Picture: Luis Aragones,
manager of Spain’s European champion football team

Last Sunday Spain’s talented speedy football team won the European championship, with a 1-0 victory over Germany. 

What can innovators learn from Spain’s victory, its first European championship in 44 years?

  • In entrepreneurship, as in football,  the winning formula is: Chose talented motivated ‘players’, give them a strong vision, align them all with the vision – and then turn them loose to give full expression to their creativity. Aragones, Spain’s 70-year-old manager (the oldest manager in history to win the European championship), calls himself ‘manager’ not coach – for a reason. His style is to pick great players, tell them what he wants – and then let them play with full creativity and freedom. This does not mean that Aragones is passive – he ran up and down the touch line for the entire game, exhorting his players. But – he does not over-manage, as do many football managers. As Jim Collins says: Get the right people on the bus. Tell the driver where to go.  And then – let them roll… Aragones wanted fast, attacking possession football, picked the players who could implement it – and let them fulfill their creativity.
  • Aragones instilled in his players the unshakeable belief that they could indeed win the championship.  Even when Germany opened the championship final strongly, and Spain looked bad, this rock-solid belief never wavered. Eventually, Spain’s foot-to-foot passing tired Germany – and Spain triumphed.  Winning entrepreneurs, too, never cease believing that they will ultimately triumph, through hardship and defeat.  
  • In entrepreneurship, as in football, speed (not defense) wins. Football fans for years have suffered from boring dull teams from Italy, and Germany as well, who build their victories on solid defensive walls and mediocre attack. Italy, especially (the national team, as well as Inter, and AC Milan) has chosen this route. Along comes Euro 2008,  bringing a speed-of-light Russian team with players able to run for 120 minutes (90 minutes plus a 30-minute overtime), who sprint as fast at the 120th minute as they do in the first minute,  and suddenly attacking football and speed are back. Russian surprisingly made it to the semi-final round, losing to Spain.

Aragone chose speedy players, taught them ‘possession football’ (precision passing) – and turned them loose. In entrepreneurship, too, speed is crucial. Do you have a great idea? I will bet any sum that someone in the world has had the same idea and is working on it, too. Who will win? Usually, though not always, the fastest – the first to market and to patent.  

Spain’s talented speedy young striker Fernando Torres raced German defender Phillip Lahm (his names means “lame” in German, but he is far from that) to the ball, started a yard behind him, managed to overtake him, and flipped the ball over the desperate keeper to score Spain’s only goal. Entrepreneurs, too, score ‘wins’ in this way. By instilling urgency in their team, they get to market fast, ahead of their slower competitors. 

  • As I am about to turn 66, I deeply relate to the grey-haired Aragones’ victory. I felt it was me the players were tossing into the air, not just Aragones. Aragones’ players say they related to their manager as to a father. How many players love their managers, as a father? Virtually none – because the manager himself is a media star, often, and competes with his players for attention and fame.  (Ever heard of Juan Maurinho?) Entrepreneurs, like Aragones, who lead with strength, but above all with humility, will create the motivation needed for continued success. Share the credit fairly with your ‘players’ – and watch them win championships.