Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 70th birthday on New Year’s Eve and there is no sign of an early departure from Old Trafford. Why should there be? Manchester United have a good chance of retaining the title. Perhaps what distinguishes them from other clubs is their ability to win even when they do not play well.
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 70th birthday on New Year’s Eve and there is no sign of an early departure from Old Trafford. Why should there be? Manchester United have a good chance of retaining the title. Perhaps what distinguishes them from other clubs is their ability to win even when they do not play well.
As Ferguson’s biographer Patrick Barclay points out Ferguson is not a genius. Brian Clough was a better judge of players, José Mourinho is a better tactician and there are many better coaches. But there is no one who is better at management.
Leading sports writer Simon Kuper wrote an interesting article in the Financial Times yesterday trying to work out what it is that makes Sir Alex such a good manager. The message was that many business managers could learn from him.
Of course what makes Sir Alex is a unique blend of different factors. However, if there is one general message I take away from the article, it is about an ability to learn. In particular not just learning from mistakes, but thinking about who to learn from and who to disregard. It is also an ability to turn potential weaknesses into strengths.
Perhaps I would also add a determination to succeed. People I have known in life who have ended up as chief executive officers have been prepared to pay a high price to get there because they really wanted it. They have set themselves tough goals and set out to achieve them.
Of course, perhaps one also needs a little luck. There was a time early in Sir Alex’s career at Manchester United when it hung in the balance. However, if you are going to start off managing East Stirlingshire and end up being a world class manager you need self belief, but also never to be satisfied with what you have achieved to date.
In a subsequent post I will look at Simon Kuper’s assessment in more detail.