What Business Leaders Can Learn from Alex Ferguson’s Client-First Mentality

Let me start by saying that, first and foremost, every business should focus on delivering the best products and services they can. You can master your craft and consistently deliver technically sound outputs for your clients, driving key business objectives for them.

That should be enough, right?

Once you have nailed down your offering, you’ll start asking yourself, “What’s next?” That’s when you realize that the key to truly expanding and reaching the next level is shifting your mindset to being client-centric.

Why? Because at the heart of everything will always be the client’s wants and needs. In fact, once you make this shift, you’ll see an immediate and noticeable change in both your business and your relationships with clients.

Why technical prowess alone isn’t enough

The truth is, there are many businesses out there that can deliver similar results to the ones you provide. But ask a client what they remember most — after all the stats and spreadsheets — and they’ll usually point to the relationship: the feeling of being heard, understood and supported in a way that’s customized to them.

As many of us who have worked with clients know, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Every client needs you to take on a different persona. Consider your last few clients:

• Client A might prefer a weekly phone call to keep tabs on progress.
• Client B just wants a quick Slack message and to work asynchronously.
• Client C is fine with one in-depth monthly meeting but wants real-time dashboards to track KPIs.

Just as your team members thrive under different management styles, your clients respond best when you meet them where they are.

Lessons in man-management: Sir Alex Ferguson’s hairdryer treatment

One of my favorite anecdotes comes from one of the greatest football managers of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. He famously used the ‘hairdryer treatment’ to send a message. Typically, this method involves going on a verbal tirade to spark motivation in a team and get a message across.

On this one occasion, Sir Alex berated his best player of the game, Patrice Evra, but here’s the twist: He didn’t do it to make him play better, but rather to send a message to another player on the team, Cristiano Ronaldo.

This is a prime example of man-management from Sir Alex: knowing what a certain player needed and how to get that message across effectively. He understood Patrice Evra could handle the berating, while Cristiano Ronaldo needed a different type of motivation.

Sir Alex was also well-known for building strong relationships with his players, spending time with their families, and, most importantly, getting to know them on such a deep level that he understood exactly what they needed and how to deliver those messages.

Related: 10 Lessons About Failure That Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

Applying man-management to client-centric business

In business, we might not be blowing anyone’s hair back like Sir Alex, but we can still take a cue from similarly tailored approaches. At Amazon, founder Jeff Bezos famously placed an empty chair in executive meetings to represent the customer, reminding every attendee that decisions should be made with the customer’s needs in mind.

Just as Sir Alex recognized that Patrice Evra could handle the ‘hairdryer treatment’ but Cristiano Ronaldo needed a softer touch, Amazon recognizes that each customer has different needs — and they build their processes around meeting those needs effectively. To illustrate that further:

• A tech startup might crave data, charts, and analytics to illustrate your wins but may only need a monthly conversation.
• A retail brand might be more visual, wanting high-level updates or success stories that show real impact, with short weekly summaries or highlight reels.
• Another retail brand might need to effectively communicate its marketing performance with its private equity company, meaning your client is now the PE company.
• A non-profit organization may need an entirely different tack, focusing on mission alignment and impact metrics.

By developing a deeper understanding of your client’s needs and business, you can customize your communication with them appropriately.

Related: How to Understand Customer Needs

We believe in ongoing and relevant check-ins with our clients. That being said, the style and frequency of those check-ins should not be the same across the board. Not every client requires weekly meetings and constant email exchanges; some may just want a weekly summary delivered to their inbox every Friday afternoon.

According to Deloitte, companies with a client-centric model are up to 60% more profitable than those that aren’t. This underscores just how powerful it can be to adapt communication styles, reporting methods, and engagement strategies to each individual client’s needs. To drive this home further, it’s significantly easier to change and adapt with a client that is on the side versus one you’re on the back foot with.

When you go from being merely technically proficient to truly client-centric, something magical happens. Clients see you not as a vendor but as a trusted partner, maybe even an extension of their own team. That deeper connection fosters loyalty, encourages referrals, and can lead to more dynamic, long-term opportunities — often across different facets of their business.

Ultimately, true client-centricity is about building real relationships that adapt and endure. Master it, and you’ll enjoy smoother projects, happier clients, and bigger wins for everyone involved.