Harvey Aberdein

A combination of the enthusiasm of youth, new ideas balanced with experience of old heads is good for any business

Parallels between business and football are often drawn through themes of commitment, motivation, team dynamics and the need for effective leadership and management.

That’s why one of the most sought-after business management lecturers and authors in 2015 has been none other than Sir Alex Ferguson.

And one story this week highlights an important, yet most often forgotten about, part of both running a business succeeding in football – succession planning (although even Sir Alex had mixed success in this field).

The story I refer to was about Japanese footballer Kazuyoshi Miura, who has signed a one-year contract extension with Yokohama FC at the grand old age of 48.

The man known as Kazu, or ‘”King Kazu” by some fans, will stay with the second-division side past his 49th birthday.

It hasn’t made back-page news across the world, but it is a remarkable feat in the modern game, given that some top players call it a day at 33.

Here’s some context for you. King Kazu signed his first professional contract in 1986 – the year Maradona scored his infamous “hand of God” goal against England. At that time, Willie Miller and Alex McLeish were still playing at the heart of defence for both Aberdeen and Scotland.

He is also four years older than current Dons boss Derek McInnes.

To hand him a contract at that age, the management at Yokohama clearly believe that King Kazu is irreplaceable.

Are they correct? Or has bad succession planning left the club with little option but to delay the inevitable for 12 months.

This is a situation many businesses find themselves in. Many are guilty of coming to the same decision as Yokohama FC.

There are a number of things business owners need to think about as they prepare for an exit:

It’s never too early to start preparing; the apprentices of today are the business leaders of tomorrow.

It is important to encourage/support personal development of key people across each sector of the business, so that there is continuity in approach.

The professional services sector, perhaps more than any other business, is about people and relationships. Any other business protects its most valuable assets, so why would you not protect your relationships by ensuring appropriate contact points throughout the organisation.

A combination of the enthusiasm of youth, new ideas balanced with experience of old heads is good for any business.

If you leave it too late to put a succession plan in place, the damage to business can be irreparable.

Putting good management structures in place is key, particularly if you are selling up and exiting. You need to ensure the business is organised in a way that it will be attractive to a third party and it certainly won’t be if the business is wholly reliant on you.

All of these things are easily forgotten about in the 100mph pace of modern business life.

But being dispensable is maybe the best legacy – and the only way to guarantee the continued success of your business.

LEAD WITH THE CRUSADE

Most firms in the professional services sector would run a million miles from BrewDog’s anarchic approach to marketing, using controversy to propel their brand across the world.

However, the men behind the beer, James Watt and Martin Dickie, are clearly very bright business people. The former has just released a book detailing the brewer’s remarkable rise, Business for Punks.

In it, he exhorts budding entrepreneurs to practice radical and steadfast self-belief intheir pursuit of success.

Our respective approaches to business could not be further apart. However, there is a quote from him which I think any business owner or entrepreneur should embrace.

“Lead with the crusade, not the product,” Mr Watt says.

He’s talking about the desire within BrewDog to do things better than anyone else, and making this the reason why you should drink their beer.

I’m not a huge fan of the beer, but it will be intriguing to see where his challenge to traditional business “rules” takes the company.

His desire to be better than anyone else, to crusade, to do things differently and to break the traditional rules of business, is certainly refreshing.

Harvey Aberdein is a founder partner and now consultant with Aberdein Considine, a top ten Scottish Law firm with over 350 staff and 18 offices nationwide.