Recounting how he seized opportunities from difficulties, Ralph de la Vega of AT&T makes it plain: “Embrace and Overcome Obstacles, Avoidance is a mistake.”
At age 10, waiting with his family to catch a flight from Havana to freedom, Ralph de la Vega saw his parents make a decision that shaped the rest of his life. Abruptly told by Cuban officials that “only the boy can go,” they had a wrenching decision to make. Their choice to send him to America alone set him on a lifelong course of facing tough situations head-on, always expecting to discover opportunity.
He has found - and often created - opportunity in abundance, all the way to the top ranks of the wireless industry as CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. Ralph de la Vega combines his compelling personal story with practical lessons for success in business and life in his book, OBSTACLES WELCOME (Thomas Nelson, October 2009).
The idea for the book came from audience reactions whenever de la Vega salted his speeches with childhood glimpses of being separated from family and figuring out how to get along in a strange country. Whether peer executives, employees or a Junior Achievement class, the first question always was the same – “how did you do it?” READ MORE »