Management lessons from the FIFA World cup

The FIFA World cup fever just came to an end. Some games were delightful, some heart-breaking. Fans all over the globe cheered for their favorite teams, while others hoped that may the best team win. There are some significant management lessons that can be learnt from the World Cup Football games.
1. The significance of Leaders. The coaches and the lead players in the football teams created expectations, dreams and hopes for the respective teams. They inspired, motivated and influenced the followers. The experience of the lead players enriched their contribution. In the Corporate world, the senior executives create, retain and shape the expectations of the shareholders, customers and the employees.
2. The significance of Teamwork. The winning team and the other top teams demonstrated the power of co-ordinated team work. Football is not a one man game and neither is running a business. While the leaders can create the initial hype or excitement about a new product, service or company, it is the co-ordinated and integrated team work across all the departments that ensure the successful implementation of the projects. Strategic team management is the key for seamless and harmonious co-ordination and is at the root of long term success of any organization.
3. Conflict Management. Successful conflict management is a significant factor to ensure team harmony. In Football, there are rules to be followed and if the teams fail to score goals within the allotted time, they are allowed extra time and penalty kicks. In the Corporate world, resolution of conflicts is of fundamental importance to lessen the burden on the limited resources of man, materials and money. Different strategies like avoidance, defusion and confrontation and others, can be applied by the management, based on the impact of the conflict on time, finances and morale of the employees.
4. Diversity Management. Football fans may be from different parts of the globe and be equally interested, passionate and supportive like the home country. In today's age of Globalization and advancement of technology, similar diversities exist in the client or customer base, as well as internally within the organization, amongst the leaders and the different employees. They may come from different nations, different religious beliefs, different socio-economical backgrounds, different generations and sexes. In order to meet the demands of the different markets, leaders need to respect and understand the difference in the needs of the diverse groups. Also, recent researches have shown the significance of successful diversity management within the organization to increased productivity, morale, increased feelings of job satisfaction and increased overall respect for the leaders.
5. Strategic Execution. Nothing speaks louder than victory in the Football games. In the Corporate world as well, all the endeavors come down to strategic execution. An important lesson that can be learnt from the football games in this respect is how the teams that learn and often re-design their strategies based on the opposition team, are the ones who reach the level of the top four. Similarly, in the Corporate world, strategies are formed in the beginning, but often need to be re-designed, revised during the course of the projects in order to ensure successful execution of the goals. Different performance motivators can also be used in order to boost the morale of the workforce during the different stages of strategy execution.
Lastly, in the games, the physical strength of the teams go hand in hand with their mental strengths. Managers need to keep in mind this aspect as well and train, guide and lead the employees towards successful implementation of the corporate goals.