Fabio Management

England’s great hope, Italian Fabio Capello, offered yet more insight into his (hugely successful) management style through a Telegraph interview. Whilst a lengthy features piece, at least six techniques can be gleaned that many a sales manager could build upon:

Environment & Standards

Everyone knows explicitly what is expected of them, and the man himself hits such high standards day in, day out by way of example. As someone with intimate experience of this notes, he conveys this by being,

“just himself, that’s how the best ones do it. They don’t do it with words. They do it with actions.”

Suppress Emotion

A sacrosanct routine is that, when the players come in at half-time, for the first few minutes he insists that no one speaks. Silence and reflection lasts three minutes. Then, only once the excitement and distraction of drink or injury subsides, plans are made.

His Winning Mentality

One Italian manager once told him this:

“Boss, I can speak with you?” one player said to him. “I am training every day very good, my life is perfect with my wife, I eat good. Sometime I stay on the bench, sometimes the stand. Why?” “You want to know why?” “Tell me.” “Because I want to win.” ‘ Capello grins. ‘All managers want to win,’ he says.

Unleash True Potential

He cannot abide people not performing to their potential, and seeks to find a remedy.

‘This for me is no good. Sometimes you don’t understand why. All the managers, this is one of the terrible things about this job: “Why? Why?”

Continual Learning

He seems driven by this, as evidenced by reading up on ice hockey techniques, despite his track record and age.

Always Push Yourself

At the end of an exhausting season, he sensed a training session begin to drift into the motions.

Capello stopped the training session. ‘Don’t waste my day,’ he told the players. ‘Because the standard that you’re doing at the moment is unacceptable. Never, ever waste a day in professional football.’