
Genius
How to Thrive at the Edge of Chaos
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.51
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Bruce Whitfield
-
By:
-
Bruce Whitfield
About this listen
South Africa and its fraught political economy provide a fascinating case study into how it takes a particular brand of genius to thrive in a difficult domestic environment and to take the ideas and the businesses that deliver them from local to global. Genius tells the stories of some of the extraordinary individuals, companies and industries whose ideas, products and raw materials solve problems and add value across the globe.
Greatness comes from acting on purpose, and there is a generation of South Africans solving problems for the future. Learn how Pratley beat Armstrong to the moon, how a former Eskom quantity surveyor capitalised on Britain’s obsession with meerkats to create the UK’s most visible price comparison website, how to take a Mediterranean-style food concept to the Mediterranean, and how a device designed to beat diamond smuggling made it from the set of a popular US hospital drama into emergency rooms and pathology labs across the US.
©2022 Pan Macmillan South Africa (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
-
Truth to Power
- My Three Years Inside Eskom
- By: André de Ruyter
- Narrated by: Nicky Rebelo
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When André de Ruyter took over as Eskom CEO in January 2020, he quickly realised why it was considered the toughest job in South Africa. Aside from neglected equipment, ageing power stations and an eroded skills base, he discovered that Eskom was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale. De Ruyter takes the listener inside the boardrooms and government meetings where South Africa’s future is shaped, with ministers often pulling in conflicting directions, and candidly reflects on his three years at the power utility.
-
-
Precursor to America's societal decay.
- By joel on 11-30-24
By: André de Ruyter
-
The Stellenbosch Mafia
- Inside the Billionaire's Club
- By: Pieter du Toit
- Narrated by: Dylan Oosthuizen
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 50km outside of Cape Town lies the beautiful town of Stellenbosch, nestled against vineyards and blue mountains that stretch to the sky. Here reside some of South Africa’s wealthiest individuals: all male, all Afrikaans - and all stinking rich. Johann Rupert, Jannie Mouton, Markus Jooste and Christo Weise, to name a few. Julius Malema refers to them scathingly as ‘The Stellenbosch Mafia’, the very worst example of white monopoly capital. But who really are these mega-wealthy individuals, and what influence do they exert?
-
-
What a pity
- By Patrick S. on 08-16-19
By: Pieter du Toit
-
Magda
- My Journey
- By: Magda Wierzycka
- Narrated by: Jolanta Durno
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The founder of multibillion-rand financial services empire Sygnia Limited, Magda Wierzycka is South Africa’s most successful businesswoman. In this engaging and insightful book, she tells the story of her life, from her childhood in communist Poland, her family’s escape and relocation to South Africa, her early struggles in the male-dominated financial services industry and the formation and growth of her own company, Sygnia.
-
-
What a BOOK
- By Rurik McKaiser on 06-14-24
By: Magda Wierzycka
-
Miracle Men
- How Rassie’s Springbok’s Won the World Cup
- By: Lloyd Burnard
- Narrated by: Rory Acton Burnell
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Rassie Erasmus took over as coach of the Springboks in 2018, few thought they had a chance of winning the Rugby World Cup. The Boks had slipped to seventh in the world rankings and lost the faith of the rugby-loving public. Less than two years later, jubilant crowds lined the streets of South Africa’s cities to welcome back the victorious team. Sportswriter Lloyd Burnard takes the listener on the thrilling journey of a team that went from no-hopers to world champions. He examines how exactly this turnaround was achieved.
-
-
Great insight
- By Anonymous User on 01-05-24
By: Lloyd Burnard
-
The Psychology of Money
- Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness
- By: Morgan Housel
- Narrated by: Chris Hill
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Money - investing, personal finance, and business decisions - is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don’t make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money.
-
-
Could be summarized in one sentence
- By Alex on 05-30-21
By: Morgan Housel
-
Fortunes
- The Rise and Rise of Afrikaner Tycoons
- By: Ebbe Dommisse
- Narrated by: Adrian Galley
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The past three decades have seen a remarkable rise of Afrikaners in business. With Koos Bekker at its helm, media group Naspers began dominating the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and was turned into a global consumer internet group. Johann Rupert strongly extended Richemont’s share internationally in the upper-end market of luxury goods, while Christo Wiese and Whitey Basson at Pepkor and Shoprite became Africa’s largest clothing and food retailers.
-
-
The breadth of research was impressive.
