As a young kid, I had the opportunity of reading one of my father’s books titled: “Matt, United and Me”. That book, written by Jimmy Murphy, Sir Matt Busby’s assistant in Manchester United (at the time when they first won the European cup for the club), was all I needed to convert me to a Man United fan. For all my years as a fan, I’ve known only one manager of Manchester United – Sir Alex Ferguson. While I read about Busby’s greatness and that of his team (Bobby Charlton and co.), I experienced Sir Alex’s greatness, albeit remotely via the television. His decision to retire last year shocked the football world. Quite naturally, his autobiography (a follow up to his earlier version – Managing my life), was a hit and got interesting reviews. As the first book I read in 2014, I couldn’t resist the temptation of adding my review to the many available. I will not do a general review as that has been done sufficiently since its release in October 2013. Rather, I’ll concentrate on lessons you wouldn’t expect to read from the pages of an autobiography of a sports personality – Invaluable lessons for the business leader. I have summarized 10 of them, distilled from this autobiography of the great icon.
As a young kid, I had the opportunity of reading one of my father’s books titled: “Matt, United and Me”. That book, written by Jimmy Murphy, Sir Matt Busby’s assistant in Manchester United (at the time when they first won the European cup for the club), was all I needed to convert me to a Man United fan. For all my years as a fan, I’ve known only one manager of Manchester United – Sir Alex Ferguson. While I read about Busby’s greatness and that of his team (Bobby Charlton and co.), I experienced Sir Alex’s greatness, albeit remotely via the television. His decision to retire last year shocked the football world. Quite naturally, his autobiography (a follow up to his earlier version – Managing my life), was a hit and got interesting reviews. As the first book I read in 2014, I couldn’t resist the temptation of adding my review to the many available. I will not do a general review as that has been done sufficiently since its release in October 2013. Rather, I’ll concentrate on lessons you wouldn’t expect to read from the pages of an autobiography of a sports personality – Invaluable lessons for the business leader. I have summarized 10 of them, distilled from this autobiography of the great icon.
Control – Throughout Sir Alex Ferguson’s successful reign at Man United, one thing he never risked was losing control. He was a man who was always in charge. He dealt with every shadow of attempt to challenge, jettison or usurp his authority. He was one who was gifted with tough players, players with tough spirits and strong personalities, something that’s an asset on the battle field; yet could prove disruptive to the unity, temperament and camaraderie of the dressing room. From Roy Keane to Steve Bruce, Fergie never sacrificed control in the dressing room no matter the status of the player. Sir Alex said this about Roy: “With Roy there were episodes of great friction and drama as he tried to impose his will on the team”. Fergie didn’t mince words in describing a tempestuous Roy Keane and the turbulence created in the dressing room - especially the video interview saga where he tore the young players apart with unkind words. The result was that Sir Alex shipped him out; his contract had to be terminated. Now this was same player that was a cult figure; same player Sir Alex also described in this book as “a player of energy, of guts and of blood”. But all this meant nothing once he felt certain he challenged the authority and control of the manager. In Sir Alex’s words: “The one thing I could never allow was loss of control, because control was my only savior”. In his fracas with David Beckham, Sir Alex summed it up thus: “The minute a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go…The moment a manager loses his authority, you don’t have a club. The players will be running it, and then you’re in trouble.” An important lesson to the business leader – be in charge. Never lose control of your team; control could be your only savior!
Making Quick Decisions at Decisive Moments – Sir Alex in this book x-rayed his greatest forte – the ability to make quick decisions at decisive and critical moments. Whether it be shipping out an undisciplined player (not minding his status or profile), to deciding when to rebuild his team, he was one who was never afraid or delayed taking decisions he thought was best for the team. In signing Cristiano, he had to act quickly. After losing the title to the “Noisy neighbours”, he had to act quickly to regain the title the next season. In signing van Persie, he had to act quickly. In terminating Roy’s appointment, he had to make quick decisions. Once he was convinced, he acted. That is the stuff leaders should be made of. Once you are convinced, no need to procrastinate. Go ahead, as Nike would say, just do it.
