T-Mobile CEO John Legere, who is known for his colorful criticisms, especially against his company's rivals in the telecommunications industry, is at it again.
In an interview with Business Insider, Legere was asked for comments on where competitors AT&T, Verizon and Sprint stand.
According to Legere, Sprint was able to release a good series of commercials with, Verizon's "Can you hear me now?" guy Paul Marcarelli switching to the carrier. The advertisements are not true though, Legere claims, as there is still a huge difference between networks. AT&T, meanwhile, "just don't get it," despite having access to assets on cable and content.
The most interesting comments that Legere mentioned in the interview, however, were those focused on Verizon.
Verizon, Legere said, is more befuddled than AT&T, with the carrier seemingly interested in acquiring iconic internet companies from the 1990s, specifically with the purchase of AOL last year and of Yahoo this year, along with the leadership race between two or three aggressive people looking to become CEO once Lowell McAdam exits.
According to Legere, the whole situation for Verizon is "hilarious."
"Like oh my God, you not only bought Yahoo, but they're a mess before you brought them in," Legere said, most likely referring to the recent spate of hacking and email scanning scandals that Yahoo is currently embroiled in. Verizon, in light of these issues, is now said to be asking for a $1 billion discount from the $4.8 billion that was previously pegged to acquire Yahoo.
Legere admitted that he understood the value behind such a deal to acquire Yahoo, specifically in the components of advertising and customer information, but those are not the core businesses of Verizon. Wireless is not where the company is focused right now, according to Legere, and now Verizon is making a lot of investments to desperately reclaim its status as the best network.
In the interview, Legere also gave advice to younger employees looking to find the same success that he has had, telling them to "break the mold," as the world does not need more of the traditional business leaders. In addition, in leading companies, the important thing to remember is that they should listen to their employees, listen to their customers, shut the f*** up and do what they say.
Legere has certainly done what he advised, moreso being the non-traditional executive compared to his peers. For example, upon reaching 3 million followers in Twitter, he launched a promotion that might send a lucky winner on a trip to Mars in a SpaceX rocket.