- By Anonymous User on 02-28-25
By: Ebbe Dommisse
-
Truth to Power
- My Three Years Inside Eskom
- By: André de Ruyter
- Narrated by: Nicky Rebelo
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When André de Ruyter took over as Eskom CEO in January 2020, he quickly realised why it was considered the toughest job in South Africa. Aside from neglected equipment, ageing power stations and an eroded skills base, he discovered that Eskom was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale. De Ruyter takes the listener inside the boardrooms and government meetings where South Africa’s future is shaped, with ministers often pulling in conflicting directions, and candidly reflects on his three years at the power utility.
-
-
Precursor to America's societal decay.
- By joel on 11-30-24
By: André de Ruyter
-
The Stellenbosch Mafia
- Inside the Billionaire's Club
- By: Pieter du Toit
- Narrated by: Dylan Oosthuizen
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 50km outside of Cape Town lies the beautiful town of Stellenbosch, nestled against vineyards and blue mountains that stretch to the sky. Here reside some of South Africa’s wealthiest individuals: all male, all Afrikaans - and all stinking rich. Johann Rupert, Jannie Mouton, Markus Jooste and Christo Weise, to name a few. Julius Malema refers to them scathingly as ‘The Stellenbosch Mafia’, the very worst example of white monopoly capital. But who really are these mega-wealthy individuals, and what influence do they exert?
-
-
What a pity
- By Patrick S. on 08-16-19
By: Pieter du Toit
-
Magda
- My Journey
- By: Magda Wierzycka
- Narrated by: Jolanta Durno
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The founder of multibillion-rand financial services empire Sygnia Limited, Magda Wierzycka is South Africa’s most successful businesswoman. In this engaging and insightful book, she tells the story of her life, from her childhood in communist Poland, her family’s escape and relocation to South Africa, her early struggles in the male-dominated financial services industry and the formation and growth of her own company, Sygnia.
-
-
What a BOOK
- By Rurik McKaiser on 06-14-24
By: Magda Wierzycka
-
Miracle Men
- How Rassie’s Springbok’s Won the World Cup
- By: Lloyd Burnard
- Narrated by: Rory Acton Burnell
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Rassie Erasmus took over as coach of the Springboks in 2018, few thought they had a chance of winning the Rugby World Cup. The Boks had slipped to seventh in the world rankings and lost the faith of the rugby-loving public. Less than two years later, jubilant crowds lined the streets of South Africa’s cities to welcome back the victorious team. Sportswriter Lloyd Burnard takes the listener on the thrilling journey of a team that went from no-hopers to world champions. He examines how exactly this turnaround was achieved.
-
-
Great insight
- By Anonymous User on 01-05-24
By: Lloyd Burnard
-
The Psychology of Money
- Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness
- By: Morgan Housel
- Narrated by: Chris Hill
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Money - investing, personal finance, and business decisions - is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don’t make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money.
-
-
Could be summarized in one sentence
- By Alex on 05-30-21
By: Morgan Housel
-
Fortunes
- The Rise and Rise of Afrikaner Tycoons
- By: Ebbe Dommisse
- Narrated by: Adrian Galley
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The past three decades have seen a remarkable rise of Afrikaners in business. With Koos Bekker at its helm, media group Naspers began dominating the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and was turned into a global consumer internet group. Johann Rupert strongly extended Richemont’s share internationally in the upper-end market of luxury goods, while Christo Wiese and Whitey Basson at Pepkor and Shoprite became Africa’s largest clothing and food retailers.
-
-
The breadth of research was impressive.
- By Anonymous User on 02-28-25
By: Ebbe Dommisse
-
The Bomber Mafia
- A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in Central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
-
-
Listen to the same story on his podcast for free
- By Dustin on 04-28-21
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.
- By: Benjamin Graham
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The greatest investment advisor of the 20th century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing" - which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies - has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market Bible ever since its original publication in 1949.
-
-
This book does not belong on audio
- By Craig on 09-12-17
By: Benjamin Graham
-
The Infinite Game
- By: Simon Sinek
- Narrated by: Simon Sinek
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules, and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable, while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers - only ahead and behind. The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we’re in? In this revelatory new audiobook, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset.
-
-
I love Sinek but...
- By Amazon Customer on 11-11-19
By: Simon Sinek
-
Crucial Conversations (Third Edition)
- Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
- By: Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, and others
- Narrated by: Emily Gregory, Joseph Grenny
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The book that revolutionized business communications has been updated for today's workplace. Crucial Conversations provides powerful skills to ensure every conversation - especially difficult ones - leads to the results you want. Written in an engaging and witty style, it teaches listeners how to be persuasive rather than abrasive, how to get back to productive dialogue when others blow up or clam up, and it offers powerful skills for mastering high-stakes conversations, regardless of the topic or person.
