Future Survival - Foundation For Change

Success for Scottish football is often seen as winning leagues and trophies or entry into Europe, all reflected in the performance of a successful national team. Like much of the managerial thinking in the UK this is short term, narrow and insular.

Success in real terms is likely to be your club’s future survival, so is it fit to cope with the pressures it now faces.

Successful businesses all face this difficulty. Although some are more successful than others, they are all able to cope with the circumstances they are facing while others round about them, go to the wall.

These successful organisations are not successful by accident. They are successful because they can deal with the changes that the circumstances dictate and they do so because they are all comfortable with change. They understand change so well, that they can foresee and influence likely future trends and activities within their business sector. And to do all this, they not only have to do well at management, they have to excel at it.

Scottish football must do the same. So what about you, Mister Club Chairman? How well do you perform in management terms?

The following questions can easily apply to you, your club, other clubs and whatever governing body you wish but you should not dismiss the responsibility that lies on your shoulders to ensure that in the absence of debate on these issues that you must hoist the flag and carry it forth – right into the heat of the battle.

All successful management has a strategic base that is simple and fundamental in nature. What is your strategy for success of you club? Can you really differentiate between strategy and tactical measures? Does your strategy address the need to increase match attendances and revenue?

Successful businesses and organisations do not hide from the possibility that things can go catastrophically wrong. They protect themselves against this eventuality and have a contingency plan. When things go wrong for your club, what measures do have in place to spread the risk allow them to weather the storm?

The Dinosaurs could not adapt to cataclysmic events and died out. Football clubs are no different but to adapt when constraints prevent them from doing so requires something special. To be truly successful, this ‘something special’ is innovation. What are you doing to encourage innovation at your club?

Money is often seen as the definitive resource but to successful businesses, this resource is people. Access to this resource for football clubs lies out with the boundaries of the club so what measures are you putting in place to access these resources?

People everywhere require incentives and support in order to achieve. They have to be highly motivated in order to excel. What are you doing to support everyone involved with your club, whether it’s the team manager, players, supporters or the local community?

You cannot command or demand change, and you may not know the answers to those questions. As stated previously, you are only human but you should at least be asking those questions and a whole lot more like them. If you are not, then you seriously need to consider your future as the right person to lead your club.

If you are wracking your brains trying to make sense of all chaos that surrounds your club and Scottish football you might be feeling like a train crash investigator trying to make sense of a complex chain of events, just remember that theses people are not possessed with some super human insight any more than you are. Just as they employ analytical tools and methods of approach, then so must you.

So if you don’t know what they are, then go and find out. For if you don’t, you club is going to go to the wall and deservedly so. And when it dies it won’t be the Bosman Ruling, economic downturns, lack of attendances or poorly performing players that’s to blame – it will be you.

All you can do is lay a Foundation For Change.

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