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Q&A WITH RALPH DE LA VEGA: AT&T Mobility CEO welcomes obstacles | By Mara Dresner | Q. You came to the United States from Cuba when you were 10, without your parents, without any money, and unable to speak English. You mention that when you first left Cuba it seemed like an adventure. Did it ever start to feel overwhelming?
A. After the novelty wore off and I realized I was in a foreign country ... without my family and knowing they were not coming any time soon, my thinking began to change from this being an adventure to maybe I did something wrong to deserve this. I was alone, with no family. I was with [family] friends. We didn't have a lot of money. It was a tough environment. I began to view the situation kind of as a victim. I don't know what made me do it. It was not likely to change the situation; my parents weren't going to come soon. I had to make the best of the situation and not look back. I wanted to make them proud and have a good life together. That's what drove me during the first period of time when I was here. It dawned on me I was in a very difficult spot compared to how I was used to living. In Cuba I was surrounded by family. My grandmother had seven children. There were always aunts and uncles to take me places. Missing my family made it a really tough time. I've been telling people ever since then that everything has been relatively easy compared to those days.
Q. You had a good job as a teen in a garment factory, having worked your way up to salesperson from sweeping the floors. Why was it so important to go back to school and get a degree?
A. I had always viewed those jobs as jobs to help me get by until I could achieve my dream at the time, to be an engineer. I was good at math, I was good at science, I liked to build things. I ... wanted to have the opportunity to be an engineer. I viewed those jobs as nice, they were tempting. I never let that early success keep me from a bigger dream that was more elusive and difficult to achieve. When my high school counselor saw fairly average grades and no financial means, he recommended that I not pursue my dreams of being an engineer, that I settle for being a mechanic. But that wasn't what I hoped for and dreamed. I was, eventually, able wipe out that limitation. I realized that if I listened to his advice, I was letting someone else put limitations on what I could do. Once that was removed, the rest is history. I find especially with young people that if you put limits on them, that can be very damaging. Sometimes they accept those limits.
Q. In Obstacles Welcome, you mention six pivotal points in your life, including the Cuban Revolution and its impact on your family; restoring South Florida's telecommunications network after Hurricane Andrew; and overseeing the merger of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless. What traits do those pivotal points share and what general lessons did you learn from them?
A. I think the traits they share is that they were turbulent times when technology was changing, the economy was changing. Something dramatic was happening. You couldn't have incremental change and get by. There needed to be dramatic change in the situation. I was learning something, doing something. In those very turbulent times, I did my best, learned the most, was the most engaged, the most challenged and the most energized by the situation. Even though it was a difficult situation, it made you look at the world in a different way.
Q. What do you mean when you talk about being the driver not the passenger in your journey?
A. I mean that we have to take control of the journey and not be kind of swept along or taken along. If you want to go somewhere, you should have the vision, but you should also have a plan on how to get there so it doesn't happen by happenstance. You need to have a thoughtful plan for how to get there, driving to your destination, with mileposts as to whether you're making progress. ... You've got to navigate the situation to get to your vision and dream. It's not going to be a straight line. You're not going to continue to make progress. Otherwise, all you have is just a dream and no way to get there.
Q. How does a leader help his or her team get on board for a large change, such as the Cingular/AT&T Wireless merger?
A. We had a very clear vision of what we wanted to do. It was something along the lines of we were merging two good companies, and when we merge, we'll have one great company. Our mission was to be #1 in this industry. We asked people if they wanted to be part of something special, something they'd be proud to tell their grandchildren about. If you want to help create this company, this is the job for you. We tried to paint the picture of what the future could be. It was something historic. ... It was risky to do what we did. When people believe in the vision, when they engage in it, it is a very powerful force. People are motivated to achieve that vision, to break through almost every wall. That's exactly what happened in our case.
Q. Why is communication such a challenge in so many organizations?
A. I think the issue with communication is that it's not just communication. It's ensuring that your communication is received and appropriately interpreted. Sometimes we get so busy, we say something and think it's received in the same way. There's a transmitter and a receiver. In between, there can always be interference, it can be misinterpreted. ... It's a loop. You have to make sure your communication is received and interpreted. You have to keep your communication clear, concise and consistent, so people don't get a mixed message. If you keep things simple, concise and consistent, and communicate it enough times, people will absolutely get it. ...
I did a presentation today, in a Standing Room Only auditorium and 10,000 people on the web cast, about our priorities for 2010. I said, "Here's the Top 4, here's why they're the Top 4 , here's what we need to be doing about them." It was simple enough that people will remember them and keep them in the forefront. If you tell them 20 different things, by the time the conversation is finished, they only remember two or three things. Why not just tell them the two or three most important things? ...
