive sector of the economy.

Neither did his Matricless status stop him from penning a beautiful book, easy to read with interesting anecdotes about his life growing up in Johannesburg in what one would call a broken family situation –father a loving but compulsive gambler, mother well, gifted with an eye for good art and a successful businesswoman, as it were in the real estate business. But problem is mother and father had a very tumultuous relationship, an off and on type of a relationship, till they eventually split for good. AS you can imagine that must have affected their son negatively, the uncertainty, a sense of insecurity and instability.

“I am not going to read that book, that I can assure you,” the friend said. I was obviously surprised by his reaction, especially because he himself is in the book trade.

“I am sick and tired of businessmen who after making so much money when the rest of society is poor, go on to write books about their lives,” he explained, and I got the message. I cannot really blame my friend for his aversion to books that are written by some businesspeople, especially the authorised or autobiography type, whereby these writers tend to gloss over their lives, and make it feel like anyone, even those who cannot read a spread sheet, can through determination, actually make it in business, just like them.

They never tell you about some of the embarrassing episodes on their journey to reach dizzying business pinnacles for example. That crime of omission in some of the books written by and about such business people do not inspire readers. In fact in a lot of cases, they border on dishonesty, and therefore, any serious reader will not take such books seriously. Let a meticulous entrepreneur who is currently facing real challenges of the modern times, trying to build his or her business up.

However, it does not mean that my friend’s views are necessarily correct when it comes to the said book about the real estate mogul, as I believe that books is a masterstroke. And I will continue reading it till to the very last chapter. But for now, let us leave my friend and his issue with this book that I love so much aside. That is a story for another day.

But for now, it happened. The very same week I received another book to review, written by yet another businessman. Well business leader. And you can imagine how I must have felt before I began the journey of reading it.

In fact I should not have felt that way, because Servings of Self-Mastery: Bite-sized pep talks to unlock greatness, by Alistair Mokoena, the Google’s country director in southern Africa, is a good book. In fact very good. As to my friend, if he just like the other book he has expressed his dislike of, even without reading it, he would be doing himself a great disservice if he avoids reading this one too.

This book does not only give one tips about how to succeed in business or as a business leader, but it is also well researched. Most importantly, Mokoena, who was born in Garankuwa a township outside Pretoria in 1976, and went to high school in Mafikeng (now Mahikeng) in the then homeland of Bophutatswana, tells his personal journey of how and why he became a successful business leader that he is today.

He has for example, run several successful advertising agencies in the country, before he was head-hunted for his current position at the global search engine company Google. Reading this book, it becomes clear that it is not only educational qualifications, important and crucial as they are, which will make you a success in life, but more is required from you.

And do not make a mistake, education runs through and through in his family’s veins, mother a professor, late father, a former Kaizer Chief soccer star, teacher and successful township businessman, siblings with post graduate degrees, and Mokoena himself, holding superior academic qualifications, including an MBA and a doctorate. What he says in this book is that yes, these qualifications are essential and they are the basics one needs to step in.

But your family background, such as how you grew up, how you have been raised, what you did as you grew up and who you really are -bringing these to the fore in what you do, is essentially what will make you a success or not as a leader and in business. In other words, he argues that you need to find your higher purpose in life, and once that has been achieved focus on that relentlessly and you never go wrong. But there is a trick part and that is that for you to succeed, you need to master you, and hence the reference to self-mastery in the title of the book.

What is remarkable about this business leader, is the fact that he has managed to be involved in both the academic world, in the real sense of it, not just a question of giving guest lectures here and there at universities about the industry that one is in, and the business world, with such a stunning track record of success. His journey is so surreal. While in university for example, he ran businesses with fellow students, some were a success and of course others not, and in the process learning and preparing him for the spectacular success that he achieved later on in life.

He has for example, supervised MBA and doctorate students at universities, published academic papers, is an extra-ordinary professor of practice in digital marketing at North West University Business School, has assisted in the establishment of the Johannesburg Business School at the University of Johannesburg, where is is a council member. The list goes on and on. This is of course besides what must be a demanding job as the boss of Google in Southern Africa, leaving one wondering how some people manage to find time to do all these things in their life time..

However all the tips are in this book, and I would not want to spoil your reading experience by telling you all the secrets to success as a business man or simply leader in society, as explained by Mokoena in Self-Mastery: Bite-sized pep talks to unlock greatness.

The doctor of philosophy has spoken, and those whose ambition is to become leaders, they better listen to what this man is saying in this book. Reading this book should be the first step, and am sure you will find the experience rewarding, and when that happens you will not be the only one impressed by Mokoena’s wisdom and insights contained in this 232 page book. That I can bet. Written in simple language and short paragraphs, this is one of the easiest to read business books that is a compelling reading for those in business and outside business, who would like to calibrate their own path as leaders in society generally.