Josephine A. Okot

The Empathic Civilisation by Jeremy Rifkin
(Tarcher, 2009)

Rifkin has been called “one of the leading big-picture thinkers of our day,” and in this book, he investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.

A well-researched, well-thought out read that forces the reader to re-examine the conventional ideas about human nature espoused by schools, religious systems and governments. His basic premise is that the root of our problems is we have a mindset that is ill-suited to the present era of instant global communication — we are still operating according to an outdated view of the world.

Josephine A. Okot is managing director of Victoria Seeds Ltd, Uganda

Japheth Katto
The Fearful Rise of Markets by John Authers

The book elucidates how the world’s financial markets became synchronised, how they formed a bubble, how they all managed to crash together and then tried to rebound together.

It also articulates what can be done to prevent another synchronised bust in future.

Japheth Katto is CEO of Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority

Charles Businge

It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower by Michela Wrong

Issues like corruption create risks of reversing the gains made so far in eradicating poverty in Africa. If you are not a thief then you are a problem.

Charles Businge is country director of ActionAid International Uganda

Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz.

(Rodale Books, 2010)

Novogratz is founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a non-profit venture capital firm for the poor that invests in sustainable enterprises bringing healthcare, safe water, alternative energy, and housing to low-income people in the developing world.

Reading this book will enable the reader to understand the importance of giving communities the ability to generate wealth for themselves instead of just giving them handouts. This is a more sustainable approach of getting people out of poverty.

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is founder and CEO of Conservation through Public Health, Uganda

Maurice Toroitich

The Art of War for Executives by Donald G. Krause

(Pedigree Trade, 2007)

Krause re-interprets Sun Tzu’s ancient principles of war for the modern businessperson, offering the skills to gain an advantage and achieve success on the corporate battlefield. This book is fun and very simple to read. According to Sun Tzu, the ideal general wins the war even before the fighting begins — first, by developing his character over time; and second, by creating a critical strategic advantage.

A successful general gains critical strategic advantage by placing his organisation in a position where it cannot be defeated and waiting for the enemy to give him an opportunity to win — principles that can be applied in any business environment. It is a book that you can carry around and each time you read it, you get a new idea about what to do in your business or personal circumstances.

Maurice Toroitich is managing director of KCB Bank Rwanda

Themba Khumalo
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by C. K. Prahalad
This book talks about eradicating poverty through profit.

It shows that when the business community comes up with business solutions, they should include the poorest of the poor. In this way, both the business community and the poor grow in what a process of inclusive development.

Themba Khumalo is CEO of MTN Uganda

Charles Hamya

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by C. K. Prahalad

This book gives practical experiences from elsewhere in the developing world on how businesses in East Africa can transform themselves by innovatively creating and pricing their products and services in a manner that wins the loyalty of the mass market, whose spending power on a consumer-to-consumer basis would ordinarily appear unattractive.

Charles Hamya is general manager at MultiChoice Uganda

Philip Odera

Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance by Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjelle A. Nordstrom Completely revolutionary thinking in the business arena. They are probably decades ahead of us all.

Philip Odera is managing director of Stanbic Bank Uganda

Fabian Kasi,

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

I find this book very suitable for upcoming business leaders. If a leader follows these rules, then people will follow the leader and not be merely managed by him/her.

Fabian Kasi is managing director of Centenary Bank, Uganda

Richard Byarugaba

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Jobs was a big producer of IT products, and he did it in a fascinating way, experiencing both failure and success in his business career. His biography teaches us why failure in life or business should not be failure.

Richard Byarugaba is managing director of Uganda’s National Social Security Fund

Henry Bazira

The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Howard Yergin

The book exposes the intricacies of the oil and gas industry in the world going beyond governance and legal practices, examining the impact of unconventional methods like insider trading and bribery.

Henry Bazira is chairman of the Civil Society Coalition on Oil and Gas in Uganda and executive director of the Water Governance Institute

Edith Kibalama

An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Mahadev H. Desai
In this book there are very many lessons about truth and humility as well as resilience in order to achieve success.

