Quotes from Alex Ferguson

part of a leader's job is to eliminate as many risks as possible.

Great teamwork comes from deep familiarity and developing close bonds with others. In a company, people who have worked together for a long time will know how others will react in certain situations, and may even be able to anti cipate what their colleagues might say.

I never allowed my personal feelings about a particular player to cloud my judgement about what was best for the team.

I just think a leader has to keep reminding himself to be clinical about these sorts of judgements. You don't have to love your players or your management team, but you do need to respect their abilities.

If you're examining successful people, look at their mother and father, study what they did, for clues about energy and motivation.

One aspect of team-building that often gets overlooked is the need for old-timers to have the necessary patience with newcomers.

When I selected the captain I was looking for four principal virtues. The first was a desire to lead on the field. The second attribute I wanted was someone I could trust to convey my desires, and the third was a person whom the other players would respect as a leader and whose instructions they would follow. I also wanted captains capable of adapting to changing circumstances.

I never had a particular quota that I expected any player to fulfil, but they all knew I expected nothing but the best from them.

As a leader, you don't need to be loved, though it is useful, on occasion, to be feared. But, most of all, you need to be respected.

you cannot get too attached to people who work for you. The one time you must have that attachment is when they are in trouble - when they need your advice.

I never expected the players to love me, but neither did I want them to hate me, because that would have made it impossible to extract the most from them. All I wanted was for them to respect me and follow my instructions.

Another crucial ingredient of motivation is consistency. As a leader you can't run from one side of the ship to the other. People need to feel that you have unshakeable confidence in a particular approach. If you can't show this, you'll lose the team very quickly.

If you hope to motivate people, you need to know when to prey on their insecurities and when to bolster their self-confidence. People perform best when they know they have earned the trust of their leader.

Todo el que aspire a ser un gran líder ha de lucirse a la hora de vender sus ideas y aspiraciones

You would have thought that I had left 11 corpses on the steps of a funeral home.

Disciplined perseverance pays far more dividends than impetuous attempts at individual heroism.

Success is often cyclical, with doldrums.

Origins should never be a barrier to success. A modest start in life can be a help more than a hindrance. If you're examining successful people, look at their mother and father, study what they did, for clues about energy and motivation.

I don't like admitting, we were beaten by a great team, because we never wanted to say those words. The biggest concession we ever wanted to make was: two great teams contested this final, but we just missed out. Our aim was to attain that level where people said we were always on a par with Europe's best.

I always felt that the trick was to celebrate our triumphs without for a moment losing the edge and depth of desire that had taken us there. I just wanted to be on my guard that victories weren't seen as auto matic guarantees of future success, and that celebrations did not sow the seeds of complacency.

While I took great pleasure and satisfaction in seeing what we had done for others, I cannot say that I felt as happy. I always felt I had to be in the vanguard of tomorrow. I'd immediately start to think about ways in which we could improve, and players who were coming to the end of their best days.

When I interview someone, I want to know how ambitious they are or whether they are just thinking about a job as a stepping-stone to something else. Apart from their qualities and qualifications, I want to measure the level of their commitment. I always look for enthusiasm, for a positive attitude, for eye contact and for personal courage.

Jamie Carragher trained with United as a youngster. When he was with us he was a midfielder and a mundane, run-of-the-mill player.

I often of someone by listening to the questions they pose. It shows how they think; offers a sense of their level of experience and degree of maturity.