Depth before visibility
Before anyone knows your name, know your craft. Do the reading no one claps for.
Don’t get seen before you’re ready to be studied.
Author · Leadership mentor · Executive coach · Speaker
Roots
Roots
before fruits.
I help African leaders and their organisations build what lasts: the character, clarity and discipline underneath the results.
Author of Roots Before Fruits
- 23 years leading in African business
- Formerly at Samsung · BCX · Canon · Adcorp
- Author, Roots Before Fruits
- Level 1 B-BBEE supplier
The new book
Roots Before Fruits.
Five principles for leaders who last.
R289 on pre-order until 15 January. R350 on release.
A manifesto for African professionals who’d rather build than perform.
You climbed. You arrived. The title changed, the boardroom got bigger, the respect got louder. So why does something still feel unfinished?
For twenty-three years, Letsau Mogale has sat inside the rooms where African leadership is forged and tested. In every room, the same pattern: leaders who impress for a season, and leaders who endure for a lifetime. The difference was never talent. It was never even opportunity. It was roots.
This is not a book about climbing faster. It is a book about growing deeper, so that when the storms come, and they will, you don’t just survive them. You reveal what you were made of all along.
258pages, paperback
152 × 229millimetres
978-1-0483-7343-1ISBN · paperback
15 Janpre-orders close
19 Febin your hands, signed
Launch day
The first copies came out of the ground.
Before anyone saw the book, it was buried beneath the roots of a tree. Then we dug it up, and I signed the first copies. That is the whole idea in one picture: what you build underground decides what grows above it.
The framework
Five roots. One way to lead.
The spine of every keynote, every essay and every coaching conversation.
Your soil is your story
The village, the township, the accent. Not noise to edit out. It is the nutrient source.
You can only out-build what it gave you.
Grow slow, stand long
A tree that grows in a year dies in a year. Compounding work is the only pace that stays.
Slow is not behind. Slow is built to stay.
Feed what’s beneath you
If your success doesn’t lift the people under you, it isn’t success. It’s extraction.
If you made it alone, you didn’t make it far enough.
Storms reveal roots
You only find out what you’re rooted in when the weather turns. Build now.
The storm showed you what was holding you up.
Free · 2 minutes
How deep are your roots?
Ten honest statements. See which of the five roots is carrying you, and which one needs feeding before the next storm.
- Instant result, on this page
- No sign-up needed
- Get your results and a practical next step by email if you want them
Pre-order · open
Reserve your copy.
Every pre-order pays for the print run. You are not buying a book off a shelf. You are putting one on it.
00days
00hours
00minutes
until the R289 pre-order price closes, 15 January at midnight.
1
Reserve
Fill in the form. You get your payment reference straight away.
2
Pay your way
Instantly with Ozow from your bank app, or by EFT into the company account below.
3
Confirmed
Ozow payments confirm automatically. For EFT, email your proof of payment and we confirm the same day.
4
By 19 February
Printed in January, signed and couriered, with tracking.
Your copy is reserved.
Your reference is
–Pay the total into the company account shown on this page, using the reference above, then email your proof of payment to info@letsaumogale.com. A copy of these instructions is in your inbox.
Banking details
Pay the company directly: instantly with Ozow, or by EFT from any bank or app.
- Bank
- Capitec Business
- Account name
- Letsau Mogale (Pty) Ltd
- Account number
- 1055869379
- Branch code
- 450105
- Account type
- Business account
- Reference
- Your surname + last 4 digits
Before you pay
- We will never send you different banking details by email, SMS or WhatsApp. If a message asks you to pay another account, it is not from us.
- Check this page first. Type letsaumogale.com yourself rather than following a link.
- A person confirms every order the same day. No reply in 24 hours? Contact us before doing anything else.
Who you are paying
- Company
- Letsau Mogale (Pty) Ltd
- Registration
- 2026/750332/07 (CIPC)
- B-BBEE
- Level 1
- Registered office
- C37 Cotswold Fenns, 117 Inanda Road, Hillcrest, KZN
- Publisher
- Letsau Mogale (Pty) Ltd
- Cover design and layout
- Inspired Publishing
For teams
Twenty copies, and thirty minutes of me.
For leadership programmes, graduate cohorts, management teams and exco offsites. Order in volume and I’ll join the session to take questions. Quotes, invoices and purchase orders welcome.