Doing all to get What you Want – Sir Alex was one who, once he identified a talent he felt convinced he really wanted, would do anything possible to get him signed. A classic example was the signing of the player he described as “the most gifted player I managed” – Cristiano Ronaldo. It was in a 2003, Man United were playing Sporting Lisbon, and there he was, Cristiano Ronaldo, torturing John O’Shea. The following described what ensued: “I (Sir Alex) told Albert, our kitman: ‘Get up that directors’ box and get Kenyon (Peter) down at half-time’. I told Peter, ‘We’re not leaving this ground until we’ve got that boy (Cristiano) signed.’…They warned us that Real Madrid had offered 8 million pounds for him. ‘Offer them nine, then,’ I said…A private plane was hired for him, his mother, his sister, Jorge Mendes (his manager) and his lawyer to come over the next day. We needed to get that deal done. Speed of action was paramount”. That’s how Cristiano became a United player – he was a product of speedy execution of a consummate desire to acquire him. Fergie was convinced he wanted him, and he didn’t even wait for the game to end; he made his intention known by half time – the player had to be signed. He was signed. Another important lesson for the business leader.
Cultivating the Institution’s Philosophy and Ideals in Team Members – Sir Alex was a manager that was obsessed with instilling the philosophy of the club in his team and staff. Things had to be done the United way. For him, Manchester United came first. A player had to act and think at all times like a Man United player. He had to carry himself like a Man United player. Once he noticed a player was doing otherwise, he was showed the door. He never tolerated “iconoclasts”. For players that epitomized and exuded the ideals of the club, he rewarded them – faithfuls like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, etc. He also admired institutions with a strong tradition. Liverpool, his arch rivals came up for praise in his book. A whole chapter was dedicated to his fiercest rival – Liverpool. Strange, you would say, but that’s the much premium he paid on this. Even in choosing a successor, he chose one he believed could carry on with the tradition of the club – strong work ethic, competitive, knack for youth development. This is an important lesson for business leaders. Your workers should be a reflection of the company’s ideals, philosophy and tradition. Your organization should have a strong tradition of excellence, and this must be cultivated in every staff member.
Paying Attention to Details – One thing this book revealed was that Sir Alex was a man of details. He paid attention to every micro detail. He was a micro manager. He knew when to call a player aside and ask him if he was having any problems with his family – he could sense it. He knew every detail about a player’s injury. He knew every player’s ability. He knew who to call upon if he wanted a player that would overwhelm a wing back with his pace. He knew who to call upon to mark out a menacing player. Even on the business side, he was thorough with details. He knew the right worth of his players when buying them; he also knew how to maximize profit when selling them. When his team was sweating to get a player fit, he was concerned with the meals he ate. Yes, was so attentive that he heard what they ordered at meal time and would call a player battling with weight to order in the choice of meal he made. He was that thorough. That is an important lesson for the business leader. Be a micro manager; be thorough with details.
Mastering Psychology – We have always known Sir Alex as a master of psychology, and this book brought us even closer to his deep insights into the business of controlling “minds”. The book is filled with several examples showing Fergie at his psychological best – in fact a whole chapter was dedicated to it. Sir Alex gave an insight as to the psychological dimension in dealing with each player. The book gave several instances, one of which was how he had to criticize but balance it out with encouragement. He would tell a player that had performed badly: “That was rubbish”, but will add “for a player of your ability”, to pick him up and get him motivated. Sir Alex also applied his psychological edge on opposing teams as well. He narrated he would say every year: “Wait till the second half of the season”, and it crept into the minds of the players, and evoked fear in the minds of opposing teams. As he put it, “Second half of the season, United would come like an invasion force, hellfire in their eyes. It became a self-fulfilling prophesy”. Sir Alex also narrated how he would tap the watch towards the end of games to inflict fear in the minds of the opponents. In his words, “seeing me tap my watch and gesticulate, the opposition would be spooked. They would immediately think another 10 minutes was going to be added…they would have to defend against us through a time that would feel, to them, like infinity. They would feel besieged. They knew we never gave up and they knew we specialized in later drama”. To be a great leader, you have to be a great psychologist. You have to know how to motivate your team members. You have to know how to control your environment.
