Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson

I had never heard of Sir Alex Ferguson until I was perusing some of my favorite websites over Thanksgiving and discovered one of the most popular posts recently on the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge website was a case study of his management style: HBS Cases: Alex Ferguson - Managing Manchester United. I shortly found out I had missed out on learning about this coach and decided to purchase the full study. Here are my notes on Sir Alex's career.

He has managed at the highest level of professional soccer for 29 years which is the longest tenured Premier League manager by far. Under his leadership Manchester United (ManU) has become one of the worlds most successful franchises.

The study revealed two major reasons why he has been such a successful manager.

First is his willingness to develop young talent. Shortly after taking over Manchester United he developed a productive youth system which gave young players a chance to earn a spot on the senior club. Although it took a couple of years to get this youth program right, Ferguson had the patience to wait for it to develop high level players. Now the Manchester United Youth program regularly produces new stars. Ferguson was also willing to confront the hard but necessary job of cutting older and popular players in order to let the young have a chance.

Second, Ferguson had the ability to adapt to changing times. He has embraced new technologies and new approaches. He has regularly sought out the opinions of experts beyond ManU who could help the performance of the team. Success does not deter his constant interest in learning more. Many other successful people might get stuck in their ways and become satisfied with success.

Ferguson also has the ability to tradeoff between managing for the short and long term
"The first thought for 99 percent of newly appointed managers is to make sure they win—to survive. They bring experienced players in, often from their previous clubs. But I think it is important to build a structure for a football club—not just a football team. You need a foundation. And there is nothing better than seeing a young player make it to the first team."

Ferguson is a master at motivating players. He understands individual differences. How some players need praise well others may need an occasional push. His tremendous knowledge of game earns him respect. He is incredibly well prepared for everything he does. 

When he has free time he is an avid reader. He especially loves historical topics like the American Civil War and JFK. He also loves reading about coaches and Vince Lombardi is a favorite. 

He has a definite vision for his season. Since a premier league season is 65 games long, his teams never start all out. His feeling with a season from August through May, you get going in October and try to be close to top by New Years and make the big push after New Year. He understands that to manage a season appropriately you have to make tradeoffs. He is always thinking two games ahead. 

As for practice training sessions are times to learn and improve. ManU does not just scrimmage. Ferguson believes in focusing on repetitions of skills and tactics. He avoids criticism in practice -- focusing on positives -- and believe there is nothing more effective than a simple and honest "well done." 

Throughout the week he manages his players through numerous short conversations with them. Sometimes they are related to sport, sometimes not. To him it is how he builds relationships. He is very tough and quick when need he needs to be. But he tries to keep any disciplinary action within the club. 

He loves working with talented athletes but believes hard work is a talent too.

Ferguson is much loved in England and Scotland where he was brought up. He is also a great model for other coaches.