A group of some thirty-five managers from top Israeli companies and TIM representatives recently returned from an amazing Benchmarking Management Tour (IBT) to England. There, we met with heads of the government and top executives (including CEOs) from key organizations and companies.
One such visit was with the management of Manchester United, the famous football club. Regardless of whether you are a football fan or not, there is a high probability that you have heard of the name Manchester United. The power of branding these days is revealed through the capacity to recognize company names even if they are not part of our main interests. It was for that reason, amongst others, that we chose to take the management teams of five Israeli-based corporations (Alvarion, AudioCodes, GE Ultrasound, Hogla-Kimberly and IBM Israel) to visit and learn from amazing organizations such as this.
How many companies is one familiar with that have over three hundred and fifty million devoted fans who are willing to pay a great deal of money for their branded clothing, drive or fly great distances for their games and spend a fortune on hospitality packages at Old Trafford (the home stadium of the club since 1910)? I believe that the main point I want to convey in this article is the idea of an organization striving for and achieving success by creating an ongoing experience for its customers.
There is much for all of us to learn from the management, operation and vision of Manchester United. Our main host, Mr. Michael Bolingbroke, the Club’s COO, is a perfect example of a manager who “walks his talk.” Prior to joining United, Bolingbroke was the Senior Vice President of Shows of the French-Canadian circus company, Cirque du Soleil. Working with Cirque du Soleil for six years, he was in charge of the resident and global touring shows. Without a doubt, the man knows how to create an experience for his listeners. We could only envy the calm, professional and caring responses he gave to our challenging questions. Just imagine a company which has its own museum, tours, restaurants, hospitality boxes, full line of clothing, premium products marketed worldwide, owns contracts with players worth hundreds of millions of dollars and possesses a substantial piece of real-estate. Think about the same company spending a fortune and endless efforts on its local fans so that they will continue to have the Manchester United experience at all times. Quite remarkable and unusual.
On my way out, stopping at the stadium store, I ran across an older lady from Bulgaria who was looking for a gift for her grandchild. "I only have enough money to buy one gift for my family back home", she told me, “which will make their day.” She came all the way to the store on a bus to take photos and buy a gift. Let me ask you this: How many brands do you know of which will justify a special twenty-five-hour trip to bring a single souvenir back home?
Yoram Yahav
CEO |