Author presents the life of legendary Zulu King Shaka as model to run business
German-born academic Dr Nik Eberl has presented the life of the legendary Zulu King Shaka as a model to run a business for entrepreneurs across the world.
In his book: The Courage to Disrupt (Impi Ebomvu): Innovation Secrets from Emperor Shaka Zulu, Eberl summarises Shaka’s innovation secrets as The IziCwe Code.
In an interview Eberl said when he first came to the shores of the Zulu Kingdom twenty years ago, he had the good fortune of meeting the famous historian Professor Mazisi Kunene who urged him to emulate what he had done in Germany for the Roman Emperor Nero – to separate fact from fiction – for the legendary Zulu King Shaka.
Eberl said: “For the past 20 years, I have been digging through the archives, visiting the battlefields, and sifting through the propaganda of the history books to uncover the true legacy of the Great Emperor – a legacy that is best described by a term that has recently gained acclaim in the business literature of the 21st century: disruptive innovation.”
The book, the first of its kind, portrays the Zulu warrior in a very different way that he had been presented to the world before, an innovator, a model for entrepreneurs.
Eberl with Geness Foundation will be launching his book on Thursday said: “King Shaka’s military innovations, from weaponry to battle formations and even revolutionary new societal norms, incorporate many of the strategies the world’s greatest innovators of recent times have adopted to conquer hitherto unassailable industries and build billion-dollar brands in record time – such as Uber, Airbnb, WhatsApp, and Instagram.”
Founder of the Geness Foundation, Dr Sheena Geness who originally hails from KwaZulu Natal, said that the book provided a rich body of knowledge and experience which school learners, university students, entrepreneurs, academics, NGO's and business at large could benefit from. The significance of the launch cannot be over emphasized in the light of the recent 200 year anniversary of King Shaka's ascension to the throne.
The objectives of the book launch dovetail strongly with the mission of the Geness Foundation to positively change African lives through initiatives that support amongst others education and entrepreneurship.
As a proudly African organisation, the Geness Foundation is privileged to be associated with the rich body of African wisdom which is relevant for South Africa, Africa and the world at large.
Dr Geness indicates that a growing partnership is developing with Dr Eberl towards the ultimate establishment of the King Shaka Academy in South Africa. The scope of the King Shaka Academy will be to keep the Emperor's Innovation and marketing legacy alive, whilst providing a platform for teaching and research in ideas management, marketing and branding strategies of the Great Emperor for the benefit of scholars around the world.