David Moyes – the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Management at Everton

I recently read a half hearted rant about Everton, which criticised the club for not following Stephen R. Covey’s “the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”.  As this is the “People’s” club (highly effective or otherwise), I thought I’d have a look at how well that argument stood up, or whether it was yet another dismal attempt to blame “someone” for the fact that the club is, currently, not in the top four.

Personally I think that Stephen “R.” Covey’s book is wank, and that he could have entitled it “Buy this book to make me rich”.  The habits he refers to are common sense, and he could have written them on one page instead of a book, but I digress, the “Seven Habits” he refers to are:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think Win Win
5. Seek first to understand; then be understood
6. Synergise
7. Sharpen the Saw

Yes… as you can see Mr Covey knows how to talk bollocks with the best of them (probably how that article appeared on that particular website), but just to put these principles into perspective, does anyone really think that the club is not being proactive?

In the summer it made significant and long term acquisitions of Lescott and Johnson, to add to their squad which includes the likes of Arteta and Cahill.  These are the targets that it managed to secure, but it has been also been proactive in trying to secure many others, such as Essien, Parker, Sissoko, etc.  The fact that they didn’t succeed, in those instances doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have tried, even the likes of Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool don’t always get their man.

It is looking to build a team for the future, whilst concentrating on its continued existence in the Premiership, so its clear that it does have an end in mind.  It wants to get back to the top, where it belongs, to the place where Nil Satis, Nisi Optimum (literally “Nothing Satisfies, Unless the Best”), however it doesn’t have a sugar daddy to lift it up there, but it does have years of ineffective management that has steered it close to disaster on many occasions over the years.  It knows that without money the only way to get back up to the top is time and hard work.

Put first things first?  If you’re going to build a Premiership winning side without having the money to do so, then you need to have patience.  The first thing you need to do is to ensure that you protect what you have now, is to strengthen your position so you build on solid foundations.  Before Everton win the Premiership, the FIRST thing they have to do is to make sure that they are still in it, and there is no doubt that this is a priority not just to Everton but to all the Premiership clubs, although we’ve seen a lot of decent clubs over the years who have failed in that most basic of requirements.

“Win win” (according to Covey) isn’t about winning every game, in fact he says that way of thinking is dysfunctional (told you the book is wank), but its about finding a compromise position where, given the resources you have, you find the best way forward.  Most of the fans want the club to win every game, but most fans are realistic enough to know that, currently the club wont win every game.

So maybe the best “win win” situation the fans can hope for at the moment is for the team to play each game with flair, to play well win or lose, so at least they can be happy with the football if not the result.  I must admit, this seems the ideal way forward, but in the wilds of the Premiership, even beautiful football doesn’t guarantee success nor survival.  Even Arsenal, who have a depth of squad and a depth of talent far outweighing Everton’s have found it difficult to maintain a title challenge without the steel of Viera in their side, a steel which Chelsea and Man United do have.

But that really misses the point, Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal are challenging for the title, Everton are challenging for a top six finish whilst maintaining their Premiership survival.  Everton should now be in a place where they can enjoy their football and entertain the crowds, and at times they do, but only when the first team are all available.  And that’s a key constraint on Everton’s ability to compete AND play beautiful football, the depth of quality in the squad.  Sometimes the wins aren’t pretty, but whether they are achieved with flair and grace or sweat and hard work, they are still necessary. 

Moyes is working hard to improve the quality of the squad, but without cash to pay silly wages or to pay silly transfer fees, then perhaps Everton’s win win situation at the moment is to continue in the Premiership whilst continuing to improve the squad. 

Perhaps the next habit “seek first to understand, then be understood”, is one that applies to both fans and the Club.  Everton has long been rightly accused of poor communications and poor treatment of fans, but it is listening to the fans and it is trying to improve both communications and facilities (although it should have started this process many years ago). 

The fans get frustrated by a lack of clarity in the messages coming out of the club, they want to know who we are thinking of signing, who is in the process of being signed, and why there is any delay in the process.  In attempting to provide this information, the club can only give so much information out, and unless the fans are also board members then its going to be unrealistic to expect to know who the club has enquired about, who has approached the club, what clauses a player has in their contract, the details of the negotiations are taking place.

Kipling must have been a football fan, as one of his lines was “I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who”, and its these servants that each football fans wants to know, at every game, team sheet, substitution, and transfer window.  I guess its up to the club to try to meet these expectations, but also up to the fans to understand that even in today’s world of super information highways, that these questions will never be met, so some kind of halfway house is required.

Synergy is about working together, as a team, club and fans, which generally happens on match days, although there are always those who feel, they’ve paid their money, they can abuse and de-motivate whichever player they like.  Personally I believe that support, means just that, through thick and thin, although I do think the same applies to the club too!

“Sharpen the Saw” is wank speak for taking time out to remember all of the above.

So does David Moyes and the club meet the seven habits of highly effective management?  In general I think so.  He’s working hard with the resources he has to build the club up again.  Everton no longer has the spectre of relegation at the end of each season, but conversely neither is there the excitement of a great cup run (although finishing forth ahead of Liverpool gave some cheer). 

The club is heading in the right direction, but now it needs to push on and improve the quality in depth of the squad, to allow the team to play neat attractive football whilst also winning games.  Is Moyes the man to do this?  I think so, he has shown he can balance the books whilst improving the results, but he has also shown his team can occasionally play good football.  He’s needs to do more of the latter, whilst maintaining the results and continuing to balance the books.  Its a hard job, and despite the those fans who feel they could do it, the lower leagues are full of clubs whose managers haven’t been effective.