What business can learn from soccer

By David Bolchover



When Sir Alex Ferguson leads his soccer team into the FA Cup Final in Cardiff on Saturday, it will mark the end of a challenging season both on and off the pitch for the manager of Manchester United. The tensions between Sir Alex and John Magnier, the Irish racing tycoon and one of the club's big shareholders, have highlighted Sir Alex's biggest challenge. He may be king inside his own little fiefdom - the cosy, artificial world of soccer - but this time round he is not up against young lads whom he can order around as he likes. In his confrontation with Mr Magnier, he is face to face with an experienced player in the tough world of business. In this respect, Sir Alex has stepped into the really big league.





Nevertheless, top soccer managers and players deserve better regard from the outside world than they often receive. Whatever the rights and wrongs of his quarrel with Mr Magnier, Sir Alex has been top of the tree in a hugely competitive and open meritocracy in which success shows and failure is cruelly exposed. If only business were more like the perfect market that is soccer. If only talent, determination and performance meant everything and flattery, nepotism and image counted for nothing.



The experiences of Jason and Darren Ferguson, two of Sir Alex's sons, starkly illustrate the gulf between soccer and business. Jason's career as a soccer agent has undoubtedly been helped by the fact that his father is such a big figure in the industry. The very name of Ferguson carries weight and credibility in British sport - and brings with it good connections. That is business.



Now wind the clock back to the Manchester United career of Darren Ferguson, who left the club just over a decade ago. He was a decent player, but having his father as manager could not disguise the fact that he was not good enough for a team with designs on European domination. He is now playing for Wrexham, a lower division team. That is soccer. A good name and a connection are not enough.



No industry is more meritocratic and yet the consensus seems to be that top soccer players are overpaid. For the best players, though, $140,000 a week is not so ridiculous. First, they provide entertainment for millions. Second, they have an extremely rare talent that is visible and measurable which the market is willing to pay for. In banking and broking , plenty of traders earn vast salaries. Now that is ridiculous. You could train any one of thousands of reasonably bright 18-year-olds with the gift of the gab and a capacity for hard work to do their job. But how many youngsters are potentially as good as Thierry Henry at soccer?



Sir Alex - and for that matter any other great soccer manager - devote their lives to getting the best out of others and are hugely and obviously successful at it. If only business had more managers like these men it would contribute greatly to a country's overall productivity. According to a recent Gallup survey, more than 80 per cent of British workers lack commitment to their jobs and most blame poor management for their low level of motivation.



If you want inspirational leaders, do not look to chief executives. They are mostly just company men who played a canny political game and got a few breaks. Go to the dugout at the top soccer clubs instead. If you want to feel jealous about people who are lucky enough to earn a huge salary, go to Hollywood or Wall Street. Top soccer players do not need the right school, influential fathers, well-connected publicity agents or the luck of being in the right place at the right time. They got their slice of fortune on the day they were born. It is called sublime talent.



The writer, co-author of 'The 90-Minute Manager: Lessons from the Sharp End of Management', is a consultant on management and leadership