Excel winner Solomon d. trujillo. (DISCUSSES COMMUNICATIONS).

This interview took place during IABC's annual international conference in Vancouver June 25-28. Mr. Trujillo was presented with the prestigious Excellence in Communication Leadership Award (EXCEL), the higehest honor IABC betwows on a nonmember who leads the way in fostering and participating in good communication. Ironically, Mr. Trujillo's remarks at the conference were one of his last public appearances as president, chairman and CEO of U S WEST. Three days after he accepted the award, U S WEST closed its merger with Qwest Communications International, Inc. Mr. Trujillo announced in February that he would not be joining the new company. At press time, Mr. Trujillo's next career move was unknown.

What did you consider your most pressing challenge when you became CEO U S WEST?

I would say the challenge came on two fronts. One was around service and improving service quality. The other, and possibly the more critical one, was repositioning the company, given the many changes in our industry.

You were the first CO to create a position for a senior PR person, who also became a member of your top management team. What prompted you to do that?

Clearly, I'm a believer in effective communication. When I attended business school, I studied the traditional four Ps of marketing, I believe there's a fifth P of marketing -- public relations. It's not often taught in class, but when you think about sharing information with customers and employees, public relations is as critical as every other marketing discipline.

GG: How many are employed in U S WEST's internal and external communication departments, and how are these departments structured?

TRUJILLO: We have about 80 employees in those departments. This involves people who work in community relations, foundations and internal public relations groups, so it's a combination of functions. We have visibility in almost every state that we operate in, with people who are a part of our public relations group under various umbrella entities. Public relations and communication is a discipline that we believe in as we think about our customers and as we think about our employees.

GG: Computer network executives often dismiss telecom companies as low tech and behind the needs of the market. How do you respond to this?

TRUJILLO: If you go back three to five years ago, that probably was the case, but if you look at U S WEST today, whether you characterize us as a new or old company, we are leading the industry in many areas. These areas include wireless applications and services broadband services and DSL technology, which we were the first to deploy. And now in Phoenix, Ariz., we are leading the world in full convergence offering high-speed data, video and voice services -- all over a copper line.

GG: You have contributed a great deal in communicating the value of diversity in the work place. Could you elaborate on some of your experiences in achieving U S WEST's recognition throughout the world as one of the best companies for working women and minorities?

TRUJILLO: Number one, I look at the 58,000 people in our company as one huge work force, and I think about what it takes to motivate that many people. In the past, only certain people believed that they could achieve whatever goals they chose to pursue because it tended to be a very homogeneous group of people. Certain women could not get into certain job titles, or certain job areas; people of color were not rising in the company. When you have a company of 58,000 people, whether you're a person of color, a woman, a man, white male, whatever you might be, and everybody believes they all have a chance to achieve what they choose to achieve, I think that creates a terrific environment. And that's what diversity really is about, creating an environment where people, whatever their backgrounds might be, can achieve their goals. We've, worked at it, and it's become a value in our company. It's not a program. It's part of our values around respecting people.

GG: You're obviously very successful as a communicator. Have you had any formal training in communication, or have you honed your skills on the job?

TRUJILLO: I would say my communication training has been through the school of hard knocks. I have been involved in communicating internally to employees, as well as externally to our customer base, for many years. I've always been a student of self-analysis. I've paid attention to what is important and have tried to relate to audiences, understanding that not every audience is the same; understanding that sometimes technology and issues around technology are not easy to comprehend. A business like ours is very complex; you have to think about how you communicate so that people can relate -- can understand -- and one hopes, then, support what you would like them to be supporting, whether it be through purchase behavior or a brand image.

GG: Do you feel that most organizations generally recognize the importance of good communication?

TRUJILLO: In the real-time world that we live in, driven by the Internet and satellite broadcasts, it's imperative that an organization understand it must communicate and, to be visible, understand it's not enough to communicate just once a quarter. It's continuous communication that is important as people are constantly presented with many choices, many facts.

GG: What do you see as the most significant factors that communication contributes toward increasing your bottom line?

TRUJILLO: Helping customers understand your value proposition is important. The more information I can provide to customers about why my product is better and of more value for future use, the easier it is for customers to want to buy my products and services. It will be a natural move on their part, which then affects the bottom line.

GG: How would you advise other CEOs faced with a strike -- I know you went through one a while back - as the most effective way to proceed in bringing about a successful resolution that can be acceptable both to management and to workers?

TRUJILLO: In today's world, change and transformation are imperatives. Because you may have a great position today, you've got to understand that two or three years from now, it's going to be different, so you must have flexibility in an organization. In our case, we have contracts that are renegotiated periodically, which require changes in agreements. In the case of U S WEST, a fundamental change was required in how we create incentives -- what we call Pay for Performance. The more you do, the more you ought to make. That's a nice principle, and it works throughout our industry. My advice is to understand that there are times of change, there are tough decisions that have to be made. The more you can communicate and be aware of the need for good communication, not only in advance but also during and after, the easier the transition. For example, today our employee morale is up dramatically. People are finding they can make more money, which is a nice thing. Everybody would like to make more money, and the company benefits along with the employee.

GG: So in other words, this is an on-going process, it's not just dealing with a crisis when it happens?

TRUJILLO: You run into problems if you treat it as, "Well, we'll deal with it when we get there." It's continuous communication all the time.

GG: What is your preferred means of communication with employees? Electronically, through e-mail, online news-letters, face-to-face open meetings or other means?

TRUJILLO: I like being face-to-face with our employees, and I take time continuously throughout the year where I schedule time to be able to do that. But obviously, with 58,000 people in 300-plus locations, I physically can't get everywhere to do that. So we take advantage of communication through our internal web site, broadcast and print resources we have and by sending out traditional employee newsletters and direct mailers to employees' homes.

We try to take advantage of every medium that's available to us.

GG: In a global company, what do you feel is the most successful way to communicate a company's vision, mission and purpose across cultures and boundaries?

TRUJILLO: I think the Internet has become a great tool for doing that, where you can literally create an image for yourself through your web sites.

The creation of flexible, informative, visual, interactive web sites can really help describe your company in almost any culture, because there are some common factors in business practices throughout the world.

GG: As a CEO, what do you consider your principal dos and your principal don'ts if you were to advise another CEO?

TRUJILLO: I would say the principal dos are to make sure that you're clear about values and principles, so that what you say is also what you do. You live by what you say, and this is a value system well known within the company. People can make decisions against a value set, as opposed to everything becoming random. Focus on performance and leading by example are also on the do side. Don't say one thing and do another.

GG: If you were to write a job description for a communicator applying for a job with your organization, what would your requirements be?

TRUJILLO: I would say that the greatest attribute of a good communicator is being a good listener. You've got to listen first if you are going to understand those you're communicating with Second, being able to articulate, to speak, and to convey thoughts through both oral and written communication. Third, focusing on present issues, because when you are talking to people you want them to listen to the message and not be distracted by mannerisms or other external factors.

GG: How would you advise communicators to become more involved in senior management and become a part of the decision-making process?

TRUJILLO: I would say learn your business, number one. Whatever industry you're in, people in communication positions have great opportunities because they have so many issues coming at them. They get to learn about the whole business, which is a great opportunity. Then later they can communicate their desires about moving into whatever parts of the company that they choose. Communicators have higher visibility than most positions in a company.