Incremental Gains - Lessons From AFC Richmond and Brentford FC
A total of 16 English Premier League football managers were sacked during the 2022/2023 season.
Prior to this, the ‘record’ was 10 sackings, during the 2021/2022 season.
A new record in sport is usually something to celebrate, but in this instance, we think not.
Only 5 of the 20 managers in the Premier League have held their role for more than 3 years. Many sit around the 1-year mark and some of the 2022/2023 sackings were of managers in their role for less than a season.
With the patience of boards and owners seeming at an all-time low, we like to look to the bright spots in sport; best practice from around the world, across all sporting codes, the world of business, and, in this case, the world of Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond.
If life imitated art, then the Honoco team would want the people of the Premier League to model themselves on Ted Lasso and The Richmond Way.
Fortunately, some of them already are.
“At the heart of everything we do is collaboration. There is only one project at the club, the Brentford project, one team, one, family, one community, one club.”
Brentford Football Club’s “Togetherness” value hints strongly at the fact that everyone at the club is striving for the same goal and that everyone has the same responsibility towards that goal.
Most of us know and accept that overnight success is a fallacy. Sportspeople, artists, entrepreneurs, and even lottery winners have had skin in the game for years, likely decades.
And the Brentford owner and directors understand this.
Manager Thomas Frank has been in his role for 4.5 years. He’s the 3rd longest serving manager in the Premier League, behind Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool).
Director of Football Phil Giles has been with Brentford for 8 years.
It was a recent High Performance Podcast interview with Phil Giles that inspired this article, and just 9 days later, on 26 April 2023, Ted Lasso and Trent Crimm had this conversation:
Trent Crimm: Ted. It’s going to work.
Ted: Great. What is?
Trent Crimm: Total football.
Ted: Okay. Why?
Trent Crimm: I’ll tell you why. The Lasso Way. You haven’t switched tactics in a week.
Ted: I haven’t?
Trent Crimm: No. You’ve done this over three seasons.
Ted: I have?
Trent Crimm: Yes. By slowly but surely building a club-wide culture of trust and support through thousands of imperceptible moments, all leading to their inevitable conclusion. Total Football.
Ted: Well, how about that.
The connection between Ted Lasso, Phil Giles, The Richmond Way, and Brentford FC?
Incremental gains.
Slowly but surely building a club-wide culture of trust and support through thousands of imperceptible moments…
Incremental Gains – Tips for Your Organisation From Ted, Phil, and Honoco
Vision
- Work with staff, players, board members and other internal stakeholders to clearly define the long-term vision and goals for your organisation.
- Include the desired level of success, values, and the type of culture you want to create.
- Communicate your vision and goals clearly (and often) to external stakeholders like fans, sponsors, and the local community.
Define Success
- Define how you’ll measure success in ways that aren’t just based on match results.
- Establish short- and long-term targets that align with your organisation’s vision. They should be challenging but achievable, allowing for incremental improvements over time.
Continuous Improvement (Measuring Success)
- Assess where you are starting from. What’s the current or baseline situation? Include things like performance levels, number of players, tickets sold, infrastructure, financial resources, and sponsorship partnerships.
- Choose actions that will contribute towards your short- and long-term targets.
- Moments of greatness are the small steps you take each day, and your daily actions will either contribute to your success or detract from it.
- Use data to drive decisions. You could use a pen and paper or embrace digital technology.
- Data and analytics will give you insights into performance, team dynamics, and fan engagement. Use this information to make informed decisions and identify areas for improvement.
- Encourage everyone to have a mindset of continuous improvement. Regularly review performance, gather feedback, and adjust the strategy and operations to achieve incremental gains.
- Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress towards your goals.
Celebrate Success
- Celebrate milestones and achievements along the way, recognising the efforts of players, staff, and sponsors.
You Can’t Do It Alone
- It is everyone’s responsibility to create a positive and inclusive culture that promotes teamwork, respect, and continuous improvement.
- Encourage players, staff, and sponsors to embrace shared values.
- Culture comes from the top.
Fans and Sponsors
- Identify sponsors that align with your values and vision.
- Foster strong relationships by providing value beyond traditional advertising, such as exclusive experiences, community involvement, or joint marketing campaigns.
- Develop a fan engagement strategy that includes social media, events, match-day experiences, and community outreach.
- Tell stories (communicate often) to create a strong connection between your organisation, its fans, and sponsors.
Remember
- Judge the process before judging the outcome.
- Foster a vision of success that is shared, understood, and supported by the whole organisation. From administrators to players, board members to sponsors. Talk about it regularly.
- Remind yourself and others regularly of the importance of patience, groundwork, and sustainable foundations. As Trent Crimm observed, it’s taken Ted Lasso 3 years.
- A vision without action is just a dream.
- Actions will either contribute to or detract from your vision.
- You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
We love this YouTube comment from Brentford fan @gurudan6323 in response to Phil Giles’ interview:
“Being a Brentford fan over the past 15 years has been an absolute privilege, not due to the results, but down to the fact that we have a well thought-out plan. It brings peace and quiet optimism in the face of adversity and disappointment. Phil Giles is the embodiment of this philosophy and I am put at extreme ease knowing that my football club is in good hands.”
Is Success Down to Luck or Skill?
Guy Raz, host of NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast always finishes with an interesting (sometimes polarising) question to each founder he interviews:
“How much of your success do you attribute to your skill, your intelligence, your hard work, and how much of it to luck?”
“80% to luck”, says Phil.
And Coach Lasso?
“As the man once said, the harder you work, the luckier you get.”
#honocoinsights #incrementalgains #highperformancepodcast
