Dr Gustav Gous obtained his Doctorate (cum laude), in Ecumenical Studies & International Relations from the University of Pretoria, following his research in Geneva, Switzerland. He also has degrees in Philosophy and Psychology. He lectured at the University of South Africa (4 years) and the University of Pretoria (4 years), and has published two academic books. In 2009 he was elected President of the Professional Speakers Assoication of Southern Africa (PSASA)
Professional life & Career:
- Executive Coaching: Gustav acts as a life coach for a number of senior executives. He has developed the Diamond Profiling©technique as structuring principle for psychometric information and the Life Mapping©method to integrate life/work planning.
- He is also known for his counselling skills and acted as company counsellor for the international petrochemical company Sasol for nine years. He has developed and presented 'train-the-counsellor' programmes on 'Counseling Skills in Corporate Context' and 'Basic Counselling Skills: HIV/AIDS Counselling'.
- Gustav is the founder and Managing Director of the company Short Walk Seminars (Pty) Ltd.
- Gustav is also known for his 'Short Walk to Freedom' transformational executive leadership programmes on Robben Island.
- Motivational Speaker: He rates amongst the best motivational speakers in South Africa, and also tours the international motivational speaking circuit. He has released three motivational audio CD's. He is known for his keynotes on:
- The Diamond Team
- Use stress to achieve success
- Motivation beyond the summit
- Emotional intelligence at work
- Creating a great corporate culture
- The game of life and how to play it
Gustav has extensive national and international experience not only as motivational speaker, but also as consultant and facilitator, serving clients in Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom. Gustav's part time passion is to develop programmes to reconcile intra- and inter-religious differences and he has extensive experience in this field.