As part of the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze blogger programme I was given a copy of Obstacles Welcome: How to Turn Adversity Into Advantage in Business and in Life by Ralph De La Vega. I’m a fan of learning from business books and seeing how I can apply lessons both in life and my work in the faith community. This book written by Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets is interesting in the way that it doesn’t just reflect on his experience as a businessman but also in his life journey. The book starts with how he arrived in America from Cuba, aged 10, all alone, separated from his parents by Cuban authorities just moments before they were to board a plane to Miami.
That moment defines his attitude to business, that no challenge is too big, be that his experience of trying to provide phones in the middle of major hurricanes, helping lead the internet development for residential homes for BellSouth, leading Latin America as one of the worst parts of the BellSouth business into a stronger more unified body, or overseeing the merger of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless.
Whilst not a writer, and so at times the book doesn’t flow as well as it could, de la Vega writes an inspiring account that encourages me to meet head on the challenges I face both in life and work.
