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Stories best

told by an

Engineering

executive

Engineering executive Dr Pat Mazibuko is breaking all

the stereotypes often associated with engineers. One

of these is that engineers can be impersonal, reserved

and take little interest in other people. Contrary to

this, Dr Pat has mastered the art of conversation, a

skill that resulted in him publishing Series 1 and 2 of

a book titled

Conversations with the Best

. Series 1 of

the book has earned Dr Pat a double nomination – for

Best Inspirational Book and Best Upcoming Male

Author – in the Book Behind Awards.

C

onversations with the Best

outlines some of the

impactful conversations that Dr Pat has had with

different people of all classes at different stages

of his life. Through the book, Dr Pat aims to

demonstrate the ancient wisdom of listening to those who

have travelled the path before. His belief is that the book

will touch the hearts and minds of readers. Series 2 of the

book deals with various issues including leadership lessons,

motivation, life skills, as well as topical issues like the

COVID-19 pandemic. Such conversations are meant to set

the agenda and create a chance for a leadership dialogue

at all levels.

“

Conversations with the Best

was informed by a deep

conversation on the N2with an old man that I was with.

We live in times where people are depressed by all sorts of

things, and I wanted to motivate people with practical and

real-life scenarios. This is not related to my professional

work but these are real-life lessons drawn from all walks of

life. The book gave me an opportunity to preach in a very

succinct way, thus touching the hearts and souls of people.

I took a leaf from the late Quincy Jones in his song: ‘What

good is a song if it can’t inspire, it is not good enough to sing.’

I then asked myself the question, ‘What good is a book if it

can’t inspire, then it is not good enough to read’,” said Dr Pat.

Dr Pat embraces education as part of getting a foot in the

door and believes that the current generation should not

only study to be employed but to create employment. In

describing his writing style, he says the book is meant to be

intriguing and some chapters will drive the reader to have a

conversation with the man in the mirror.

M U T A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E

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