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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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