When Football echoes Technology Transfer
I have recently read the all conquering Sir Alex Ferguson's book "Leading" written with Michael Moritz, published 2015.
When the great man says in a section on Criticism:
"Football is one of those subjects in which everyone is an expert even if their knowledge of the game couldn't fill a thimble. It's like other forms of entertainment or creative endeavour where its easier to be a critic than a practitioner”
could he have also been referring to university technology transfer?
"[Technology Transfer] is one of those subjects in which every [researcher] is an expert even if their knowledge of the [activity] couldn't fill a thimble. It's like other [activities] where its easier to be a critic than a practitioner." ...
Football in this context is of course Association Football, generally known as soccer. There are many more general parallels between his views on leadership and management in the book and other walks of life, such as innovation, technology and universities; it was this specific one on criticism that I thought could translate almost word for word.
And so, we have to learn to accept criticism in university technology transfer, to absorb it and devise ways to explain to critics in a constructive and positive and convincing way that are more likely than not very good reasons for doing things the way we do them; not least often to satisfy the wishes of the universities that employ them or the research funding bodies that fund their research.
When the great man says in a section on Criticism:
"Football is one of those subjects in which everyone is an expert even if their knowledge of the game couldn't fill a thimble. It's like other forms of entertainment or creative endeavour where its easier to be a critic than a practitioner”
could he have also been referring to university technology transfer?
"[Technology Transfer] is one of those subjects in which every [researcher] is an expert even if their knowledge of the [activity] couldn't fill a thimble. It's like other [activities] where its easier to be a critic than a practitioner." ...
Football in this context is of course Association Football, generally known as soccer. There are many more general parallels between his views on leadership and management in the book and other walks of life, such as innovation, technology and universities; it was this specific one on criticism that I thought could translate almost word for word.
And so, we have to learn to accept criticism in university technology transfer, to absorb it and devise ways to explain to critics in a constructive and positive and convincing way that are more likely than not very good reasons for doing things the way we do them; not least often to satisfy the wishes of the universities that employ them or the research funding bodies that fund their research.