Request a quoteR2891 – 19 copies
R25920 – 49 copies
R23950 – 99 copies
100+Let’s talk
The work you don’t see determines the legacy you leave.Roots Before Fruits
What people say
In their words.
“Letsau walked into a group of eight separate brands and got them selling as one team. He brings structure without killing energy, and people follow him because he does the work first.”
“He took a team through Nigeria’s 2015 recession and came out with more trust from clients than we went in with. Calm under pressure, and honest when it counted.”
“Letsau rebuilt our Africa sales team and grew our share every year he led it. He understands African markets from the ground up, not from a slide.”
“He builds products and teams the same way: listen first, then execute with discipline. Our first-of-its-kind motor product happened because he wouldn’t accept ‘it can’t be done’.”
“[Coaching client] Six months with Letsau changed how I lead my team. He asks the question you’ve been avoiding, then helps you act on the answer.”
“[Early reader] Roots Before Fruits is the leadership book I wish I’d had at thirty. Practical, African and honest about the cost of getting it right.”
Work with Letsau
Four ways to work together.
For leadership teams, boards, conference organisers and growing companies across Southern Africa. You work with Letsau directly, never a junior team.
Keynotes
Boardroom-tested talks on leadership, character and Africa, tailored to the room.
- For
- Conferences, leadership offsites, summits and board retreats
- Format
- 30–60 minutes, in person or virtual, with Q&A
- Includes
- A briefing call, a talk tailored to your theme, signed books on request
Executive coaching
One-to-one work with senior leaders. Confidential, honest and limited in number.
- For
- Executives, new C-suite appointments, founders and senior managers
- Format
- Three- or six-month terms, fortnightly sessions, in person or online
- Includes
- Goal-setting with the leader (and sponsor, if any), sessions, check-ins between them
Leadership programmes
Cohort programmes on leadership, service excellence and leading in the age of AI.
- For
- Emerging leaders, graduate intakes, management teams
- Format
- Half-day workshops to multi-month cohorts, for groups of 10–40
- Includes
- Design around your goals, facilitation, workbooks and a copy of the book per delegate
Leadership mentoring
Experience-led mentoring for CEOs and founders on leadership, culture and succession.
- For
- CEOs, founders and senior leaders
- Format
- Monthly sessions over six or twelve months, taken on selectively
- Includes
- Regular one-to-one conversations, candid feedback from someone who has carried a P&L, support between sessions
The ROOTS method
- RReveal
- OOrient
- OOwn
- TTrack
- SSustain
Every programme and mentoring engagement follows the same five steps: diagnose with the people who live the problem, agree what success looks like, deliver alongside your leaders, measure change at 30, 60 and 90 days, and hand over so the habits stay.
01
Roots Before Fruits
The signature keynote. Five principles that separate leaders who last from leaders who peak.
02
The African Boardroom
What works when you build leadership culture at scale on this continent. Lessons from leading large teams in South Africa and Nigeria.
03
Faith in the Modern World
How leaders carry conviction into commerce without compromising either.
04
The Long Walk In
From a village in Limpopo to the boardroom, and the rooms we still have to build ourselves.
05
Leading the Next Africa
For executive teams and investors: why the next twenty years won’t look like the last twenty.
How we work
Clear from the first email to the last session.
01
Enquire
Tell us the date, the audience and what you need. We reply within 48 hours.
02
Talk
A short call to understand the room, the outcomes and the logistics. No charge.
03
Proposal
A written proposal with scope and a fixed fee, usually within three business days.
04
Confirm
Accept in writing and pay the deposit, or send a purchase order. Your date is then held.
05
Deliver
Preparation with your team, the work itself, and a follow-up afterwards.
Fees are quoted per engagement. Letsau Mogale (Pty) Ltd is a registered, Level 1 B-BBEE company and is not VAT-registered, so no VAT is added. Invoices can be paid by EFT or online with Ozow. Booking terms.
About
Letsau Mogale.
Ga-Kgapane. Botlokwa. Pretoria. The world. A voice for leaders who would rather build something that lasts than perform something that fades.
