Sir Alex Reveals Teamwork Ploys

Sir Alex Ferguson has stressed the importance of teamwork via his exclusive audio readings on Manchester United's Facebook page.

The legendary former Manchester United boss is relaying excerpts from his new book Leading and revealing the secrets to success in management.

"Balance is the key to every team," he stated. "It’s impossible to win a football game with 11 goalkeepers or with a group with identical talents. I suspect that’s true in other organisations, too.

"It takes constant work to maintain balance. Every member of a team has got to understand that they’re part of a jigsaw puzzle. If you remove one piece, the picture doesn’t look right. Each player has to understand the qualities and strengths of their team-mates.

"In football, eight players, not 11, win games – because everybody has off days. I used all sorts of ploys to try to emphasise to the players – particularly the young ones – the benefits of teamwork. In my office at the Carrington training ground, I used to have a large black-and-white photograph from the 1930s of 11 workers in New York eating their lunch while sitting on steel girders, hundreds of feet above street level during the construction of the Rockefeller Center.

"It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. These guys are sitting there without any safety harnesses – one of them is even lighting a cigarette! I would explain to the players that if one of the workers got into trouble, his mates would try to save him. I say: 'That’s team spirit – when you give your life to someone.' Nobody at this club ever wins a thing without their team-mates."

The series will continue on United's Facebook page at 09:00 BST each day until 10 September.

Leading will be released on 22 September and Sir Alex starts his theatre tour a day earlier in London. Find out more and pre-order special or standard editions of the book now from manutd.com/leading.

Credit: Manutd.com