Manchester City have won the ‘Treble’ (The
Premier League, the FA Cup, and the European Champions League). Above are some photos
of me taken at City games last season!
But why is the Club so successful? It’s
really not just down to spending lots of money (like the jealous supporters of their
rivals claim). Many of the top football clubs in the UK have spent just as much
money as Manchester City, but they have not had anywhere near the same amount
of success.
I believe there are several core
reasons why Manchester City have been so successful over the last few years,
and that there are some important lessons that all business owners can learn
from this success. Here are just a few of them.
1) GREAT TEAMWORK - Manchester City
have got the best team spirit in the Premier League. Every team member knows
exactly what their role is and how they fit into the vision of the wider team.
The attitude instilled into them is ‘all for one and one for all’ and to never
stop fighting for the team.
Every player is prepared to do
whatever is needed for the good of the team, and this means being prepared to
take on any other role when required. For example, John Stones will push
forward into attack where appropriate (sometimes assisting or scoring goals
himself) while meanwhile, Jack Grealish will often run back at speed, to help
out his defensive team mates. There are no prima donnas - everyone does exactly
what is required for the greater good of the team.
2) GREAT SUPPLY CHAIN - to be
successful you need a great supply chain. Manchester City have got a fantastic
ongoing supply chain of top quality players joining the team from a wide
variety of sources including: (1) from their own youth academy - such as Phil
Foden, Rico Lewis and Cole Palmer; (2)
from foreign clubs - such as Erling Haaland,
Manuel Akanji and Julián Álvarez,
and (3) from other English clubs - such as Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker
and Riyad Mahrez.
3) GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE - City
already have one of the best stadiums in Europe, with state-of-the-art
facilities offering high levels of comfort. But they never stop trying to
improve. The new stadium plan, aims to create a best-in-class customer
experience by turning the Etihad Campus into a year-round entertainment and
leisure destination.
The Club are just about to begin
building several connected all-weather facilities integrated into the stadium,
plus an expanded North Stand, increasing stadium capacity to over 60,000. There
will also be a new 3,000 capacity covered fanzone, a music arena with over
20,000 capacity, plus a new museum, hotel, and extensive catering facilities.
But despite all the planned improvements, City’s season ticket and matchday
prices compare very favourably with other Premier League Clubs like Chelsea,
Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool. A great customer experience, at a very fair
price!
4) GREAT LEADERSHIP - no explanation
required here! The most successful businesses have the best leaders, with
crystal clear focus, great organisational skills, the ability to inspire and
motivate, and they are loved and respected by their team. Manchester City’s
Team Manager (Pep Guardiola) is regarded as one of the very best coaches in the
world, but he is also respected as a great leader and a charismatic man-manager.
A successful business is ultimately
only as successful as the person managing it. And regardless of the quality of
the players, a football club can only be successful if it also has a great
leader.
So if you want YOUR business to be
successful, take a leaf out of the world’s greatest football team - Manchester
City!
© 2023 Darren Bugg
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