For 23 years I’ve sold, led and turned businesses around across Africa: from a sales floor in Pretoria to running a 108-person business in Lagos, and carrying billion-rand P&Ls at Samsung and BCX. Technology, financial services and large enterprise. Deals done, deals lost, lessons earned the expensive way.
I started writing, speaking and coaching because the leadership voices reaching African professionals were rarely African, rarely grounded, and almost never honest about the cost of getting it right. So I’m putting that wisdom in the room. Slowly, in my own voice, at the pace of a baobab rather than a feed.
I live in Pretoria with my family. I believe faith that can’t survive Monday morning isn’t really faith at all.
23years leading sales teams and businesses
R2bn+P&Ls carried at Samsung and BCX
108people led in Lagos, through a recession
WitsAdvanced Management Programme
Where I’ve led
The roots behind the book.
Group Commercial Executive, then Managing Executive
Adcorp and Torque IT
A R2 billion services portfolio, then Africa’s largest IT training business: 30 centres, 15,000 learners a year, and an academy that trains young Black technologists as certified trainers.
Head of Product and Operations
The Unlimited
Ten new insurance products and 50,000 new subscribers, including a first-of-its-kind motor insurance product.
Commercial Executive
BCX
Top-100 client portfolio. Launched South Africa’s first smart-city proof of concept, in Mbombela, with Huawei.
Sales Director
Samsung South Africa
R2 billion P&L and a team of 50. Launched the Galaxy Note 9 and piloted Samsung Pay in South Africa.
Managing Executive
BCX Nigeria, Lagos
108 people and a R2.38 billion budget. Led the business through Nigeria’s 2015 recession and an acquisition.
Africa Head of Sales
Canon South Africa
Grew Canon’s share across the continent by 10% a year, rebuilding the regional team.
Advanced Management Programme, Wits Business School · BCom Management studies, UNISA · Diploma in Marketing, Varsity College · Chartered Institute of Marketing
Lines from the work
Said once. Repeated often.
The deals you close in the room were won in the rooms you showed up to when nothing was at stake.On the boardroom
Africa is not rising. Africa has risen. The rest of the world is catching up.On the continent
Nobody saves you a seat at the table. You bring your own chair.On leadership
You cannot out-grow where you came from. You can only out-build what it gave you.On origin
The storm didn’t break you. It showed you what was holding you up.On resilience
Questions.
When will I get my copy of the book?
Pre-orders close on Friday 15 January 2027. The print run happens in late January, and signed copies are couriered from 8 February to reach you by Friday 19 February 2027, with a tracking number on dispatch. Buying it as a gift? Put their name and address in the delivery field.
How can I pay?
Instantly with Ozow, which lets you pay securely from your own bank’s app or online banking, or by EFT into the company account of Letsau Mogale (Pty) Ltd shown on this page. We never ask for card numbers, passwords or OTPs.
Can I cancel or get a refund?
Yes. You can cancel a pre-order for a full refund any time before it ships. After delivery you have 7 days to return the book for any reason, and 6 months if it is faulty. Refunds are paid within 10 business days. The full details are in our Terms.
Do you deliver outside South Africa?
Yes, on request. Email us with your address and we’ll quote the delivery cost before you pay.
How do I book Letsau for a keynote?
Use the form below with your event date, audience and topic. You’ll hear back within 48 hours about fit, availability and fees. Keynotes are usually confirmed 8 to 12 weeks ahead, though shorter timelines are sometimes possible.
What audiences are the right fit?
Executive teams, leadership offsites, corporate and industry conferences, graduate programmes and board retreats. The work suits rooms of 50 to 500 people doing serious work, not audiences after hustle-culture motivation.
Does Letsau take on coaching clients?
Yes, selectively. Executive coaching runs on three- or six-month terms with a small number of senior leaders each year. Confidentiality is absolute.
Can my company buy books with an invoice?
Yes. Letsau Mogale (Pty) Ltd is a registered, Level 1 B-BBEE company, so we can issue quotes and invoices and accept purchase orders. We are not VAT-registered, so our invoices carry no VAT. Ask for a bulk quote using the form below, and pay the invoice by EFT or on our payment page.
Contact
Let’s build something that lasts.
Speaking, coaching, mentoring, bulk orders or press. Every enquiry gets a reply within 48 hours.
info@letsaumogale.com
072 456 1142 · WhatsApp
Pretoria, South Africa
@letsaumogale