What a football manager has to say about corporate values
How important are values when you manage a top-league professional football (soccer) club? Are there similiarities between values-conscious sports management and managing companies in other sectors? Last week, Burkhard Schwenker and other members of the "Wertekommission e.V." ("Values Commission") advisory council had a chance to talk shop with Uli Hoeneß, manager of one of the most well-known clubs in the international football arena.
The "Values Commission" is an association of German top managers that has the goal of persuading companies to employ a management style committed to human values. Its members are convinced that human values are a significant economic factor, that having principles based on these values doesn't make one a lone wolf (even if it may seem that way sometimes) and that managers profit when they live these values. The six core values that Burkhard Schwenker and the other members of the Commission stand for are responsibility, courage, respect, sustainability, integrity and trust.
These values, said Uli Hoeneß, also guided him in nearly all the decisions he made as manager and deputy CEO of FC Bayern. He never really thought about it that much, he said, but "without these values no club can survive in the tough business of professional football, because a team needs more than money to succeed; it has to work as a team as well. And that only works if you observe certain values." Hoeneß, a former German national team player, went on to say that club management has to be a role model in living by these values: "Total commitment, always: I am present at every single match, and I'm always the first one on the plane on business trips, and the last one to leave on the way home."
He also assumes responsibility for helping to teach and personally assist inexperienced players, who often come to the club very young from all over the world and who sometimes don't have a high level of schooling. The club helps young talents gain a sound professional education. And, Hoeneß continues, he is also there for the players when they go through hard times such as injuries or have private problems.
Returning to the topic of values in business, Burkhard Schwenker reported on a change in values that seems to be just happening in China. He had travelled back from Beijing just hours before the advisory board meeting. In talks with Chinese business partners, he said he got the impression that there is some criticism towards China's apparent fixation on the US management model. It may well be too focused on short-term profit maximization and not enough on sustainably raising the value of the company. The Chinese, it seems, increasingly perceive the European management model as being more attractive.
The "Values Commission" is an association of German top managers that has the goal of persuading companies to employ a management style committed to human values. Its members are convinced that human values are a significant economic factor, that having principles based on these values doesn't make one a lone wolf (even if it may seem that way sometimes) and that managers profit when they live these values. The six core values that Burkhard Schwenker and the other members of the Commission stand for are responsibility, courage, respect, sustainability, integrity and trust.
These values, said Uli Hoeneß, also guided him in nearly all the decisions he made as manager and deputy CEO of FC Bayern. He never really thought about it that much, he said, but "without these values no club can survive in the tough business of professional football, because a team needs more than money to succeed; it has to work as a team as well. And that only works if you observe certain values." Hoeneß, a former German national team player, went on to say that club management has to be a role model in living by these values: "Total commitment, always: I am present at every single match, and I'm always the first one on the plane on business trips, and the last one to leave on the way home."
He also assumes responsibility for helping to teach and personally assist inexperienced players, who often come to the club very young from all over the world and who sometimes don't have a high level of schooling. The club helps young talents gain a sound professional education. And, Hoeneß continues, he is also there for the players when they go through hard times such as injuries or have private problems.
Returning to the topic of values in business, Burkhard Schwenker reported on a change in values that seems to be just happening in China. He had travelled back from Beijing just hours before the advisory board meeting. In talks with Chinese business partners, he said he got the impression that there is some criticism towards China's apparent fixation on the US management model. It may well be too focused on short-term profit maximization and not enough on sustainably raising the value of the company. The Chinese, it seems, increasingly perceive the European management model as being more attractive.
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