Military and sporting metaphors are regularly employed to explain how businesses work, win or lose. Hackneyed sub-Vietnam War jargon - taking point, fire teams, R&R, search and destroy - is deployed to illuminate the mundane activities of selling soap powder or manufacturing rivets.
However, with the passing of such antagonistic management cultures and with the emerging dominance of the newer, "softer", Internet and software industries, sport has become a much more acceptable analogy.
Messrs Gibson, Pratt, Roberts and Weymes have taken this a step further and have investigated what makes great sporting institutions tick. Their mission is to translate this into lessons for the business community.
Their modus operandi is simple: go hang out with the top sporting clubs in the world and see how they do it and then write about it. While doing it you have a blast, meet some of the world's most famous athletes, see what games fans would kill for and have a product designed to appeal to the macho world of business, hooked as it is on sporting achievement and quick-fix how-to-win manuals.
They picked on 10 major institutions representing the world's most popular sports. The San Francisco 49ers (American football), Chicago Bulls (basketball), Atlanta Braves (baseball), FC Bayern Munich (and not Man U, another ABU plot perhaps?), Team New Zealand America's Cup (sailing), Women's Hockey Australia, Australian Cricket Board, Netball Australia, New Zealand All Blacks and Williams Formula One are the chosen few.
The preponderance of US and non-European groups suggests a revaluation of our eurocentric view of the scheme of things but few could argue with the selection with the exception of the Clare hurlers under Ger Loughnane.
What the authors find out is that investment, planning, elan and focus are the key ingredients in the winning formulae applied by the organisations. All stress the investment in players in terms of training, support and payment. All of those who have need of it stress the importance of underage teams in supplying a steady stream of new recruits.
Support is also underlined stretching from a private plane for the 49ers to keeping as many All blacks as possible playing in the home league. Elan, the winning spirit, is put down to a combination of history and motivation while focus is seen as being a trait of top-class athletes and managers alike.
Conn O Midheachcomidheach@irish-times.ie