Edith Kibalama is executive director of Kituo Cha Katiba: The Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development

Lillian Mugerwa

Adult Domestic Workers in Uganda: An Analysis of Human Rights and Social Injustice by Dauda Waiswa.

This book highlights the types of invisible abuse in homes and all of us can begin to work on these abuses as change agents.

Lillian Mugerwa is executive director of Platform for Labour Action, Uganda

Richard Ssewakiryanga

Social Meaning of Land in Buganda by Holly Hansen
This book focuses on the issue of land and its meaning in Africa, showing that land is not only an economic asset but also a social asset.

Richard Ssewakiryanga is executive director of the Uganda NGO Forum

Godber W. Tumushabe

Built To Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras

This book talks about the successful habits of visionary companies.

Godber W. Tumushabe is executive director at Advocates Coalition for Development & Environment (ACODE)

Achilles Byaruhanga

The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller

This book benefits a leader in terms of the organisational frame and at the same time inspires the people who look to you for guidance.

Achilles Byaruhanga, executive director, Nature Uganda

David Njoroge

Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosabi
Kiyosabi teaches us how to invest and manage cash flows; in other words, how to grow rich.

David Njoroge is general manager at Hima Cement

Alex Wanjohi

Too Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin

Sorkin recreates the drama and turmoil of the global financial crisis of 2007-8, which nearly brought the world to its knees. Sorkin’s book is ideal if one wants a quick overview into the events that led up to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2007.

The lesson is that “no organisation is too big to fail” and there is no alternative to doing things the old fashioned way – if you don’t understand it, don’t do it!

Alex Wanjohi is managing director of the Chartis Uganda Insurance Company Ltd

Emily Drani

Discourses on Deference. Discourses on Oppression edited by Norman Duncan and others

This book looks at how ethnic, religious, cultural and political differences are managed. It tries to argue that there isn’t much difference between us, especially in a multicultural context.

Emily Drani is executive director of the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda

Livingstone Ssewanyana

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
This book presents useful insights into how parents can nurture their children for successful business careers.

Livingstone Ssewanyana is executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

Justus Mutiga
Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki

Kawasaki’s take on how to outsmart, out-manage and out-market the competition may have some of the familiar business advice — such as “arrive 30 minutes early for your interview” but it also has some gems on how to craft a clear vision for your business to gain the upper hand in the marketplace.

Today’s customer is well informed because they can use the Internet to gather information and do research on what kind of product or business experience they want.

As the title of the book states, it is a reality check for business leaders, that the customer really does have the upper hand. Business leaders need to understand their position in the marketplace, and they have to ask themselves where they really want to take the business.

Justus Mutiga is head of the ICEA Lion Life Assurance Company, Kenya

Richard Sezibera
The Black Swan by Nicolas Taleb

A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11.

For Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. He argues that most of the really big events in our world are rare and unpredictable, and thus trying to extract generalisable stories to explain them may be emotionally satisfying, but it’s practically useless. This book is a gem because it helps one appreciate and plan for expected and unexpected happenings.

Dr Richard Sezibera is Secretary General of the East African Community

Joseph Mucheru

God is Back by John Micklethwait and Adrian Woodridge
(Penguin, 2010)
The editor in chief of the Economist and its Lexington columnist show how the global rise of religion will dramatically impact our century.

Contrary to the popular assumption that modernism would lead to the rejection of faith, American-style evangelism has sparked a global revival.

The book moves beyond the standard analysis to argue that religion offers people a wide range of additional social rewards beyond economic ones, including comfort, community and meaning. Because modern life tends to cut people off from tradition, it creates a longing to reconnect that religion can satisfy. Thus, the more advanced a country becomes, the greater its people’s need for faith to fill in the gaps left by cultural change.

Joseph Mucheru is regional lead, Sub-Saharan Africa, Google Kenya

Joseph S. Kitamirike

Confessions of An Economic Hit Man by John Perkins

This book opens up a new perspective of the world that people do not usually see.

He paints a very ugly picture of what happens in the economic world. He gets the reader to question some of the economic arrangements by which the superpowers run the world.

Joseph S. Kitamirike is chief executive of the Uganda Securities Exchange