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While there are many great and inspirational CEOs dotting the corporate landscape, in our opinion, T-Mobile’s John Legere offers business lessons of particular significance. Specifically, the way he helped steer a once struggling national carrier to incredible success in only a few years offers numerous worthy and actionable lessons in the context of successful Jewish marketing. 

Up until taking the helm at T-Mobile in 2012, John Legere was a relatively unknown quantity. Since then, he has catapulted into the mainstream and become somewhat of a cult figure. From his millions of followers on social media to his comical Sunday cooking show, he has turned the traditional profile of the chief executive position on its head and garnered fame and, more importantly, success in the process.

Even Legere’s harshest critics would have difficulty disputing the outsized role that he has played in changing and arguably even revolutionizing the United States’ wireless telecommunications industry. For starters, his utilization of innovative approaches to spur rapid subscriber growth led to T-Mobile overtaking Sprint as the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States[efn_note]Verizon & AT&T are numbers 1 and 2[/efn_note]. More recently, he strategically and successfully navigated a challenging and contentious acquisition of Sprint that the DOJ just approved.

In terms of lessons to be learned from Legere, we see four overarching tenets behind his success that, if implemented, can help to improve performance in Jewish-centric marketing campaigns.

Innovation & The Danger Of Complacency 

Innovation is a primary driver in the context of business success or failure. Too little innovation and businesses eventually find themselves overtaken by newer market entrants. The task of innovation is easier said than done, but that does not diminish its importance—the factors behind a lack of innovation span a broad range. Two of the most common and dangerous, though, are complacency and lack of strategic vision.

Often, by the time a company realizes that they are in a dangerous position in terms of being pushed out by the competition, it is too late. This concept is quantified well by Ernest Hemingway in his novel The Sun Also Rises, where a character explained that he went bankrupt “gradually then suddenly.” We find this expression to be pertinent in the business innovation context. Small and incremental failures relating to lack of innovation gradually accrue until suddenly there is a price to pay for the bottom line.

John Legere made sure that complacency was not in the DNA of T-Mobile. He also made innovation a top priority. In contrast, the two larger players in the industry, Verizon and AT&T, were resting comfortably on their laurels with satisfaction that they were bringing in record profits based on legacy, more expensive phone plans. Recognizing this inherent weakness taking the form of complacency on the part of the competition, John introduced the “Uncarrier,” a term creatively coined to describe the offering of cheaper wireless plans than the competition yet at the same time included more.

Through the Uncarrier initiative, T-Mobile was providing features that were simply unheard of in the wireless industry. Some of these revolutionary offers included “Mobile Without Borders” ( free calling to Mexico and Canada), unlimited data and text in almost every developed country around the globe, “Music Freedom” (no data charge for music streaming), and “Binge On” (no data charges for select media streaming such as Netflix and HBO). It may be hard to believe, but these features are only a portion of many that Legere used to differentiate T-Mobile from the other leading carriers. The result was higher retention of existing customers as well as unparalleled growth in new subscribers.

At first, it seemed that the competition was in shock. Initially, they stuck to their guns in terms of not budging on their significantly more expensive yet lacking plans when compared to T-Mobile. Eventually, Verizon & AT&T  started to get more competitive with their pricing and plans. It was too late, however. T-Mobile made a name for itself as the winning choice for consumers and, in the process, poached millions of subscribers from their competition.

The Lesson

When it comes to Jewish marketing campaigns, especially for those with offerings in established categories, a drive for innovation and avoiding complacency is of great importance. Understanding how a competitor’s comfort can be used to attract business is often a winning play. Taking a fresh approach strategically and stressing your offering’s unique value goes a long way toward translating into continued business growth.

Break The Mold

Another unique characteristic of Legere that played a role in his rise and T-Mobile’s success is his willingness to break the mold of what was considered acceptable from a CEO running a mega-corporation. Some contend that his antics went too far. Maybe so. Regardless, the risks taken, as a whole, paid off. From calling out competitor CEOs via Twitter concerning their outdated plans or even feuding with a then-presidential candidate, the instances of previously unheard-of CEO decorum endeared John to both existing and prospective customers. Beyond the attention-grabbing “call-outs,” Legere also made it a priority to be unbelievably responsive. His replies on social media and his email address provided a unique willingness to address concerns from the top down.

John telegraphed the trajectory of a trend where society favored a more frank dialogue. This trend is apparent in politics but also in the world of business. For example, advertisers increasingly use their competition and alleged product or service inferiority in their marketing campaigns. Legere showed an understanding of this trend and capitalized on the shift. While other wireless CEOs were still abiding by the old rules, Legere went on the offensive. This calculated play resulted in the other carriers being on the defensive and resulted in customers flocking to T-Mobile.

