Tuesday 4 November 2014

Here are few things entrepreneurs could learn from Louis Van Gaal (MANU's Coach)

I have never been a fan of Manchester united and I don't think I ever will. But I really hope they make it to Europe next season (for the sake of football... Only).

Things have not been going well so far for Manchester united ever since LVG got there. In fact this has been their worst league start since the time of John the Baptist. Even worse than when calamity David Moyes was in charge.

But the way LVG has reacted to all these is what only few managers will do and I think that's the only reason why no one is calling for his head ( and I don't think they will) yet.

1) Its a TEAM effort... There is no YOU in team:

When Manchester united lost to Leicester united. They were actually 2 goals up but eventually lost 5-2. It was so obvious that the defence was very poor. The attackers became complacent too though. But during the post-match conference. LVG didn't single a player out for their misfortune. Instead he put the whole thing on the team...

When a particular department fails, the whole team fails. And vice-versa. No matter how fantastic your product is, if the marketing department is under performing, the whole start-up will suffer. Instead of criticizing the marketing department. Spend time with them to figure out what went wrong and how everyone can work together to fix things.

2) Never play down your team... No matter what!

 Even though things are not going smoothly for MANU... LVG is still optimistic and calm. He believes his team is getting better each day (and they are)... That's the spirit. That was one thing David Moyes didn't do. Instead, he played down his own team. He agreed with the critics. He lost confidence in himself, the team and the fans. And he got laid off eventually.

Things might not be going well for your start-up, you might not be getting enough cash flow to cover expenses. But that doesn't mean you should play down your start-up or those working hard with you to make things up.

If you are not feeling confident... Fake it. The team needs to know that you still believe in the goals of the company.

You should learn to stand by them, encourage them, and help them buy into the vision of the start-up but never ever play them down!

On your path to success, things will definitely get tougher and shittier but that doesn't mean your goal is not attainable or your idea is not good enough.

Maybe if David Moyes had taken a different approach to reacting to pressure and criticism maybe he'd still at MANU and maybe MANU might be topping the league right now.






Sadiq Daniel is a certified 
crazy writer and Teens Coach that blogs on business, Self- development and Life lessons. You can pursue him on Twitter: @sadiqspeaks LinkedIn: Sadiq Daniel and Email: Sadiqdaniel@gmail.com