As we enjoy the thrill of the 2010 World Cup Football (or WM in Deutschland) the diversity of nations fascinates me together with the diversity in relationships that are forged between players, spectators and sponsors continuously in sport. However sport equals business, my old rugby coach used to say as we limped off the park. “Hard day at the office lads”, this wasn’t sarcastic it was actually his recognition of our achievements and it was through his innate leadership that not only were we a successful team but we looked forward to his compliments. The one thing I could never understand at age 23 was how he knew every single opposition coach, every single referee, over half of every spectator crowd and they all treated him with a high degree of admiration, almost ‘Godfather’ like.

I did some research on both sides of the Atlantic and came up with two true Football leaders:

Vince Lombardi: Lombardi, was capable of motivating ordinary men to do extraordinary things. He didn't have great players in Green Bay, he MADE them great players.

Jock Stein: "Jock, you're immortal", Shankly told his great friend in the dressing room after the 1967 European Cup triumph which marked a first for a British team. What's more, he did it with a bunch of Glaswegians.

However, my thoughts were still on the linkage between sport and business. After more reading I found some research on Stephen I. Sadove, chief executive of Saks (that fabulous store that Carrie and the girls made even more famous) and I found my answer to my old rugby coaches respect: Leadership and Relationships equal Positive Culture. Here are two responses from Sadove’s recent NY Times interview:

Q: What were your biggest leadership lessons?
A: I used opportunities to get involved and develop relationships with a diverse set of people, as opposed to the narrow group of people I was dealing with day-to-day, and that made a huge difference. It shaped my philosophy in terms of the importance of relationship-building. It really underlies my entire philosophy of how to run a business.

Q: How do you hire?
A: Well, clearly you want somebody who has the intellectual capacity, strategic thinking and the skill sets. But I’m looking for a cultural fit with me. How collaborative are they? How inclusive are they? How willing are they to listen to lots of different points of view? Do they have diverse interests?</P> <P>I now know why my old rugby coach was not only patient with me, but always interested in me as a person.

Thank you Sir!