Management Lessons from Football

Manchester United are Premiership champions and kudos to them. Three times in a row. Long term success in soccer is not easy. Soccer management is one of the more challenging jobs on the planet and has many lessons for business management in general. Sven Goran Erikson's book "On Football" remains one of the best books I have read. As I get wiser in management, I thought I would share some observations to a wider audience on the parallels that exist in both universes.

1. A winning team depends most of all on having a winning mentality. Sure many other factors are important. Great players, great backroom staff, great infrastructure and support. But the winning mentality is crucial. In business, many say they want to be number one. But how many businesses really believe it? In his book Sven Goran Erikson relates that when he was in his first season at Lazio, he asked his players in the pre-season to write on a piece of paper who would win the Scudetto (the Italian Championship) that season. Most of his players penned down Juventus. In 2000, after three years in charge, Lazio pipped Juventus to win their first Scudetto in 23 years. At the start of this season, how many teams truly believed they could beat Manchester United? Liverpool needed Torres and Gerrard fit all season, Chelsea needed to bring youth into their ageing squad, Arsenal needed to age their young squad. Articulating a vision is easy. Imbuing a winning belief is far more difficult. If you walk into a company with a winning belief, you can feel it. The electricity fills the atmosphere. And employees tell you how they are going to be great.

2. Building a winning franchise is a long term endeavour. The Board's vision and trust in the management through the lean years is everything. It is not surprising that three out of the top four clubs soccer clubs have had their managers for more than four years - which is a long time in the Premier League. It took Alex Fergurson seven years before he won his first Premiership title. He has won ten more since. It takes time for a great team to gel. Culture is important, but getting the youth scheme right is too. United's greatest ever team is not today's team, but the team that introduced the young stars of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Sharpe and the Neville brothers to the world - all home grown. Asia Pacific Breweries invested in Indo China when no one believed it was the right thing to do. In the first few years, the firm faced losses. Today, almost 50% of the group profits come from Indochina, and it is their fastest growing market. It has grown more than ten times as a firm and is on a strong footing to conquer the region.

3. A great team is not an assembly of great players. A great team has players that understand that the team comes first. The great players must take instructions, make sacrifices, must be willing to sit on the bench, willing to bring the younger players into the squad and to stop behaving like prima donnas. They need to know the squad's strength and weaknesses and cover each other. This is not easy. All good managers lead, but also know that they have to be ruthless. They must cut prima donnas down to size for the benefit of the greater group.

4. The Manager is Everything. A great team cannot win anything without a great manager. A soccer manager has to handle the Board, the staff, the players, the young players, sponsors, fans, and the media. He is charged with the youth program, transfers, etc. Lesson : Choose your CEO wisely. Not primarily for technical skills, but certainly for leadership skills.

Oh yes, I put Torres up because any Manchester United player on my blog would not be right.