Football & Engine of Growth

Engine of Growth

Whilst reading the sports page of MEN on the 26 Feb 25, regarding the financial issues at Manchester United made me think about leadership and business. I normally do not take interest in sport reporting but I am interested in leadership and how to drive of change after seeing how they have slipped in the league Position.

Ruben Amorim, the manager of United, stated that ‘W need to understand how we got into this situation? It has a lot to do with the lack of success with the football team, because we are the engine of any football club’.  This clarity resonated with me because how many mangers or leaders in business would be so candid? Often markets, people, trends are blamed.

This goes to the heart of what a business organisation or a football club is all about. We have to start with knowing what the ‘engine of growth’ is before delving into other factors.

I want to emphasis this as many business leaders do not identify what the engine for their business is for success. What is true in sports is also true in businesses, administration and politics.

• Engine for growth is also central to profit and progress.

• Business-making a profit by understanding what the customers need to get them to buy

• Politics is about a compact of the art of the possible given risks and choices between the electors and checks in balances in place or governance to prevent abuse.

This forum is about business so let’s focus on this aspect. Businesses operate in environment of buyer behaviours and needs checks and balances to prevent exploitation of the consumer.

A business leader’s task is to drive his business model they have so understanding that model is the key role of the entrepreneurs. This is why I would never trust a MBA to grow as businesses as they do not have mental capacity or the background to truly understand the engine of a business, merely short term tricks to boost profits. They are only good if you want a safe pair of hands to run a business as administration.  

This thought process has huge impact on how you view or even value a business. For SME business, no matter what field, I would suggest understanding your drivers, the key part that drives your business be it customer service, personal value of the goods or services to buyers you sell, or some other driver of demand. But without understanding what at your ‘engines of growth’ no amount of AI software or fancy jargon is going to stop you failing.

Speak to us at Sparta if you want more clarity to support your business growth.