Sir Alex Ferguson Reveals Eight Secrets of Success in Managing Teams

If you had a chance to interview him, what would you ask the man who many regard as the best coach in the history of European football, and perhaps sports as a whole? I can imagine many fans have pondered that question, but last year it took on greater relevance for me.

That's because in what turned out to be Sir Alex Ferguson's last eighteen months in charge at Manchester United, my former student Tom Dye and I had a unique opportunity to study the legendary coach's leadership approach. We were able to conduct lengthy interviews with the man himself, we followed him around as he went about his daily activities on United's training ground, we saw him in action at the stadium, we interviewed several players, and we spoke with many people around him, from the club's kit manager to the chief executive officer. Not your average academic research project, in other words.

We captured some of our initial findings in a case study, released last fall (see here and here and here for some media coverage). Today, the Harvard Business Review published a second result of the study: an article, titled "Ferguson's Formula" and co-authored with Sir Alex, in which he provides his perspective on eight critical leadership lessons, offering unique insights into what it takes to build and manage teams.

I obviously can't reproduce the full article here -- it is available through the Harvard Business Review 's website -- but I thought it might be helpful to list the lessons, and for each lesson select one quote that I found especially insightful. Here we go:

Lesson 1. Start with the Foundation
"When you give young people a chance, you not only create a longer life span for the team, you also create loyalty. They will always remember that you were the manager who gave them their first opportunity."

Lesson 2. Dare to Rebuild Your Team
"The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy -- but all the evidence is on the field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to ask yourself what things are going to be like two years ahead."

Lesson 3. Set High Standards -- and Hold Everyone To Them
"I constantly told my squad that working hard all your life is a talent. But I expected even more from the star players. I expected them to work even harder."

Lesson 4. Never, Ever Cede Control
"There are occasions when you have to ask yourself whether certain players are affecting the dressing-room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and the staff. If they are, you have to cut the cord."

Lesson 5. Match the Message to the Moment
"For a player -- for any human being -- there is nothing better than hearing 'Well done.' Those are the two best words ever invented."

Lesson 6. Prepare to Win
"I am a gambler—a risk taker—and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches. ... If we were still down—say, 1–2—with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks. I was perfectly happy to lose 1–3 if it meant we’d given ourselves a good chance to draw or to win. So in those last 15 minutes, we’d go for it."

Lesson 7. Rely on the Power of Observation
"I came to see observation as a critical part of my management skills. The ability to see things is key -- or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don't expect to see."

Lesson 8. Never Stop Adapting
"Most people with my kind of track record don't look to change. But I always felt I couldn't afford not to change."

Anita Elberse is the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She is the author of a book, Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment, (in stores next month but available to pre-order now), and faculty chair of an HBS Executive Education program, “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports.”

Sir Alex Ferguson Reveals Eight Secrets of Success in Managing Teams

If you had a chance to interview him, what would you ask the man who many regard as the best coach in the history of European football, and perhaps sports as a whole? I can imagine many fans have pondered that question, but last year it took on greater relevance for me.

That's because in what turned out to be Sir Alex Ferguson's last eighteen months in charge at Manchester United, my former student Tom Dye and I had a unique opportunity to study the legendary coach's leadership approach. We were able to conduct lengthy interviews with the man himself, we followed him around as he went about his daily activities on United's training ground, we saw him in action at the stadium, we interviewed several players, and we spoke with many people around him, from the club's kit manager to the chief executive officer. Not your average academic research project, in other words.

We captured some of our initial findings in a case study, released last fall (see here and here and here for some media coverage). Today, the Harvard Business Review published a second result of the study: an article, titled "Ferguson's Formula" and co-authored with Sir Alex, in which he provides his perspective on eight critical leadership lessons, offering unique insights into what it takes to build and manage teams.

I obviously can't reproduce the full article here -- it is available through the Harvard Business Review 's website -- but I thought it might be helpful to list the lessons, and for each lesson select one quote that I found especially insightful. Here we go:

Lesson 1. Start with the Foundation
"When you give young people a chance, you not only create a longer life span for the team, you also create loyalty. They will always remember that you were the manager who gave them their first opportunity."

Lesson 2. Dare to Rebuild Your Team
"The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy -- but all the evidence is on the field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to ask yourself what things are going to be like two years ahead."

Lesson 3. Set High Standards -- and Hold Everyone To Them
"I constantly told my squad that working hard all your life is a talent. But I expected even more from the star players. I expected them to work even harder."

Lesson 4. Never, Ever Cede Control
"There are occasions when you have to ask yourself whether certain players are affecting the dressing-room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and the staff. If they are, you have to cut the cord."

