The Greatest of Coaches: 'Ferguson's Formula'

[RedsHappy]

Can I commend to anyone interested in the power and impact that truly great coaching can have upon a team or sports code, the following excellent Harvard Business Review interview/discussion with the peerless Sir Alex Ferguson:

http://hbr.org/2013/10/fergusons-formula/ar/1

Btw, I hope Link might pop in here and have a read of this article. In part it speaks of challenges he will have in 2013 and beyond.

 

[Rob42]

Great find, RedsHappy. A really fascinating article. So many things to highlight. He managed to turn his most famous saying about how to build a successful team into more of an essay - see point 4.

In the context of a national rugby coach, I think the real parallels are in the need for a head coach to build the whole "club", not just the team. A national coach needs to be active in guiding an agenda for the game across all the states, not just picking the top 23 and training them.

 

[ChargerWA]

I like his comments regarding player power.

 

[Gagger]

Smart man - it sounds like it came quite naturally to him.

Also sounds like he wasn't a total hard case behind closed doors

 

[boyo]

Fatprop's signature:-

Earlier this year Team GB cycling coach Dave Brailsford met Sir Alex Ferguson to exchange management tips and techniques. Brailsford was particularly keen to know the secret to Fergie's and Man Utd's success longevity. Ferguson's reply? "Get rid of the c**ts."

 

[Hawko]

Fatprop's signature:-

Earlier this year Team GB cycling coach Dave Brailsford met Sir Alex Ferguson to exchange management tips and techniques. Brailsford was particularly keen to know the secret to Fergie's and Man Utd's success longevity. Ferguson's reply? "Get rid of the c**ts."

The interesting thing about the article is that it shows that the quote is a misleading interpretation of what is the basis for MAN U's success. A number of c**ts have been a successful part of the team's success. It is how they are managed that counts - if they contribute they stay, if they cause trouble they're gone.

 

[Bardon]

I think a very important lesson Link and many other national coaches can learn from is when Ferguson talks about observation. So many national coaches assign themselves a responsibility better left to a specialist assistant.

I prefer a situation where the coach can stand back and observe the overall picture and thus improve the team in many areas rather than getting too focused on their own area of expertise. Also the team can still benefit from their specialist expertise as they can work with the assistant coaches responsible for that area and still make changes and improvements.

Personally in a test level set up I view any main coaching area not covered by a specialist coach as a drain on one of the most important resources, the time and attention of the head coach. It's the pinnacle of our game so why not have the best guys available covering every facet and let the head coach deal with the overall strategy and bringing the work of all the specialists together into a cohesive plan. This way he can ensure that the team is improving in all areas rather than sacrificing other areas in order to perform better in one specific area.