The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett - Moment 16 - Rio Ferdinand On How To Create A World-Class Culture

Episode Date: July 29, 2021

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. I’ve supported Manchester United for years and some of the fondest memories watching my team were made during Rio Ferdinand’s Man United era. In today’s clip, Rio reveals the secrets behind Sir Alex Ferguson’s world-class, trophy-winning culture which made Manchester United one of the greatest clubs in the world. Episode 79 - https://g2ul0.app.link/sMvFiMdXfib Rio: https://twitter.com/rioferdy5 https://www.instagram.com/rioferdy5/

Quick one, just wanted to say a big thank you to three people very quickly. First people I want to say thank you to is all of you that listen to the show. Never in my wildest dreams is all I can say. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd start a podcast in my kitchen and that it would expand all over the world as it has done. And we've now opened our first studio in America, thanks to my very helpful team led by Jack on the production side of things. So thank you to Jack and the team for building out the new American studio.

And thirdly to Amazon Music who, when they heard that we were expanding to the united states and i'd be recording a lot more over in the states they put a massive billboard in time square um for the show so thank you so much amazon music um thank you to our team and thank you to all of you that listen to this show let's continue you know you talk there about having high standards being one of the really important things for your kids this is something that clearly you know was demonstrated when you got to Old Trafford and you joined Manchester United um with for that record transfer but how did how did they create high standards at Old Trafford versus the other clubs you'd played at what you know West Ham and Leeds

etc what was it they were doing that kept those standards so high you then also talk about going to QPR and seeing low standards and certain type of negativity in the changing room but what was it that they were doing or not doing because I want to create high standards in my team and within my life so good habits right everyday good habits whether it's punctuality again work ethic attention to detail

intensity when you're training on a training pitch respecting each other like all those things just they come together

and it creates a culture at the club and I've been at West Ham I've been at Leeds, two very good clubs, great clubs.

But they didn't have that culture which meant there was ability to win. But it starts from somewhere. So Alex Ferguson already won at Aberdeen. So he knew how to create that culture. He went to Man United, didn't have that winning mentality at the time when he went there.

He created that. And it all stems, I always think great leadership is definitely what gives you an opportunity to be successful. And I noticed that throughout my career. And when you've set the foundations and you've created that culture,

you don't, as a leader, have to be there every day in that sense. He was at a training ground every day. How many times do you think he came into our changing room? No idea. You wouldn't feel one hand. Really? No, never came in the changing room

in the training ground. We're there every day because he knew that the culture was set and then he had lieutenants like me, Giggsie, Gary Neville, et cetera, who were then filtering that down to any of the younger players on the new signs who didn't know the culture yet.

And then those players became the culture leaders. And so it was crazy, man. And even, for instance, if he wasn't at a training ground watching training, the training intensity might drop that little 1%, 2%, but you'd notice it because the manager's not there. Because he wasn't in the building because he wasn't

you didn't feel him that aura that he could be on his phone making bets which you normally would be not interested in training but his presence alone was enough

and it just made when you look back and you think leadership is just key and we were talking about investing earlier yeah investing in the leader

the people the people it's so important I think I think every industry it's like that football's where I'm from and that's what it's like there

but I see since I've retired that's replicated in other industries 100% isn't it funny as well with culture because

what you said there is basically like something I used to think at Social Chain which is if a culture's strong enough new people become like the culture

if this culture's weak the culture becomes like the new people become like the culture if this culture is weak the culture becomes like the new people 100% you know what I mean you couldn't have put it any better

and I'll give you an example like and again I didn't I didn't say it as eloquently as that when I was playing football but Berbatov came to

Man United oh yeah casual Berbs he was wicked player beautiful touch sexy looking footballer wicked Berbatov came to Man United oh yeah casual Babs he was wicked player beautiful touch sexy looking footballer wicked

and before big champions league game I think it was Barcelona he just weren't working hard enough for the team and

I had the ball on this side of the pitch and I needed him to come over and help he's just walking and I ended up just kicking the ball off and going crazy

what are you doing get over what's wrong wait when I get over just kicking the ball off and going crazy what are you doing get over wait when I get over then we'll do it and that's again that's not our culture at Barcelona

they play they wait that's their culture that's not our culture you want to play Barcelona wait go Barcelona here it's not the same

and if you don't buy into our culture you won't be here long and that's the way it was at United if you came and you weren't in the you didn't buy into the culture, you won't be here long. And that's the way it was at United. If you came and you weren't in the, you didn't buy into the culture and immerse yourself in it

and become part of the fabric of the place, you weren't there more than a year or two. Or you definitely wasn't an integral member of that squad. And so it was definitely, like you say, the culture is just, you have to become part of that culture that you go into if it's strong enough.

You see this in business, it's crazy. You should do, I feel like the perspective you've got from being in that culture that you go into if it's strong enough you see this in business it's crazy you should do i feel like the perspective you've got from being in that changing room and understand because this it's the same principles in business it was the same at social chain and when we grew the company and i realized that i had to be like did you drive that 100 and my like it got to the point where what you've described is people would understand who we were without us having to say and you would have your disciples basically introducing new people to the company and going that's not a social chain thing to do and we get that all the time you'd say you people in the office okay and for example and the crazy the other point i was going to say is

when the culture is that strong you it's so easy to see when someone doesn't fit or they don't stand out we had you know someone start on their first day at Social Chain and they're doing their initiation and then they, at the end of the initiation, they did two middle fingers and then walked back to their desk. I said, go get him. We fired him.

