Manchester United manager is celebrating his 26th year on the job while those around him appear as secure as a kindergartner's milk teeth. Thirty percent of Premier League managers last less than a year. Since Ferguson was appointed in 1986, Manchester City have had 19 men fill the role. Liverpool have had 10. As he approaches his 71st birthday, Sir Alex has defied countless predictions of his demise and, in Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, battled enough rivals to fill out a comic-book movie franchise.
Deciphering the answer to that question has been complicated by the fact that the media-wary Ferguson has often cut an opaque figure. So a recently published Harvard Business School case study, "Managing Manchester United," is an unexpectedly detailed mine of information on the topic. Tracing Ferguson's journey from moderately able footballer to leader of one of the world's most successful clubs, the riveting 25-page document, written with the United manager's heartfelt cooperation, examines his management philosophy and identifies the skills necessary to survive and thrive under the conditions of hysterical stress known as the English Premier League.
Ferguson is portrayed in the case study as a coherent, self-aware and honest man whose drive to win is matched only by his hunger for control. United's chief executive, David Gill, compares the Scot's role at the club to that played by the late Steve Jobs at Apple. Equal parts tactical genius, psychologist, moral guide, sports scientist, negotiator, motivator and charismatic figurehead, the Glaswegian, who left high school at age 16, understands the management task far surpasses that of winning games with an able first team. It is about building a strong, sustainable organization.
"The first thought for 99 percent of newly appointed managers is to make sure they win -- to survive," Ferguson is quoted in the report. "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."
Above all, the case study underlines Ferguson's unparalleled skills as a talent evaluator and manager. The coach admits he inculcates a winning culture by sourcing industrious, committed players who share his abhorrence of defeat, without ever losing sight of the basic thought pattern that fills their minds.
"Football management ... in the end is all about the players," Ferguson said in the report. "You think you are a better player than they are, they think they are a better manager than you are."
The case study is littered with evidence of Ferguson's humour. It is worth purchasing simply to savor his creative description of "Fergie Time," but to read the report is to marvel anew at the nature of Ferguson's achievement -- how a man who never attended university, let alone Harvard Business School, discovered the natural ability to lead such an inherently complex operational system as Manchester United.
Deciphering the answer to that question has been complicated by the fact that the media-wary Ferguson has often cut an opaque figure. So a recently published Harvard Business School case study, "Managing Manchester United," is an unexpectedly detailed mine of information on the topic. Tracing Ferguson's journey from moderately able footballer to leader of one of the world's most successful clubs, the riveting 25-page document, written with the United manager's heartfelt cooperation, examines his management philosophy and identifies the skills necessary to survive and thrive under the conditions of hysterical stress known as the English Premier League.
Ferguson is portrayed in the case study as a coherent, self-aware and honest man whose drive to win is matched only by his hunger for control. United's chief executive, David Gill, compares the Scot's role at the club to that played by the late Steve Jobs at Apple. Equal parts tactical genius, psychologist, moral guide, sports scientist, negotiator, motivator and charismatic figurehead, the Glaswegian, who left high school at age 16, understands the management task far surpasses that of winning games with an able first team. It is about building a strong, sustainable organization.
"The first thought for 99 percent of newly appointed managers is to make sure they win -- to survive," Ferguson is quoted in the report. "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."
Above all, the case study underlines Ferguson's unparalleled skills as a talent evaluator and manager. The coach admits he inculcates a winning culture by sourcing industrious, committed players who share his abhorrence of defeat, without ever losing sight of the basic thought pattern that fills their minds.
"Football management ... in the end is all about the players," Ferguson said in the report. "You think you are a better player than they are, they think they are a better manager than you are."
The case study is littered with evidence of Ferguson's humour. It is worth purchasing simply to savor his creative description of "Fergie Time," but to read the report is to marvel anew at the nature of Ferguson's achievement -- how a man who never attended university, let alone Harvard Business School, discovered the natural ability to lead such an inherently complex operational system as Manchester United.
However, perhaps the case study forgets that while Fergie never went to university, he did learn his trade under some legendary managers while as a player at Rangers such as Scot Symon and from his mentor who made him assistant manager of Scotland – the equally legendary Celtic and Scotland manager Jock Stein.
Fergie also started early as a manager at East Stirlingshire and indeed even got the sack from St Mirren. However remarkable his success in managing Manchester United is, he and many other observers are in no doubt that his greatest achievements were when in charge of Aberdeen, who not only broke the Old Firm stranglehold on the Scottish League, but he took them to European success beating the mighty Real Madrid in Gothenburg. Something he will never top at United, not matter how many times he wins the European Champions League.
