Dynamic young business marketer and strategist Musa Kalenga introduces us to Ladders & Trampolines, his model for how to be effective in the competitive arena of contemporary marketing.

The concept of a Ladder Mentality versus a Trampoline Mentality is a simple one. The step-by-step Ladder approach leads to incremental growth, which may be somewhat slow. However, the Trampoline approach, while using the same energy as climbing a ladder, produces exponential results.

The world has changed and marketing as a discipline has evolved; to get the full value of today’s ecosystem you have to seek out the trampolines. Trampoline thinking has been made possible by technology, access to information, and the globalisation of our society.

But Musa’s model is not applicable in business contexts only: for many young people it will be a powerful tool to help frame success, set more ambitious goals and dream beyond social and mental constraints. As both a change agent in his industry and in the digital arena, for the first time, Musa candidly shares his experiences in both the business world and in his personal life, in the process imparting knowledge that is both practical and insightful.

Himself the embodiment of a new breed of African youth who are not waiting for Africa to deliver but are actively shaping the future they want, he extends a challenge to others to take up the mantle and become leaders who can turn any scenario into a trampoline opportunity.

Ladders & Trampolines is an honest account of experiences that encourages thinking big, dreaming broad and having exponential impact.

About the author

Musa Kalenga is a change agent for the marketing landscape within sub-Saharan Africa. In 2012, he was voted one of the Top 200 Young South Africans by the Mail & Guardian newspaper. Between 2003 and 2011, Musa was hailed as a marketing fundi by Sunday World newspaper and has received much acclaim for his work, including an unprecedented three nominations for the prestigious Black Business Quarterly Awards in 2008.

Ladders & Trampolines is published by Tracey McDonald publishers