He's gone. First day at Social Chain. And then the second instance where, and it sends a message to the team because they, I never knew, it was instinctive to me. I said, that's not Social Chain person,

get him out. There was another instance where we had a girl join who someone had hired and they told me that she used to like bully people at her last place and she had like a really bad attitude and stuff and actually one of the guys two of the guys in our team said oh yeah we used to work with her and she was a bit of a bully so uh I I remember having the conversation and I said you can't like I in a very very nice way I said she she can't be here tomorrow because that's not who we are here and my team were like but we need her for this client we need her for this project i was uncompromising i said no we're not having

her here i don't care if we lose the job that you know i can't i used to say to my team i can't have my name attached to a culture like where we have people in it who are like that so she's gone today i think we'll figure it out if we lose the client whatever and and it wasn't until years later that you hear the team come back to you and they say that moment where you you weren't willing to let that person we needed in the team because they weren't right for the culture they the team said that to me and it's exactly what i hear from you i'm not blowing smoke up my own ass because i didn't realize but you've recognized that it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't intentional it was i just wanted to enjoy my life in the company to be a really really clear certain way and I felt that that's what we needed to do to succeed

and in hindsight and as you say it to me, I'm like, oh yeah, it was being unnegotiable, right? Yeah, and that's what

Sir Alex Ferguson was great at. If he saw something that was going to be detrimental to the culture of the club, it was out. That was a non-negotiable. Even if you needed them.

So you look at Roy Keane, he was the captain, he was the leader. The rules have been broken, you're gone. David you look at Roy Keane. Yeah, yeah. He was the captain. He was the leader. The rules have been broken. You're gone. David Beckham, peak of his powers. Yeah.

Going out of a Spice Girl. Bringing all sorts of eyeballs to the football club. Making it an international play. See you later. Yap Stam, the best centre-half in the world at the time.

Said something about some of the players in a book or something. Goodbye. Ruud van Isteroy, the best number nine in the world at the time said something about some of the players in a book or something goodbye rudvan istoroy the best number nine in the world at the time goodbye like if you don't fit the culture and you don't adhere to the rules that are there good night and we'll move on and we'll build around other people it's crazy it's like and where at the time you sit there and you think Bex you can't sell Bex man Jesus who's going to come in

like it's like number seven sells all the shirts like everyone loves him everywhere we go Bex is like a Beatles like crazy

same with Rudra Nistelrooy you're thinking how are we going to score goals now man who's going to score us the goals Rooney and and Ronaldo are really young still inexperienced

but he had that belief and that vision just to like it was the culture over everything no one's bigger than the club honestly no one's bigger than the club

it's so true man and again like you say that reverberates around the dressing room right you better stay in line you better just like

live by the rules that are here already and stay part of that culture the hard work the intensity intensity, the respect. And so he would dig out the most experienced player who hasn't even done anything. And you'd sit there and go, what are you shouting at me for?

But he was doing that to you because he knew you could take it, but the effect it would have on the young ones or the other ones. Do you know what I mean? So playing the mind games, man, I love it. It's you only reach the my thing is when you're in it like you're saying you're talking about social chain you probably didn't realize at the time but when you sit back and you're outside and you look back in that bubble you think shit man yeah that's why

i didn't think about it but that's why i've done it yeah it's right yeah and i'm right now or i'm wrong whatever it is i mean that's how we think about like certain things that fergie done you think actually he weren't just lucky man he actually obviously was plotting and planning that type of stuff i am i wonder how much of that stuff was intentional with him though in terms of like he i'm sure he wasn't going in the back room and planning it it's just like surely it's just like who he was and i sometimes think you know you get managers that'll come into clubs and they'll try and be like fergie but you can't because you can't act for that long and that consistently because from what you're saying about fergie it's like it's not like four things he's

doing it's a thousand things he's doing consistently which show his values right and you can't act for 27 years whatever it is across a thousand touch points so it makes me feel like how do you teach that like it was it was it was almost like it was just instinctive to Fergie yeah I think it was instinctive he was that he's that's just him and don't forget his experience as well would have played a big part in that he was at the club for like 26 or so years 27 years so that's there's a valuable amount of experience gained in that time. But I always look at it like when I went into the main night change room, I sat there and just looked around and thought, who's good at what? And let me just take elements of these people and add it to my game

and my preparation and my recovery. And that's what I've done. Ryan Giggs was great at recovery and preparation, done yoga and stuff like that. Took that out of his book. Roy Keane, leadership, the way he demanded standards on a daily basis. Scoles, his best levels in training every day. Like all them things,

I was just trying to be like little parts of different people. And then that allows hopefully for you to grow into a better person, a better player, et cetera. And I think that's the same with with other industries and business since i've retired it's like you go in and try and be like someone else you're gonna fail because you can't be like the original but if you're taking bits from elsewhere you might be able to get beyond that what you see is the best because you're getting more you're taking more good things from that person but then from various other people to build maybe past that

and that's the way i'll try and work with stuff now in my life. There's no one person that's going to make me the best at what I want to be, but a group and taking from everywhere, I've got a better chance.