John Porter describes himself as a student of leadership, but it’s safe to say that he also has a wealth of experience in this field. He began his journey by working for the world’s smallest media company, his own startup, where he took it from ground zero to 2.5 billion in value, overcoming near bankruptcy twice along the way. Today, he is employed by one of the world’s largest media companies, Liberty Global.

When John assumed the role of CEO at Telenet in 2013, he inherited a cable company with a DNA of ‘being the first and being the best’. He maintained this heritage while transforming Telenet first into a full fledge telco operator and then a software company. Right from his first interview after taking office, he made it clear that success would be based on collaboration, rather than autonomy, hinting at the potential influence of Liberty. This collaborative approach was his primary focus, both internally and externally.

The period before John joined Telenet, between 2002 and 2012, saw broadband penetration increase from 35% to 90%. As the Australian expression goes, “Blind Freddy could have made money” during this time (note: John is Australian). However, with a maturing market, rising competition, and regulatory constraints, the challenges took on a different shape when John assumed his role.

To acquire mobile operator Base, John had to foster a year-long relationship with Base’s CEO, displaying humility as a starting point for collaboration. Also in expanding Telenet’s presence in the media and entertainment sectors, personal relationships formed the bedrock of success. This may seem contradictory, but by shifting the focus away from the man and towards the business, he made it more personal and ultimately more successful.

Telenet didn’t abandon its legacy business, actively addressing customer experience improvement. However, transitioning from a successful top-down leadership model under his predecessor to a more inclusive and transformational one was a process that didn’t happen overnight. Long-serving staff, accustomed to scripted work, faced a learning curve as Telenet shifted towards a more agile operating model. According to John, this operational change was the only way forward. Firstly, because the existing model couldn’t deliver the speed necessary to maintain a position as the leader in technology, and secondly, because no one under 40 would willingly opt for a classic, hierarchical structure.

While John lost some leaders on this journey, he gained many more. Being a historian, John recognizes Belgians as great soldiers who have played pivotal roles in some of Europe’s most significant battles. As a result, stepping up and standing out is not deeply ingrained in the Belgian culture. As a leader, he views his main task as providing support and oxygen to his teams, increasing their appetite for risk, and giving them permission to dream.

John takes pride in his leadership team, composed of 8 individuals with diverse profiles and backgrounds. Diversity can have both positive and negative implications, but he strives to ensure they find common ground rather than focusing on their differences. But Telenet has over 400 people leading other people. How does he apply that value of diversity on a larger scale? Well, combining Telenet’s DNA with his risk- and dream-encouraging approach leads to a natural self-selection of leaders. Because not everybody fits in. And yes, occasionally, courageous conversations are necessary, especially when facing tough challenges.

This is the paradox of Telenet’s agile operating model. The more empowerment and freedom are given, the more structure is needed. They had to establish more guardrails, systems, common language, and ceremonies like quarterly business reviews (QBRs) to provide a framework from which people could express their freedom. John acknowledges that this is a delicate balancing act.

During their journey to transform their operating model and become a software company, Telenet faced a critical business incident (CBI). At that moment, clarity was crucial, even more than before. Even though it affected only 4% of Telenet’s customers, it garnered significant attention, and the impact escalated rapidly.

The first step taken by John and his team was to acknowledge that they were in a challenging situation and that their culture may have been too optimistic. This may sound trivial, but was culturally challenging. Remaining faithful to their DNA whilst recognizing the need for some critical behavioral changes. Once this was clear, they defined a path forward with a reasonable timeframe and assigned clear roles to all team members. Throughout this period, they never lost sight of their goal to remain the best and the first in their field, firmly believing that they would emerge from this challenge as a much-improved company.

This difficult situation proved to be a valuable learning period and emphasized the need for a performance-oriented culture. People are fundamental at every stage of the business, and leadership must ensure they have the right individuals on board. At Telenet, it’s not about being an expert but about possessing the head, heart, and guts to be adopters, adapters, and leaders. Success is explicitly defined when empowering individuals, more so than before, to ensure clarity. Because, they all need to have the will to win.

John refers to this as the yin and yang of organizational freedom.

His focus has always been on the long term, with the goal of improving the entire customer journey. Telenet’s delisting and the fiber deal with Fluvius seem to keep his own interest as well piqued in the long term, as evidenced by his most recent interview where he expressed his desire to stay at Telenet until retirement. However, as a good leader, he is already preparing for a smooth succession…

No surprise we can confirm that John’s response to our interview request, stating that “leadership is a topic dear and near to my heart,” was no exaggeration.