"Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, shares the lessons learned in business and in life along the journey from Cuba to Corporate America.
Ralph de la Vega arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1962. He was alone. He was scared. He was 10. Separated from his parents by Cuban authorities just moments before they were to board a plane to Miami, de la Vega was baptized early-and abruptly-in the waters of adversity. It would be four long years before his mother, father, and sister gained legal passage to America. But while the boy would never have chosen such circumstance, it's the man who can look back and say he would not have changed it.
In Obstacles Welcome, de la Vega recounts his journey as a young Cuban immigrant to president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). A frontliner in the converging worlds of technology and communications, de la Vega takes readers behind the scenes of the Internet revolution, shares insights from the nation's top technology companies, and chronicles the incredible obstacles intrinsic to successfully merging the largest wireless operations in U.S. history-those of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless.
Obstacles Welcome is an innovation manifesto for those committed to bigger thinking and greater results both professionally and personally. He clearly defines how to:
* Create a detailed action plan to boost success
* Identify and take calculated risks without fear
* Create a values-centric, decisive leadership style
* Transform vision into measurable results
* Recognize opportunities and overcome obstacles
* Communicate well and build alignment
* Unlearn thinking that hinders innovation
* Dream big and throw off mental limits once and for all
Opening a powerful cache of business strategy and in-the-trenches wisdom, de la Vega illustrates that within each obstacle we encounter, there's an opportunity that carries the potential to transform our thinking, our organizations, our communities, and our world."
Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega is an inspiring and motivational book about how a young refugee came to the United States alone from Cuba. He came to Miami and was taken in by a young married couple, Arnaldo and Ada Baez. Ralph did not see his parents until he had been in Miami for 4 years. He decided as a young boy that being negative was not going to be an option for him. He learned at a young age how to overcome adversity and be successful in his life.
The message in this story is how we can overcome most any obstacles that enter our lives. Obstacles can be opportunities for us to grow in our professional and private lives. Basicly if we want to be successful we need to learn new ways and unlearn things that are creating obstacles in our lives. I think the phrase "think outside of the box" works well for all of us and a good leader has to have a vision and be able to get his people to own that vision so they all can be successful.
I have read a few motivational books and I found that this one was very easy to read and understandable in what Ralph was trying to get across. Communication, enpowerment, maximizing the potential of people around you as a leader is a way for any company and staff to be successful. A leader has to be able to "talk the talk and walk the walk" and take obstacles and turn them into opportunities for improvement.
I liked the graphics that are scattered in the book. These pictures showed the message that Ralph was trying to get across to the reader and the summing up at the end of each chapter as takeaway messages from that chapter. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a difference in their personal and professional lives.
I received this complimentary copy of Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega from Book Sneeze (Thomas Nelson Publishing)for an honest review.
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