Stockholm School of Economics

Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson Way

How to Turn Your Team into Winners
Julian Birkinshaw, Stuart Crainer

Sven-Goran Eriksson has transformed the English football team from perennial under-achievers with little tactical sense to one of the most feared teams in the world. The 5-1 demolition of Germany on German soil, dramatic victory over Argentina in the last World Cup and subsequent qualification for 2004's European Championships have elevated Sven-Goran Eriksson to the status of national hero.

How has Eriksson achieved this? What special qualities has he brought to the job which have allowed him to get so much from his team? Are these lessons we can all learn?

In Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson Way, Julian Birkinshaw and Stuart Crainer offer shrewd analysis of Eriksson's unique leadership and management skills which have become so iconic that 'Att Svenna ditt liv', or to 'Sven your life', is now part of the Swedish lexicon. Placing them in the context of sports leadership, the authors skilfully draw out the lessons any manager or leader can learn from Eriksson. Swedish leadership is admired throughout the business world as a management benchmark, and Birkinshaw and Crainer show how Sven-Goran Eriksson is part of a tradition that is typified by legendary companies like IKEA, Skandia and SAS.

Eriksson has proved that any team can be improved by a subtle combination of leadership, analysis and incisiveness. Now we all have a chance to do the same. Are you ready to 'Sven yourself?

About authors

Julian Birkinshaw is Associate Professor of Strategic and International Management at the London Business School and a Fellow of the Advanced Institute of Management Research. His research, teaching and consulting focuses on the strategic management of large multinational corporations.

Management Today profiled Julian Birkinshaw as one of six of the 'Next Generation of Management Gurus'. He is the author of seven books, including Entrepreneurship in the Global Firm (2001) and Inventuring: Why Big Companies Must Think Small (2003).

Stuart Crainer is co-founder of Suntop Media and the author and co-author of a string of business bestsellers including The Tom Peters Phenomenon, Generation Entrepreneur (with Des Dearlove), The Ultimate Business Library and the Financial Times Handbook of Management.

References

...offers a visible and successful example of this new model of leader ...

MEDIA WEEK

...the authors examine the 'mature' form of leaderhip that Eriksson exemplifies: the level-headed long-termism that learns from failure, encourages responsibility and 'keeps it simple'...

THE BUSINESS