I say that the genius of the marketing strategy that we've had in every company that I've ever been in, is that if you ask your customers what they want and you give it to them, you shouldn't be shocked if they love it.
John J. LegereMy interaction with my followers on social media has become a phenomenon, and that's hardcore work every day! I have carpal tunnel from typing on my device.
John J. LegereI started to be the brand, more and more. Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, I wear T-Mobile gear. I'm a bright beacon of magenta. My clothing's gotten more elaborate because a lot of people want me to wear their clothes! And then when I go to a call center, I give away my T-Mobile clothes, and walk out to my car with my socks on.
John J. LegereT-Mobile is a young, consumer-driven business, and the average age of my customer outside of Bellevue is 27 or 28. They like outspoken, frank discussion. There was an event where it started to come together, I thought the audience would only care about the MLB guys, but they wanted to know what was on my mind. And I literally snapped about the state of the wireless industry. Over the next 24 hours, there was a lot of stuff that was coming out of my mouth that was meant to stay in Vegas, but it hit a chord. It was an action statement for me that I was going to fix this industry.
John J. LegereIt's kind of fun at my age to go back and talk to business-school people. I tell them, "I can summarize everything you need to know to lead a major corporation. Are you prepared to write this down?" And then they get all ready. I tell them I can summarize how I succeed as a leader: Listen to your employees, listen to your customers, shut the f - - up, and do what they tell you.
John J. LegereIf you go back in my career, you'll find I've always been a lead-from-the-front people-manager guy. I've always been outspoken. I've always attempted to break the mold. My advice to myself, then, would be to go all in on it. The world doesn't need another cookie-cutter business-school leader. The world needs somebody to stick out and be loud and proud.
John J. Legere