No Room for Indiscipline: With the kind of strong characters that Sir Alex managed, there was bound to be incidences of indiscipline, but he was one who wouldn’t have any of it. The book is laced with lots of examples of how he never tolerated indiscipline. There was the case of one of his players at St. Mirren, Frank McGarvey, who was found at a pub after they had lost an FA cup tie to Motherwell, with over 15,000 travelling fans. Sir Alex was furious! He told him on phone, “you’re suspended for life. Don’t come back. You’re out of the Scotland Under-21s. I’m withdrawing you. You’ll never kick another ball in your life”. Even though, Sir Alex didn’t mean those words in its entirety (it was more a psychological ploy), however, he made a case he doesn’t tolerate indiscipline. For three weeks, Frank was “suspended for life”. But then, he knew when to let it go, as this case would prove. A league decider was to be played, and it was a game Frank would be needed. It’s a rather funny account: “Frank jumped in out from behind one of the pillars, begging: ‘just give me one more chance’. This was a gift from heaven. There was me wondering how I could bring him back into the fold without losing face and he jumps out from a pillar.” After some passionate begging by Frank, he let him play and he scored a brace. He needed Frank, yet Frank thought it was his appeals, and so had to remain grateful to Fergie. A great lesson – Even when you shift grounds in cases like this, never do it in such a way as to lose your core before your team. Sir Alex was averse to indiscipline, even to other teams (he couldn’t tolerate unethical conducts). A classic case was Real Madrid’s attempt at buying Cristiano in 2008. He felt the club had showed disrespect to Man United in the manner of their approach and so he decided NEVER to sell the player to them that season. He also made this known to the club owners, that he would rather quit than sell Cristiano to Madrid that season. As he revealed in the book, he gave Cristiano the now famous quote: “I’d rather have you shot than sell you to Madrid”. The result was that Cristiano obliged, gave him the full season loyalty he asked for, and Fergie obliged him his request the next season. As it turned out, Cristiano Ronaldo, the lad who was bought for just over £12 million was sold to Real Madrid for over £80 million. He enforced discipline and still made a huge profit out of the situation. That was vintage Sir Alex. However, as he said, he could do most of these because he had success on his part. His record provided the cushion for him. It might not work exactly this way for a young manager looking to establish himself. He was synonymous with success and this offered him several life lines.
Standing Up for your Team – For Sir Alex, his team came first. He always stood by his team, even in difficult circumstances. From protecting his team from press fury to shielding them from attacks by opposing teams and officials, Sir Alex was always a man to be relied upon. When Gary challenged the team, Fergie stood up for the team. When the press attacked his players unnecessarily, he stood up for the team. When the FA accused Rio of missing drug test, he stood by his player (as he was convinced of his innocence). There was the incidence with his old foe, Arsene Wenger. According to Fergie’s account, Ruud van Nistelrooy had come complaining that Wenger “had been giving him stick as he left the pitch”. Sir Alex felt he had to defend his player. This was his reaction: “Right away I rushed to Arsene: ‘You leave my players alone’”. That’s an important lesson for business leaders. Stand by your team!
Knowing When to Let Go – Sir Alex knew when not to let emotions get in his way; he knew when to let go. It is not particularly easy to part ways with a loyal servant; more so when the person was much more than a servant. His job meant that he would be exposed to lots of scenarios as such, but in all cases, he considered productivity first before emotions. The book gave several instances buttressing this. There was the case of Phil Neville. He was an extremely loyal player, and like a son. He was at a stage in his career where his performance was not quite top notch, and was made more noticeable with the presence of better players. An emotional frank talk with Phil, with a teary wife begging that they don’t want to leave United, didn’t stop Fergie from suggesting what he felt was good for both Phil and the club. Phil had to be sold, so he could play. It was hurting Fergie to keep him on the bench and he felt he was at a stage in his career where he needed play time. Phil ended up at Everton. There was also the difficult case of parting ways with the very loyal Nicky Butt. He was also like a son to Sir Alex, but once his productivity had dropped beyond where he could guarantee him play time, he had to let him go. He ended up at Newcastle. If you think the above cases are quite easy to execute, then think about being in same situation with your biological son. Darren, Fergie’s son was playing for United. However, his performance level was such that he had to be consigned to the bench. He felt his son needed game time, but he couldn’t afford that at United since there were better players in his role. He was sold. Not even the appeals from his lovely wife, Darren’s mother, could stop him. That’s the stuff leaders should be made of. In cases like this, Productivity is paramount. No compromise!
Knowing When to Quit – Sir Alex always had this mystery about him. He always held everyone spell bound. In quitting, he did this as well. He had won everything there is to win - 2 EUFA Champions League, 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 1 FIFA World Club Cup, 1 EUFA Super Cup, 1 EUFA Cup Winners Cup, 1 Inter-Continental Cup, and 10 FA Charity/Community Shield. He had knocked Liverpool off their “perch”, he had reclaimed the title from the noisy neighbors. He was 72, his wife had lost her sister and he felt he needed to be with her more. He had United’s 20th title all wrapped up. The time was ripe, he had to bow out. He didn’t leave in shame or defeat; He left a hero! He left United as the Greatest Manager in British football; securely established in Manchester United folklore. He left the Greatest of them all. Sir Alex Ferguson, the enigma. He knew when to quit; every great leader should know when to quit!
R. Tombari Sibe is an Engineer and policy strategist. He writes in from Port Harcourt.
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
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