Marcelo Claure is one of my favorite people. He’s the straight-talking CEO of Sprint, a father of five, a prolific philanthropist, a passionate soccer fan and an innovator.
His entrepreneurial roots run deep: His biggest startup, Brightstar, became the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. Now, he’s in the middle of a mission to take an 118-year-old company to the next level. If anyone can speak to innovating, it’s Marcelo.
I’m telling you this because he’s far too humble to tell you himself. I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with him and get his learnings on innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership. I’ll be applying these to my own day-to-day, and I think you will, too.
Here’s what he told me:
von Tobel: How do you find inspiration that leads to innovation?
Claure: Constantly observe the world around you, in business and in life, through the lens of your customer. Always look for ways to do things better, to stay ahead of the curve and differentiate yourself in your industry, and make your customers’ lives better and more productive. No matter where you are in your day, whether you are in the office interacting with your colleagues or out buying coffee, soak in everything and ask is this an opportunity to learn? How should I apply these learnings to my company?
It’s this kind of thinking that led us to offer unlimited plans for customers who were angry about receiving bills with overage fees.
In addition, Steve Jobs started the tradition of hosting dramatic and highly anticipated events to release new products every year. Customers would be so excited about the new iPhone and then think “WTF?! I’m locked in a two year contract on my phone and can’t upgrade?!” So, I got on a plane, flew to Cupertino and told Tim Cook my idea for iPhone Forever to let customers upgrade every year. He loved it! Two months later we launched, and now we’ve expanded the program to include the Samsung Galaxy too.
How do you build–and maintain–a culture in business?
Maintaining a company culture isn’t difficult as long as you are extremely vigilant and err on the side of over-communicating with your employees. Be transparent and keep everyone informed about where the company is going.
At the leadership level, you have to practice what you preach. At Brightstar, I created the company and built the culture on the idea that hard work pays off. There are no shortcuts. And, I was the hardest working person there.
Who has inspired you in business?
I hugely admire Steve Jobs and what he accomplished at Apple. He used to say that half of what makes a good entrepreneur is knowing how to persevere. He believed that you can never stop believing in your vision. You have to be the biggest advocate for your idea.
Secondly, my biggest mentor today is Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, the Chairman of Sprint and now, my boss. He’s one of the smartest people in the world and a true visionary. He has the vision to think big but also the focus to execute, and that is what makes him so great.
What inspires you?
The ability to change people’s lives.
I am lucky enough to combine two of my biggest passions – soccer and the love that I have for my country of Bolivia – because I own the largest soccer team in Bolivia called Club Bolivar. A couple of years ago, Bolivar reached the semifinals of Copa Libertadores which is the equivalent of the Champions League in Europe. It wasn’t just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces seeing Bolivar reach new heights, it was seeing them recognize that they can have hope. They watched a team from a smaller, poorer country go out and beat the best teams from big countries like Mexico and Brazil. It helped them realize that anything is possible.
For similar reasons, I created the 1Million Project. Over 5 million families with school-aged kids in the U.S. do not have internet access at home. This creates a “Homework Gap” for these students. So, Sprint and the Sprint Foundation are going to give a free device and free connectivity to one million low-income U.S. high school students who don’t have internet access at home. Our goal is to help level the playing field and give these kids what they need to translate their efforts into meaningful outcomes.
What would be your best piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs?
This is something I get asked a lot by entrepreneurs I meet at events or when I’m on the road. I always tell them:
- Love what you do. Don’t do it for the money.
- Dream big. Not 10 percent bigger but 10 times bigger.
- Work hard and be willing to fail. Fear of failure can kill a company. You have to keep trying.
- Seize opportunities. Some call it luck, but I call it the entrepreneur moment.
What’s your favorite innovation book?
Last summer, I invited Alan Mulally, the former president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, to speak at our Sprint leadership conference. Ford was losing tens of millions of dollars every day, but within a few short years, Alan led the company turnaround and made Ford an industry leader again.
There’s a book about Alan called “American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company.” When I read it, it boosted my confidence in what we are doing at Sprint. It reinforced three things about our transformation:
- Have a clear plan, compelling vision and strategy to achieve it.
- Everybody needs to have a positive, can-do attitude.
- Have fun–enjoy the journey and each other.
As Sprint’s leader, I’m doing everything I can to achieve all three.
Marcelo Claure is one of my role models. Whether it’s a CEO or a colleague, I want to know: Who are your entrepreneurial icons? Who has mentored you–directly or indirectly–and inspired your innovation?
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.