You can't over-communicate important issues. Sometimes that seems redundant to a leader.
Q. What about sacrifice? You don't hear that word mentioned much.
A. That's true. I'm a huge fan of Martin Luther King. I'm living in Atlanta; his legacy is here. I was very impressed at an early age by what he was able to do. Very few people have written about that in business. If you look at the civil rights movement in this country, it was achieved by people who knew they were putting their lives in jeopardy to make a difference. How can a leader get people to follow him or her, knowing in some cases they may be hurt, that it may take some physical pain to help achieve a mission?
In business it's not like that. In many issues we don't have to suffer pain. In business if you can get people who are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve a goal, you have reached the major leagues. They'll work the extra hours needed, they'll do work that's difficult to the situation. Once you have people willing to do that, you have the most powerful force in the world behind you. When people are challenged, inspired to do something, few things can get in their way to stop them. ...
When people want to follow you, incredible things happen. If you can take a group of people and convince them of taking the hill or the mountain or the objective, you have achieved the pinnacle in business, when people achieve the impossible. I've been fortunate to see a little of that with some of the teams I've worked with. It's just amazing. They've all required sacrifice, in some way or form. What I found really happens is that when people believe in the mission and in you as a person of integrity, as a person who cares about them and will take care of them appropriately, they are willing to go through walls for you.
Q. What are your current obstacles, and how are you working to overcome them?
A. I don't know if we have enough time! Facing such a dynamic industry and always figuring out what to do to be successful in the long term. Technology is changing so fast, regulations are changing so fast, the competitive environment is changing so fast, the way people operate and live are changing so fast, keeping on top of that and making sure we're doing things right for the customers.
A small example, a simple case today, is that the way we used to take care of customers is no longer good enough. If customers are not happy with the company, they'll Twitter, they'll post something on Facebook. You just can't ignore it. One of the things we did was recognize this and put together a team, and that's all that team does. They monitor Twitter all day, they monitor Facebook, and they respond to issues that customers are having with us. Having to do a service model like that when dealing with the new media of social networking is different than anything we've ever done. We had to rewrite the book on customer service to take into account social media.
Q. How does an entrepreneur get "un-stuck" when looking at an obstacle?
A. I think what I have found, to me, in those cases, it requires your greatest creativity. It really gets my juices flowing when I know I'm not going to be able to solve something in the traditional way. When an entrepreneur encounters a problem and thinks in a completely different way how to solve it — that's a very good talent to have.
I can't tell you how many times I've encountered a problem or my team has run into a roadblock, then you get somebody who might not be that experienced. They think out of the box, and asked, "Have you tried this?" Getting your creative juices going and not putting blinders on that what you can achieve, not letting yourself be bound is very important. What I have found keeps most people from finding creative new solutions is having to unlearn and relearn when they encounter difficult situations. What you may have learned early on may have changed. You're living with a belief and an idea that is no longer true, and it's blocking the opportunity sitting right in front of you and you don't even know it.
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Who is Ralph de la Vega?
Ralph de la Vega is the author of Obstacles Welcome, and the president and CEO of AT&T Mobility Markets. He is the 2010 chairman of CTIA, The Wireless Association, and chairman of Junior Achievement Worldwide and Hispanic Initiatives, Boy Scouts of America.
Born in the comfort of middle class Cuba, at age 10 he found himself alone in Miami as a refugee without his parents, without any money, and unable to speak English. What he learned while overcoming the difficult years that followed became the foundation of de la Vega's leadership style.
De la Vega started in the telecommunications business as a management assistant in 1974 and climbed his way to becoming the president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. Previous executive positions include president, Regional Telecommunications and Entertainment; chief operating officer of Cingular Wireless; president of BellSouth Latin America; and president of BellSouth's Broadband and Internet Services.
De la Vega is a member the board of directors of New York Life Insurance Company. He also serves on the board of the Georgia Research Alliance and recently was inducted into the Hispanic Scholarship Fund's prestigious Alumni Hall of Fame, which honors select Hispanics for their personal achievements, contributions and service to America.
De la Vega's long list of awards and recognition includes being listed among the 25 Most Influential People in Mobile Technologies by Laptop Magazine (2009); inducted into the Hispanic Scholarship Fund's Hall of Fame (2008); inducted into the Miami Dade College Hall of Fame (2007); listed among the 100 Poderosos (most powerful individuals) by Poder Magazine (2006); named Executive of the Year by the Atlanta Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (2005); listed among the 25 Top Professionals by Hispanic Trends magazine (2005); Executive of the Year — Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (2004); and one of Six Trendsetters — Hispanic Magazine (2004).
De la Vega holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Florida Atlantic University, a master's degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University, and completed the University of Virginia's Executive Program.
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