The Lesson

Breaking the mold and thereby adding business value is not specific to a large corporate conglomerate CEO. Even the smallest of businesses can engineer the status quo to their advantage. You do not have to be racy or pretentious, or even controversial like Legere to do this. For example, if your competitors are taking a very sterile and frankly boring approach to market their offerings, you can “pull a Legere.” Perhaps a more playful and humorous tone would endear your brand to customers and help to differentiate from the rest of the monotone pack. True, this approach can be abused and backfire, but when calculated and strategic, it can work wonders. As in John’s case, customers perceived his bold attitude as appealing and genuine. A breath of fresh air when contrasted with the stereotypical rank and file CEO that appears to be more like some robotic hybrid. Not John Legere. He is bold in his vision, bold in his strategy, and bold as a personality. These very human traits strike a chord with customers and are beneficial in so many respects. Be bold like Legere.

Vision Necessary

Heavily intertwined with the previous two lessons, a vision for your business with associated benchmarked goals is necessary. Without a strategic vision, there is little structure to base day-to-day efforts. The result is a haphazard and patchworked approach that pales in effectiveness when compared to a concerted vision-based strategy. John Legere had a lucid vision from the outset. He made it clear that T-Mobile would rise from the ashes by focusing on the customer and the pain points they regularly experienced at the hands of the other wireless carriers. His method of achieving this vision was numerous, but the ethos is encapsulated by focusing on what he coined as “The Uncarrier.” In essence, T-Mobile would provide traditional carrier services with untraditional stellar services and experience.

We view vision as a precursor to successful innovation and growth, and it, therefore, plays a central role in our various Jewish marketing and strategy practices.

John understood that he had to make drastic changes at T-Mobile and based his vision on this acknowledgment. T-Mobile was a faltering brand, and things were not looking good. He, therefore, accounted for both short and long-term growth. He made changes in the attractiveness of T-Mobile’s services, that while may not have been as profitable, would pay off in the long term. At the same time, on the short-term side of things, he brought in significant subscriber numbers while producing modest but still impressive profits. This hybrid approach worked well to placate investors while also making impressive introductions to new customers.

Having a business vision and steadily working towards it does not mean that there won’t be recalibrations or missteps along the way. Instead, the vision acts as a guiding light that helps to navigate through even choppy waters.

The Lesson

In your business, vision and associated strategy play an essential role in the success or lack thereof. Ultimately, a combination of business intelligence, as well as creative and critical thinking, is the delineating factor in whether you institute a winning vision for the future direction of your business. We believe a winning vision accounts for both the reality of the business currently and aspirational goals for the future. Making small gains in the short term while working towards a longer-term goal is where the real business growth happens. A vision conducive to this growth requires taking a step back to take stock of the business’s reality. The accounting includes recognizing both weaknesses and strengths and focusing on the overall vision of lessening the former and maximizing the latter.

Experience & The Customer

As part of the transformation of T-Mobile, John Legere focused on making experience and customer satisfaction a hallmark feature of the brand. As evidenced by his Twitter feed, he asks customers to email him personally regarding the issues they are experiencing. Further, when calling T-Mobile or interacting with the company on other mediums, such as Twitter or chat, there is a stark difference experienced. While there are exceptions to this, customers have lauded that representatives show a unique willingness to help and ultimately satisfy the customer. To that end, J.D. Power has rated T-Mobile number one in customer service for consecutive years.

The Lesson

In your business, too, it cannot be stressed enough that customer satisfaction and experience are vital and should always be a priority. What it often comes down to is the small things. Minor improvements to customer experience add up and create an overall, substantially better, and more enjoyable customer journey. These positive changes can take many forms and include incremental and minor improvements such as a better website or introducing new offerings. When executed correctly, a better customer experience eventually translates into an advance in the bottom line.

A Combined Approach

What John accomplished with “The Uncarrier” initiative was only possible through an objective and fresh look at the state of the wireless industry. He devised a strategy infused with innovation based on a strategic vision that used bold tactics to bring ultimate customers satisfaction. John saw the opportunity to offer customers a superbly better wireless service that was in stark contrast to the archaic of the other leading wireless brands. He understood that a large number of customers that were with these companies were feeling frustrated and unhappy with the services they were receiving. Still, without better alternatives, they felt stuck. As soon as T-Mobile began making it known that they were switching things up on a monumental scale, millions of new customers flocked to them. These customers were “low hanging fruit.”. They were miserable and were craving a better wireless provider to enter the scene.

As a business owner, taking a fresh perspective on your offering’s market landscape and combining the four tenets we discussed can create significant value. Of course, some changes are more challenging than others, but success is practically inevitable by sticking to a strategic vision that incorporates what the market wants.