Recognising Hunger
Notes from a chapter of the book Leading:Alex Ferguson with Michael Moritz.
I picked up a book recently of someone who every single Manchester United fan absolutely idolises. This book is written by Sir Alex and Michael Moritz. I am finding it an amazing read so far. One of the chapters titled Recognising Hunger was one which really had me impressed.
Here are some of the notes and thoughts:
Discipline:
“When I got to Aberdeen, which is a more sedate place than Glasgow, I realised that I would need to inject a bit of Glaswegian ferocity and discipline into the team. I didn’t spare the horses. I was aggressive and demanding and I suspect not everyone enjoyed it, but it made the players into men and increased their profiles.” - Sir Alex
“The issue of discipline accompanied me throughout my career. In the conversations I had with Martin Edwards before accepting Manchester United’s offer to join them in November 1986, he alluded to the habit of some of the players to drink too much. He mentioned one of the reasons United had been interested was that I had built a reputation as a manager who was known for maintaining discipline and not tolerating poor behaviour.”
One of the things Munger and Buffett speak about a lot is the importance of reputation. Buffett even said during the time he served as Solomon brothers Chairman he would be fine if the employees lose money but he would be ruthless with them if they lost a shred of reputation. The importance of having a reputation and the leverage that you get due to it is under appreciated. Fergusson was not a very decorated manager before joining United he did wonders with Aberdeen but United was certainly a few steps up. I think building a reputation for yourself which is important and will help later in life if we invert this though and see what life is like if you build a bad reputation for yourself I don’t think it is a wonderful sight to see.
“I place discipline above all else and it might have cost us several titles. If I had to repeat things, I’d do precisely the same, because once you bid farewell to discipline you say goodbye to success and set the stage for anarchy.”
“In the long run principles are just more important than expediency.”
“I always felt that our triumphs were an expression of the consistent application of discipline. It may surprise some to learn that much of the success comes form not getting carried away or trying to do the impossible and taking too many risks.”
Sir Alex used to sit down in January and predict the points each club would obtain looking at the fixtures. This exercise helped illuminate how important those unglamorous shitty 1-0 wins were. One such game in 2007 against Middlesborough, Henrik Larsson who was a player on loan at that time from a Swedish club gave up his attacking position and helped out in midfield so that the team could dig out a victory. At full time in the dressing room everyone in the team applauded him. End of the season when United won the league United requested the Premier league for an extra medal so they could give it to Larsson as he had played less than 10 games.
Work Rate
“Since both my parents worked their fingers to the bone, I somehow just absorbed the idea that the only way I was going to improve my life was to work very hard.”
I think the early life of people is very important in shaping them as you will see going ahead how he even used it as something while scouting players. I think that character is built early on and that is something that you carry with you forward. I think discipline building is also something that comes early on.
“In a perfect world I would have filled every team sheet with 11 men who has as much determination as talent. But life is not like that, and if I had to choose between someone who had great talent but was short on grit and desire and another player who was good but had great determination and drive, I would always prefer the latter. The former might work well for a brief period, but they never have the staying power that gives a great club stability and consistency.”
I can state an instance where I could think of an instance where this was happening. I had the liberty of choosing a cricket team where I picked the players on a mix of quality and their determination. I made a lot of mistakes. One of them was thinking that picking someone who is a better player makes more sense than someone who puts in more effort. It was not like the player was a game changer. He was good but I had a lot of players who put in much more effort and the more I think about it the more I realise the gravity of the mistake. I not only encourage a player who is not disciplined and has a bad work ethic I set a bad example saying I am fine with it. I also discourage the players who are disciplined and have a tremendous work rate.
“I don’t want to sound like an old fogey, but the overall rise in the standard of living means that today’s players grow up with hot water, television, telephones, computers, cars and budget airlines , and in physical surroundings that are far more comfortable than those in which I grew up. I’ve long had a soft spot for people from a working class background, because I think it prepares them for the hardness of life.”
Giggs, Beckham, Ronaldo, Ferdinand, etc all these players come from a very tough and poor background.
“Sadly, there are examples of players who have similar backgrounds to Giggs or Cristiano Ronaldo who despite enormous natural talent just aren’t emotionally or mentally strong enough to overcome the hurts of their childhood and their inner demons.”
“We all felt ourselves to be outsiders in some ways and people who feel like outsiders do one of two things: they either feel rejected, carry a chip on their shoulder and complain that life is unfair or they use that sense of isolation to push themselves and work like Trojans.”
Again I can relate this with Munger. When you feel like an outsider you either go into the cycle of self pity or you use it to push yourself harder. This is exactly what Munger speaks about. I feel like this is not something that is limited to sport. This is a character defining trait. Because everyone will at some point face hardships and feel like life is unfair.
Drive
“For me drive means a combination of willingness to work hard, emotional fortitude, enormous powers of concentration and a refusal to admit defeat.”
“One players drive can have an enormous effect on a team — a winning drive is like a magical potion that can spread from one person to another.”
I find that the inverse is also true. If you get one person who has no drive at all then it can have a negative effect on the entire team. So I think you have to be very careful with the people you bring on.
“Despite dislocating his shoulder several times during his career, he would regularly engage in a daily regime of a thousand press ups.” - Sir Alex on Bryan Robson.
This sounds a lot like David Goggins .
Conviction
“Most people don’t have inner conviction. Their confidence is easily shaken, they blow with the wind and can be plagued with doubts. I cannot imagine how anyone without firm convictions and deep inner beliefs, can be an effective leader.”
One of the biggest reasons why people cannot have independent thought is because they don’t have any conviction in their beliefs. I think building conviction is something which takes effort but sticking with it is even more important.
“Be true to your own beliefs and convictions”
These things that Sir Alex speaks about are things which are true not only in sports but in everything else as well. If you want to build your own character or lead a life of quality I think some of the things in the book are really eye opening. In this book there is no secret but it is again the unrecognised simplicities. He is a genius because he exploited these simplicities.
Thank you for reading,
Samvit.