Legendary former Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has heaped praise on Warren Buffett for his leadership style in a book he co-wrote with journalist and venture capitalist Michael Moritz.
In the book “Leading,” Ferguson, who oversaw Manchester United for 26 years and guided the club to numerous titles, extols Buffett’s long-term view and hands-off management style. “I’ve read quite a lot about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, and I imagine that the people heading his various companies all think much more about long-term prosperity than the CEO of a publicly listed company who is worried that the investment fund managers will be at his throat if he produces disappointing earnings in the next quarter,” Ferguson wrote.
The former Manchester United manager made the case that soccer team owners should emulate Buffett’s management approach. This includes prioritizing long-term success over short-term results, providing the necessary resources for building a team, and refraining from meddling in daily management.
Buffett, who has run Berkshire Hathaway since 1965, buys businesses with the intention of owning them forever. He encourages the leaders of Berkshire’s many subsidiaries to make decisions that benefit the long-term success of the company.
In his book, Ferguson also emphasized the need for owners who understand the value of supporting a manager’s efforts to inspire, cultivate talent, and unite the team around a larger, long-term mission.
Buffett’s approach to delegating authority and fostering a common vision has been compared to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ philosophy of self-managing employees. Both leaders subscribe to the idea of entrusting their managers with autonomy and accountability, ultimately leading to sustainable long-term success.
The insights from Sir Alex Ferguson, a legendary figure in soccer management, provide a compelling case for sports organizations to adopt Warren Buffett’s leadership principles in order to drive long-term prosperity and success.
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