The Old Trafford legend allowed professors
from Harvard Business School to carry out a
case study on his methods during his last
season and explains what made him a winner
Legendary former Manchester United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed the methods
and mentality that saw him win 28 major
trophies in 26 years in charge.
The Scot permitted professors from Harvard
Business School to observe and study his
methods during his final season at Old
Trafford as part of a case study, upon which
he has since expanded to students in visits to
the institution after his retirement.
In a wide-ranging interview published in full in
the Harvard Business Review , Sir Alex
explained that his first move upon joining the
Red Devils was to establish his famed focus on
youth.
"From the moment I got to Manchester
United, I thought of only one thing: building a
football club. I wanted to build right from the
bottom," he began.
"I knew that a focus on youth would fit the
club's history and my earlier coaching
experience told me that winning with young
players could be done and that I was good at
working with them. So I had the confidence
and conviction that, if United was going to
mean anything again, rebuilding the youth
structure was crucial. You could say it was
brave but fortune favours the brave.
"At some clubs, you need only to lose three
games in a row and you're fired. In today's
football world, with a new breed of directors
and owners, I am not sure any club would
have the patience to wait for a manager to
build a team over a four-year period.
"Winning a game is only a short-term gain -
you can lose the next game. Building a club
brings stability and consistency.
"Although I was always trying to disprove it, I
believe that the cycle of a successful team
lasts maybe four years and then some change
is needed. So we tried to visualise the team
three or four years ahead and make decisions
accordingly.
"Because I was at United for such a long time,
I could afford to plan ahead - no one expected
me to go anywhere. I was very fortunate in
that respect.
"Everything we did was about maintaining the
standards we had set as a football club - this
applied to all my team building and all my
team preparation, motivational talks, and
tactical talks.
"I had to lift players' expectations. They should
never give in. I said that to them all the time:
'If you give in once, you'll give in twice.' And
the work ethic and energy I had seemed to
spread throughout the club.
"Superstars with egos are not the problem
some people may think. They need to be
winners because that massages their egos, so
they will do what it takes to win. I used to see
[Cristiano] Ronaldo, [David] Beckham, [Ryan]
Giggs, [Paul] Scholes and others out there
practicing for hours.
"If the day came that the manager of
Manchester United was controlled by the
players - in other words, if the players decided
how the training should be, what days they
should have off, what the discipline should be
and what the tactics should be - then
Manchester United would not be the
Manchester United we know.
"Before I came to United, I told myself I
wasn't going to allow anyone to be stronger
than I was. Your personality has to be bigger
than theirs. That is vital.
"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 staff. If they are, you have to
cut the cord.
"There is absolutely no other way. It doesn't
matter if the person is the best player in the
world. The long-term view of the club is more
important than any individual and the manager
has to be the most important one in the club.
"Some English clubs have changed managers so
many times that it creates power for the
players in the dressing room. That is very
dangerous. If the coach has no control, he will
not last. You have to achieve a position of
comprehensive control.
"Players must recognise that as the manager,
you have the status to control events. You can
complicate your life in many ways by asking:
'Oh, I wonder if the players like me?' If I did
my job well, the players would respect me and
that's all you need.
"I tended to act quickly when I saw a player
become a negative influence. Some might say I
acted impulsively but I think it was critical that
I made up my mind quickly. Why should I have
gone to bed with doubts? I would wake up the
next day and take the necessary steps to
maintain discipline.
"Observation is the final part of my
management structure. When I started as a
coach, I relied on several basics: that I could
play the game well, that I understood the
technical skills needed to succeed at the
highest level, that I could coach players and
that I had the ability to make decisions.
"Seeing a change in a player's habits or a
sudden dip in his enthusiasm allowed me to go
further with him: Is it family problems? Is he
struggling financially? Is he tired? What kind of
mood is he in? Sometimes I could even tell
that a player was injured when he thought he
was fine.
"I don't think many people fully understand
the value of observing. 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.
"When I started, there were no agents and,
although games were televised, the media did
not elevate players to the level of film stars
and constantly look for new stories about
them. Stadiums have improved, pitches are in
perfect condition now and sports science has a
strong influence on how we prepare for the
season.
"Owners from Russia, the Middle East and
other regions have poured a lot of money into
the game and are putting pressure on
managers. And players have led more-sheltered
lives, so they are much more fragile than
players were 25 years ago.
"One of the things I've done well over the
years is manage change. I believe that you
control change by accepting it. That also
means having confidence in the people you
hire. The minute staff members are employed,
you have to trust that they are doing their
jobs. If you micromanage and tell people what
to do, there is no point in hiring them.
"The most important thing is to not stagnate. I
said to David Gill a few years ago: 'The only
way we can keep players at Manchester United
is if we have the best training ground in
Europe.' That is when we kickstarted the
medical centre. We can't sit still.
"Most people with my kind of track record
don't look to change but I always felt I
couldn't afford not to change. We had to be
successful - there was no other option for me -
and I would explore any means of improving. I
continued to work hard. I treated every
success as my first. My job was to give us the
best possible chance of winning. That is what
drove me."
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