Leading: Lessons in leadership from the legendary Manchester United manager - Softcover

Ferguson, Alex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 147362164X ISBN 13: 9781473621640

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2016

Synopsis

'One of the World's all-time great leaders'
Professor Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School

What does it take to lead a team to world-class success over a sustained period of time?

Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the few leaders who truly knows. In his 38 years in management, Sir Alex won an astonishing 49 trophies and helped grow Manchester United into one of the biggest commercial brands in the world.

In this inspirational and straight-talking book, Sir Alex reveals the secrets behind his record-breaking career.

LEADING is structured around the key skills that Sir Alex values most highly. It includes subjects we immediately associate with his managerial style: Discipline, Control, Teamwork and Motivation. But it also addresses subjects that are less obvious but no less important when seeking success: Delegation, Data Analysis and Dealing with Failure.

Written with the investor Sir Michael Moritz, a longstanding friend of Sir Alex, LEADING is packed with insight, wisdom, humour and honesty. The individual stories inevitably concern themselves with football, and the phenomenal success that came along the way, but the lessons can be applied by anyone. Whether you run a business, teach in a classroom, or work in a small team, LEADING will help you become a better leader.

About this title

Review:

LEADING is about leadership, management and the pursuit of success. It's a fantastic book, one of the best of its kind. The defining quality of Ferguson and Moritz's book is its clarity. The pair discuss leadership from a purely practical perspective, their raw material being Ferguson's vast experience. If there's one word, though, that characterises his philosophy of management it's discipline... And yet what comes through very strongly is humility, even vulnerability.
Every success of his, you realise, has been hard-won. Failure has been a constant threat. Nagging anxiety he just accepted 'as part of my job'. And he wouldn't have had it any other way.

(Marcus Berkmann Daily Mail)

For those interested in the subject of leadership, be it managing people effectively and getting the best out of them or learning which qualities and traits separate those who manage and those who inspire, Leading is a worthwhile read.
Football fans might complain that the book is over too quickly, even though Ferguson provides 343 pages of entertaining stories and observations. Structuring his sermons in an easily read format is the latest managerial masterstroke from a man who made a career out of regularly producing them.

(Daily Express)

The foundation for its (Man Utd's) success was built by Ferguson, whose near-pathological obsession with football - and with winning - is a case study in leadership. (Lionel Barber Financial Times)

Ferguson is one of the most successful men in his field - not just in football, but any sport in any era. He defied the norms and the scale of his accomplishments will only become more apparent with the passing of time. History will see that Ferguson grows, not diminishes. (Matt Dickinson The Times)

This is as good as Ferguson's last book. Both are about being a particular kind of person... (Independent)

Book Description:

An inspirational book about leadership from the most successful British football manager of all time.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 147362164X
• ISBN 13: 9781473621640
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416