Principle of Least Work | Jose Mourinho

on June 5, 2010

In a previous post, Jose Mourinho as the Journalists See Him , I wrote " He [Jose Mourinho] is a winner, a champion many times over. He is efficient -- in my view -- super lazy . His teams do the least work : defend least, attack least, score least, and even train least." Here I elaborate on each point. The ideas themselves are nice and beautiful and so I won't embellish them any more.

In Competition

Defend Least
Some teams defend at the front.
Some teams defend high.
Some teams defend deep.
Mourinho's teams defend deepest, nearest their own goal.

Attack Least
In recent UEFA Championship League final match against Bayern Munich, Inter Milan won 2-0 with 33% of possession of the ball.
Fewer touches per goal. Does this echo "Speed, Simplicity and Confidence"?

In Non-Competitive Circumstances

I'm relating Mourinho's press conference at Real Madrid as their newly-appointed coach. I read a lot of books on PR training for CEO's. Some key ideas: (1) Lump all possible questions from the floor under 4 or 5 broad themes. (2) Always make your point, tell your story, bridge everything to your theme. This way, CEO can stay free of details and relaxed. That is just what Mourinho demonstrated in that press conference.

He had just 3 key things to say. So he can afford to be fluent and relaxed, saying these 3 things in many ways (even in a few langauges) and mixing them with sweet generalities.

The key things Mourinho had to say

1. He won't promise any trophies. (defense) 
2. He needed 3 or 4 new players to have more options, what he called "more possibilities." Not "a lot of changes" for the squad. 
3. Team above individuals. And the team should subscribe to his way of winning. (attack)

Sweet Generalities and Soundbites

1. "I am Jose Mourinho and I don't change."
2. "I am a coach that has a lot of self-esteem ... "
3. "It's too early tospeak about changes ... "

There are many things he could have said but didn't. And all the 3 things he emphasized are necessary, relevant, reasonable and beneficial to himself.
A minimalist, indeed.