Edge: What Businesses Can Learn from Football's Talent Hothouse

Book excerpt: What is talent? How do you fulfil your potential? How do you create a winning team? These three simple questions, which are fundamental to the running of any successful business, take Ben Lyttleton on a fascinating journey to some of the world's top football clubs to discover the innovative new methods of developing and maximising talent. Football is the most hot-housed, intense, financially-profitable talent factory on the planet. It's time we woke up to the lessons it can provide. Elite football clubs across Europe are identifying new ways to measure intangible skills 'above the shoulder', such as teamwork, adaptability, decision-making, resilience and creativity. These clubs have revealed how they get an edge. And you can do the same. Ben Lyttleton speaks to some of the most original thinkers in football, going behind the scenes at Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Liverpool, and the France national team, to pinpoint the skills and methodologies that are not only relevant to football but also the business world. We all want to have an edge. This is your chance to find one.