In the next days, I will be writing about Sir Alex Ferguson's ideologies, attitude and mentality which has made him one of the best managers to grace this beautiful game of soccer. Before retiring in May 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager of Manchester United for 26 good seasons (wasn't that rosy when he began though). His accomplishments during that period was remarkable. The Red Devils won 13 English league titles along with 25 other domestic and international trophies.
Ferguson was far more than a coach, as he played a key role in shaping United managing not just the first team but the entire club. In 2012, a professor at Harvard Business School Anita Elberse had the privilege to extensively examine Ferguson’s managerial approach. She went deeper than just conducting a series of in-depth interviews with Ferguson about his leadership methodologies. She watched him in action at United’s training ground and at the World acclaimed "Theatre of dreams", Old Trafford, where a nine-foot bronze statue of the former manager has been erected. She spoke with many of the people Ferguson directly worked with, from David Gill to the club’s assistant coaches, kit manager, and players. She also observed Sir Alex Ferguson during numerous short meetings and conversations with players and staff members. Ferguson and Prof. Anita discussed eight leadership lessons that touched on the crucial elements of his approach. The approach that sustained his longevity and success. These article will touch on the first step he took to succeed.
Start with the Foundation
Sir Alex Ferguson clearly arrived in Manchester United with a plan, a plan to succeed. Sir Alex Ferguson said "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." Upon his arrival at Manchester, in 1986, Ferguson developed a model for the long future of the club by re-organizing and modernizing United’s youth program. The most successful coach ever further added "When I arrived, only one player on the first team was under 24. Can you imagine that, for a club like Manchester United? 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 favors the brave."
He implemented his thoughts in two ways. The first thing he did was to establish two “centers of excellence” for promising talents as young as nine. The other thing he did was to recruit a number of scouts, instructing them to bring him the top young talents. He wanted more than just providing a constant stream of talented players for the first team. The Former Scottish international said "that [building a youth academy] was in order to create fluency and a continuity of supply to the first team. With this approach, the players all grow up together, producing a bond that, in turn, creates a spirit." The best-known of his early signings were David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. Other Manchester United legends like Paul Scholes and Gary Neville were also among Ferguson’s early youth program investments. Together with Giggs and Beckham, they formed the famous "class of 92" which formed the backbone of the hugely successful United teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Sir Alex took a huge gamble on young talents at a time when the notion was that “You can’t win anything with kids.” Ferguson thought about the difference between building a team, which is what most managers concentrate on, and building a club. He said "The first thought of 99% of newly appointed managers is to make sure they win—to survive. So they bring experienced players in. That’s simply because we’re in a results-driven industry. At some clubs, you need only to lose three games in a row, and you’re fired."
Sir Alex Ferguson however admitted he was a bit lucky during his early days at United. He was quoted to as saying "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." His position as Manchester United manager would have been in serious jeopardy had the club not won the 1990 FA Cup, former chairman Martin Edwards has revealed.
The 73 year old further illustrated that there is more to building a team than just for short term success. "Winning a game is only a short-term gain—you can lose the next game. Building a club brings stability and consistency. You don’t ever want to take your eyes off the first team, but our youth development efforts ended up leading to our many successes in the 1990s and early 2000s. The young players really became the spirit of the club."
Ferguson had a passion for the youth. He had this to say " I always take great pride in seeing younger players develop. The job of a manager, like that of a teacher, is to inspire people to be better. Give them better technical skills, make them winners, make them better people, and they can go anywhere in life. 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. Once they know you are batting for them, they will accept your way. You’re really fostering a sense of family. If you give young people your attention and an opportunity to succeed, it is amazing how much they will surprise you.
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