Lesson 5. Match the Message to the Moment
"For a player -- for any human being -- there is nothing better than hearing 'Well done.' Those are the two best words ever invented."

Lesson 6. Prepare to Win
"I am a gambler—a risk taker—and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches. ... If we were still down—say, 1–2—with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks. I was perfectly happy to lose 1–3 if it meant we’d given ourselves a good chance to draw or to win. So in those last 15 minutes, we’d go for it."

Lesson 7. Rely on the Power of Observation
"I came to see observation as a critical part of my management skills. The ability to see things is key -- or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don't expect to see."

Lesson 8. Never Stop Adapting
"Most people with my kind of track record don't look to change. But I always felt I couldn't afford not to change."

Anita Elberse is the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She is the author of a book, Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment, (in stores next month but available to pre-order now), and faculty chair of an HBS Executive Education program, “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports.” 

How High Standards Can Hurt Your Business

I was sitting in the reception area of a new client the other day and I always take the time to look around, as reception areas start to tell you what the organization is like. I noticed on the wall there was a big sign that extolled the vision of the organization. It said; ‘We will exceed our Customer expectations at all points of contact’. I knew then that I was in for an interesting debate with this organization. This may sound odd coming from a Customer Experience person but the reality is that it is totally unrealistic to exceed Customers expectations at all moments of contact. No organization can afford that. As I sat there I reflected on why companies set these unachievable goals.

In a world where global competition is forcing businesses to work harder, it's understandable that high level management find it appropriate to set lofty goals to help drive customer experience, sales and - ultimately - profits. The problem, though, is that too many organizations set goals for their employees that aren't just lofty, but are actually entirely unrealistic. These goals might be admirable in nature, and they might sound great on a piece of paper or as a vision/mission statement on the wall, but they can actually do far more harm than good over the longer term.

 

 

A Fresh Perspective: It's true that "almost" doesn't count

There's a well-known saying, or acknowledgement, that "almost doesn't count." Regardless of its origins, the phrase is supposed to be both motivational and competitive. If almost doesn't count, then people need to try harder, play harder, and reach their goals more successfully - essentially, it's a nice way of telling people to do better next time around. That's fine, and a great ethos to have, but what if almost achieving the impossible goal still doesn't count?

Another great example I've come across is when people tell me ‘we want to ‘wow’ our Customers’. Firstly, what does "wow" even mean, and secondly how can you ever hope to achieve that while remaining profitable? This shows me that people haven’t thought through the implications of this.

When senior teams proudly share this vision/mission with everyone, one of two things is bound to happen. Either employees are going to be completely demoralised due to their perceived poor performance as only a certain percentage of customers are "wowed", or they're going to understand that the goal is impossible, meaningless, and not worth trying for. In either case the end result is likely to be either nothing at all or even a decrease in morale.

The solution? Be aspirational if you are actually going to follow through with the actions to support it. If not, aim for something you are willing to support.

If you can see your mission statement still being on the wall in 5 years time, with little or no progress towards achieving it being made, it's probably time to come up with something new. Think about your customers and how they interact with your business. Look at where you excel and the areas that you're weak; identify opportunities; really think about whether you could achieve what you want to, and then come up with a plan to do it.

Having a vision is one thing - knowing that you can get there is an entirely different animal.

Consult employees about their own goals and expectations

Part of being realistic is to understand that numbers and objectives are not human, but employees are. At the end of the day, any new corporate goal will have to be carried out by the employees on the front lines. Do they think it's achievable? Get them to articulate to you what it will take to get there. In my experience it is the management who do not support the vision/mission with actions, not employees. Will employees be driven to reach a new goal or simply intimidated by how high that goal is? Does a goal line up with the first hand knowledge of their department, their customers, or their past experience?

 

Goal-setting and defining a corporate vision should both be collaborative, community-based activities that get everyone involved. This exchange of ideas will not only allow the business to set new benchmarks and metrics for itself, but it will also give employees a time to offer their input and advice to more senior levels of management. This two-way exchange breeds success and confidence. It leads to realistic planning that is as human as the company's own workforce.

Be ambitious but realistic, aspirational but approachable

There's nothing wrong with setting high standards and lofty goals, and then putting in place the pieces needed to achieve those things. New strategies, though, should be realistic in nature and in line with what an employee feels they can achieve. By working collaboratively and with realistic expectations grounded in prior goals and growth, businesses will experience better employee morale, higher levels of productivity, and a feeling that everyone is going to make this new benchmark happen together. It's a winning strategy with real, long-term value.

To read further blogs on Customer Experience written by the experts at Beyond Philosophy, please click here.

Posted by:Colin Shaw