Quotes from Alex Ferguson

There is also the question of when you should make a decision. There are probably only two times to do so - too early and too late. If I was going to err on making one of those mistakes, I far preferred to make the decision earlier rather than later. That's much easier to say than to do.

Anyone who aspires to be a great leader needs to excel at selling his ideas and aspira tions to others. Sometimes you have to persuade people to do things they don't want to do, or to sell them on the idea that they can achieve something they had not dreamed about.

The most important aspect of our system was training. Whatever happens on a Saturday afternoon has already occurred on the training ground.

It doesn't matter if the compensation scheme is denominated in hundreds of thousands of pounds per week or in bags of potato crisps. It's all a matter of relative worth, because a lot of people either feel, or want to feel that they are more valuable than anyone else.

Whenever you show up in a new role, it will not be long before you have to face trouble and a clash over something. There is nothing to be gained by stirring it up yourself. Trouble will find you quick enough.

After anyone retires from a position of responsibility and remains associated with the same organisation, it is unfair to your successor to try and retain the authority you once possessed. You have to let go and let the new man and the new regime do what they think is best.

Failure, it will happen. Disappointment, it will happen. It's part of your life and you can't let it go without confronting it. Confront failure because this is how you find yourself. This is where you understand who you are.

a vast gulf separates a great leader from a very good manager.

a vast gulf separates a great leader from a very good manager. Accomplished and skilful managers can be hired by the truckload. Leaders are the rarest of commodities. So, here is what I learned about the character of one leader–the man who used to wear a jacket bearing the initials 'AF'.

These are exceptional examples. On the whole it is better to explain to the people around you that you care about little details, but that it's their job to attend to them.

Don't lie, don't steal and always be early.

For me drive means a combination of a willingness to work hard, emotional fortitude, enormous powers of concentration and a refusal to admit defeat. At

Saber lo que es posible, establecer unas expectativas realistas y comunicarlas con la suficiente claridad para que tu equipo te siga, en especial en un entorno en el que todo el mundo quiere resultados inmediatos, es una de las aptitudes para el liderazgo más difíciles de conseguir.

Observar a otras personas, prestar atención a sus consejos y leer sobre otros seres humanos son tres de las mejores cosas que he hecho en mi vida.

When winning becomes a way of life, true winners are relentless.

Los mejores jefes también se enorgullecen de que los empleados que hayan trabajado bien y quieran irse, lo hagan a puestos mejores y más importantes.

the best leaders tend to be missionaries rather than mercenaries.

The great leader knows that most success comes from making a few large decisions correctly rather than trying to be involved in making lots of small choices.

Tuve la suerte de que mi mujer y mis hijos no me hicieron sentir culpable por haber pasado tan poco tiempo con ellos y me permitieron ser egoísta.

When he eventually retires, his organisation will be little different from the one he inherited. It will definitely not have achieved anything remarkable.

To win the FA Cup at Wembley made the good times roll. But on the morning after our victory, one newspaper declared: 'OK, you've proved you can win the FA Cup, now go back to Scotland.' I never forgot that.

For my last 15 years at United I had a rolling one-year contract and an agreement that if I was sacked I would be entitled to two years' salary, even if I turned up and started managing Manchester City the day after I was fired. That was more than enough for me.

Perhaps it is just very difficult to have more than a few close friends because these sorts of relationships build over a long time and lots of shared experiences. As my father always said, you only need six people to carry your coffin and, as I have got older, I have become ever more appreciative of that remark.

por muy valioso que fuera, nadie está por encima de la ley.