A Dusty Road to Success: Mboweni’s marketplace sermon on purpose
Mathias Mhere’s song Favour best captures Douglas Mboweni’s autobiography titled A Dusty Road to Success: Principles of An Extraordinary Life. In one of the scenes in the video, Mhere appears to be chairing a board meeting from nowhere, typical of Mboweni’s ascension to the hot seat at Econet Wireless, now Zimbabwe’s largest telecoms service provider.
The title of the text itself conjures images of a long and arduous journey — chronicling his escape from Mwenezi district — which was back then associated with extreme poverty, isolation and a cruelly harsh environment — up until his surprise appointment as the CEO of Econet Wireless on April 1 2001, an occasion he had thought had been designed as an April Fools' Day prank.
He recounts: However, the founder of the group has his focus on an obscure young man who is not even on the shortlist. Though the young man has been in the organisation for sometime, he is just a techie with no track record of leadership at that level, at all, to be precise a novice in top leadership matters.
Being a prayerful man, the founder is convinced God has given a clear signal to appoint this young man as the incoming CEO. And so against all odds, the board proceeds to appoint Mboweni as the CEO of Econet.
Throughout the text Mboweni’s tone is a modest one echoing his character as that of a humble action-oriented man of esteemed character and substance whose energy is driven by purpose and leaving a lasting legacy as demonstrated by his articulate explanation of what he termed the Ipebsal model.
I have tested the principles in this book on my willing family, with astounding and exciting results, which I am now confident to share with the world.
For me A Dusty Road to Success is a perfect guide for a purposeful mindset in the marketplace and entrepreneurial spheres.
The mere fact that Mboweni escaped death by a whisker while sleeping in his dormitory in the midst of gunshots as Rhodesian soldiers pounced on Gokomere, his former high school back in 1978 in a clash which left hordes of soldiers dead and dozens of students injured, is testament of God’s purpose in his life and was indeed spared for a reason, which is evident through his solid footprint at the helm of Zimbabwe’s leading telecoms company.
It simply had to be divine intervention that occurred to protect and spare my life for a reason I am not yet conscious of. Could it be that this reason had to do with my purpose in life?
The book, thus, answers why it is important for one to discover their purpose and how anyone can discover their Godgiven purpose for their existence.
Most of the chapters and content in the text are married with specially designed illustrations, which act as a guide to the purpose of the chapter, for instance, in part one of the book the reader is welcomed by a colourful image which can be easily linked to his birth and entry into the world with the sun symbolising the dawn of a new era. The road is, however, dusty and seems like a long one filled with obstacles.
Apart from the illustrations, Mboweni also makes use of captivating stories which are all strategically placed in drawing important lessons, a good example being the buffalo hunter’s story, which consist of detailed tips on how one can succeed.
In a digital world where appearances matter most, A Dusty Road to Success is a book for those without an identity of their own.
It is a book for those without purpose and will help anyone to find their purpose, a book that will empower the disempowered.
It is a book for those willing to live a balanced life and a call to action.
A Dusty Road to Success is indeed a book for those striving to leave a lasting legacy.
It is Napoleon Bonaparte who is remembered to have remarked, “Men are led by toys” and Dr Mboweni’s success story validates this assertion.
The writer Fungayi Sox is a Harare-based communications consultant with special interest in education, book editing, digital media technologies and publishing. He can be contacted on +263 776 030 949 or on fun