6 things aspiring founders can learn from Jose Mourinho

Photo credits: Aleksandr Osipov .

Jose Mourinho is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the sport today. The self-appointed “Special One” has won 22 trophies and is the only coach to have snared league titles in Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain.

Statistically speaking, he’s the most successful club manager in world football.

Brash, confident, and self-assured, the Portugal-born technician is impossible to ignore. Even his most vociferous opponents can’t help begrudge the fact that there’s certainly something special about the ‘Special One.’

Mourinho likes to fashion himself and his teams as the perpetual underdogs, out to slay the Goliath in front of them. He’s had to face several seemingly insurmountable challenges in his career, but always finds a way to come out on top.

Entrepreneurs looking to challenge the big guys and upend the status quo can certainly learn from the Manchester United manager’s style. Here are, in no particular order, six qualities that really stand out.

1. He’s not afraid to get out of his comfort zone

Unlike other wildly successful managers such as Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, and Sir Alex Ferguson, Mourinho doesn’t have a particularly notable history of succeeding as a player.

His big break came in 1992, when he was appointed as a translator at Sporting Lisbon for manager Sir Bobby Robson. After that he never looked back, becoming the assistant manager of Barcelona in the mid-1990s and eventually moving back to his native Portugal to manage in his own right.

Mourinho learnt all he could from his mentors – which included the likes of Louis Van Gaal – and then ventured out on his own. That’s an important lesson for entrepreneurs, who need to be able to wear several hats if they wish to succeed.

A founder may have excellent coding and technical skills, but that’s only a fraction of what it takes to build a world-class company. They need to invest time in sales and marketing, talk to users, meet with investors to raise money, and ensure the team is happy.

No entrepreneur ever succeeded by remaining within their comfort zones. And it is unlikely that future ones will either.

2. He takes on the big guys and wins

By 2004, Mourinho had already started to gain recognition as an up-and-coming manager due to his exploits with Porto. But he announced himself to the world when he defeated Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, eventually going on to win the competition and secure a move to Chelsea.

Successful entrepreneurs don’t worry about the competition lurking in their territory. They remain smart, nimble, and agile, and play to their strengths. A startup that is consistently able to punch above its own weight is unfazed by others.

Uber’s taken on the entire taxi industry worldwide and is winning the battle. Facebook introduced itself at a time when Myspace was already popular. The iPhone swept away giants such as Blackberry and Nokia to the extent that they’re now dinosaurs. Even Google competed with Yahoo and came out on top.

3. He learns from failure

4. He’s able to disconnect from work

5. He gets the best out of his team

6. He’s always trying to improve