Charles Leonard Mavuso worked for me in my business SPA Consultants in the early 90s. As a trade unionist with the South African Chemical Workers Union he was intrigued at my inclusive approach during wage negotiations where I insisted that information sharing be essential to the process. Having joined our business for a period of three years and learned the ropes of management consulting he went on to an illustrious career as a Human Resources practitioner across several industries.
Let me say two things upfront about this book: First, it is a brave undertaking, describing from scratch his personal journey in a 150-page book. Second, I found his descriptions of the challenges he encountered and the clear way in which he described how he dealt with them interesting, but then I have a background in Human Resources and Strategy consulting, so in a way it confirmed some of my consulting advice as well as some of the learnings he may have had when he worked with us.
His book ‘When the phone stops ringing’ reads like a classic ”how to” guide, like “How to keep your Volkswagen alive”, or “How to cook everything” or “How to survive anything”, many pages contained what the challenge/issue was followed by a step-by-step guide as to how Leonard set about both leading and managing it.
In that respect I don’t think the book will be everybody’s cup of tea, but I do think it is essential reading for anyone who aspires to follow a career in human resources. In fact, I would even go as far as saying that it should be prescribed reading at any institution which offers a degree or a diploma in HR management/ leadership.
Certainly for anyone who is currently in an HR role and struggling, my advice, get hold of this book, it will become your bible.
Leonard and I walked the Fish River Canyon together as part of a teambuilding exercise, we called each other ‘Canyonman’ for ages afterwards, on our way back when we stopped at Kuruman for breakfast Leonard was refused entry – mad times! We also developed a cost-of-living index for the Kingdom of eSwatini which was used by employers and employees alike for many years as a vital ingredient to the wage negotiation process. His career from those early days is an inspiration, especially to those who would like to follow in his footsteps.
Printed by Urban Publishing 2025
ISBN 978-1-83489-036-4
leonardmavuso7@gmail.com
By Steuart Pennington
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