-
-
Great info; needs a cast, PDF and a website update
- By Kali on 04-25-22
By: Joseph Grenny, and others
-
Freezing Order
- A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, State-Sponsored Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath
- By: Bill Browder
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Browder’s young Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in a Moscow jail in 2009, Browder cast aside his business career and made it his life’s mission to pursue justice for Sergei. One of the first steps of that mission was to uncover who had killed Sergei and profited from the $230 million corruption scheme that he had exposed. As Browder and his team tracked the money that flowed out of Russia—through the Baltics and Cyprus and on to Western Europe and the Americas—they discovered that Vladimir Putin himself was one of the beneficiaries of the crime.
-
-
Red Notice Part II —- The Empire Struck Out
- By R. Alembik on 04-16-22
By: Bill Browder
-
33 Strategies of War
- By: Robert Greene
- Narrated by: Donald Coren
- Length: 27 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
33 Strategies of War is a comprehensive guide to the subtle social game of everyday life, informed by the most ingenious and effective military principles in war. It's the I-Ching of conflict, the contemporary companion to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and is abundantly illustrated with examples from history, including the folly and genius of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher, Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, movie moguls to samurai swordsmen.
-
-
Great for thinkers
- By Mathew on 06-17-18
By: Robert Greene
-
Why Nations Fail
- The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
- By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?
-
-
Pros and Cons of "Why Nations Fail"
- By Joshua Kim on 05-01-12
By: Daron Acemoglu, and others
-
Measure What Matters
- How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
- By: John Doerr, Larry Page - foreword
- Narrated by: John Doerr, full cast, Julia Collins, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Measure What Matters, Doerr shares a broad range of first-person, behind-the-scenes case studies, with narrators including Bono and Bill Gates, to demonstrate the focus, agility, and explosive growth that the Objectives and Key Results system has spurred at so many great organizations. This book will help a new generation of leaders capture the same magic.
-
-
Last chapter covers what matters most
- By Dan Richards on 06-08-18
By: John Doerr, and others
-
Think Again
- The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn.
-
-
Only Good if you've never questioned anything.
- By Victor Alvia on 02-10-21
By: Adam Grant
-
Tribe of Mentors
- Short Life Advice from the Best in the World
- By: Tim Ferriss
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith, Ray Porter, Tim Ferriss, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tim Ferriss, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, shares the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure book - a compilation of tools, tactics, and habits from 130+ of the world's top performers. From iconic entrepreneurs to elite athletes, from artists to billionaire investors, their short profiles can help you answer life's most challenging questions, achieve extraordinary results, and transform your life.
-
-
Maybe not a good format for an audio-book version
- By M. Arthur Cré on 06-13-20
By: Tim Ferriss
-
Get Out of Your Own Way
- How to Overcome Any Obstacle in Your Life
- By: Larry Winget
- Narrated by: Larry Winget
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You think you know what you want in life. You've tried to achieve those things. But if you still don't have them, the culprit may be closer than you think. In this perspective-altering program, the world-renowned Pitbull of Personal Development(tm), Larry Winget, exposes the things you are doing right now to unknowingly prevent your own success in the most important areas of your life.
-
-
Was just OK
- By KatieReviewsStuff on 01-30-17
By: Larry Winget
-
I Hate the Ivy League
- Riffs and Rants on Elite Education
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Malcolm Gladwell has long relished the opportunity to skewer the upper echelons of higher education, from the institution of U.S. News & World Report’s Best College rankings to the LSATs to the luxe Bowdoin College cafeteria. I Hate the Ivy League: Riffs and Rants on Elite Education, upends the traditional thinking around how education should work and tries to get to the bottom of why we often reward the wrong people.
-
-
Great content but don’t bother purchasing if you have heard the podcasts
- By katieKo on 10-23-22
By: Malcolm Gladwell
What listeners say about Genius
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 07-14-24
Proudly South African
Bruce did a great job here both in the content and read! Great that this books goes into the political landscape and the private sector of South Africa. Inspirational stories of entrepreneurs big and small. Typical optimism and wit of South Africans rising above! Well done Bruce!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 05-18-23
Great read
Really loved the language & the content is highly informative. Compelling arguments & great to hear a narration by the author
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 08-24-22
Entertaining, informative and inspirational
Bruce really engages the reader/ listener with a book that informs, entertains and inspires by brilliantly unpacking the numerous (in scope and breadth) achievements of so many South Africans and SA companies.
Reminds us all about how success is both idea and effort!
It also gives investors (in the JSE) great insight into activities and global forays of South African companies.
Also gives a stark reminder of the need for government to create enabling environment.
Highly, highly, highly recommend!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-02-22
Great read
Excellent story of the successes coming out of South Africa. The innovation, the perseverance and the hidden secrets that are an inspiration. Highly recommended, Nandos is my favorite export!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!