Sir Alex Ferguson: The secrets behind his success

Remember the geese. As mantras for success go, it hardly sets the pulse racing. But to British football's most successful manager - and to those smart enough to listen to him - it is one of the keys to success.
During 26 trophy-laden years at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson would often stop training and tell his players to look to the sky and observe the aforementioned waterfowl as they flew overhead.
He would point out the V formation, that this was a snapshot of a 4,000-mile journey during which each bird would take its turn at the front, part of one perfect machine designed to achieve a single goal.
Finally, he would add: "Now if they can do that, you can give me 38 games to win the league."
This simple symbol for team work is just part of what makes Ferguson a great leader and why his influence stretches far beyond football, into other sports and the worlds of business, the military and politics.
On Sunday, 11 October, BBC One will screen a new documentary in which former BBC political editor Nick Robinson talks to those who have learned from Ferguson, as well as the man himself, to uncover the secrets of his success, as well as his views on those white Liverpool FA Cup final suits.
"It was a phrase we used throughout the week: remember the geese.
"I'd never worked with superstars so dealing with the likes of Rory McIlroy and how he was going to feel in that situation was alien to me. Sir Alex is the one who I thought could help me with that.
"He spoke to the caddies before he spoke to the players, which was great. It was a lot of fun for them and made them feel included, because they were a big part of what we did. I could hear the laughter coming from the caddies' room so I knew it was going well.
"When he came in he knew every player's name and addressed everyone personally.
"When we won, this perfect V of geese flew right over our heads and over the clubhouse."
"We would talk about man-management and I would say, 'look, such and such an individual may be brilliant but he is very, very tough and I don't know quite what to do about it'.
"Alex - because this is how he runs his soccer teams - would just say, 'get rid of them'. I'd say, 'that is all very well, but how would you be if you got rid of a player but still found them in the dressing room every day?'
"'Yeah, that would definitely be a problem', he'd say.
"We weren't talking about an actual individual, it was a hypothetical case, but his attitude was that it doesn't matter if he is your best player - if he is difficult, put him out of the room."