LEARNING FROM THE BEST Gabriel Masfurroll Foreword I first met Gabriel Masfurroll in the seventies, when he was a teenager and a competitive swimmer. At that time, swimming played a very important part in my life because the European Championships held in Barcelona in 1970, in which I participated actively, were an excellent yardstick for the Olympic Games of 1992. Masfurroll was living in the Residencia Joaquín Blume in Barcelona, run by my friend Ricardo Sánchez, and we had good friends in common such as Santiago Esteva and Maria Paz Corominas, swimmers who in their day were key figures in Spanish sport. I shall never forget something ‘Gaby’, as his friends call him, said to me when he was still very young: “Mr. Samaranch, when I grow up I want to be like you and match your achievements. I also love sport and believe I can do a lot for it”. It comes as no surprise to me, then, to see Masfurroll holding positions of responsibility in leading sporting institutions. A few years later, I met up with “Gaby” again when he was head of the Quirón Clinic in Barcelona. Since then we have kept in touch on a regular basis. We have met and written to each other on numerous occasions and I recall a beautiful picture, on display at the headquarters of the Olympic Committee in Lausanne, which he gave me on one of his visits. I have followed his career very closely over these years and that phrase “when I grow up I want to be like you”, made me take a keen interest in both his personal and professional development. 1 It is clear that Gabriel Masfurroll has progressed a lot. From nowhere he has become an outstanding businessman, running a large chain of hospitals (USP Hospitales), and has also held several positions of responsibility in the world of sport. I remember his first steps as a director of F. C. Barcelona under José Luis Núñez. He was also Chairman of the NFL's Advisory Board in Spain, underlining his passion for business and sport as reflected in this book. I feel very honoured to be able to write the foreword to this book which describes, in a very personal way, the relationship between these two worlds which are becoming ever closer and need each other so much. I am very proud that former sportsmen and women now hold positions of responsibility in society and have become respected policymakers working on behalf of sport. Gabriel Masfurroll has recently created, in association with noted partners, a sports management company called Agency, further proof of his dedication to bringing together the worlds of business and sport. Finally, I would like to thank Gabriel Masfurroll for his friendship all these years, especially during my difficult time at the IOC, when I discovered whose support I could count on and who my true friends were. ‘Gaby’ was one of those friends and not only did he send me letters of encouragement but he also wrote articles in the press defending my position. I wish him all the luck in the world and highly recommend this interesting and entertaining book which includes Masfurroll’s personal experiences in addition to stories and anecdotes of people with close links to business and/or sport. Two worlds which are a source of value and wealth in today’s society. 2 Juan Antonio Samaranch Marquis of Samaranch Honorary President for life of the International Olympic Committee June 2004 3 Introduction “Winning is joyful, euphoric, glorious, vain and incredibly fleeting. While defeat is sad, depressing, frustrating, at times unfair, but usually character building.” GABRIEL MASFURROLL Writing a book is an adventure, especially if it is your first, but this is no conventional book. Neither is it a manual for businessmen in sport or sportsmen in business. It is simply an analysis of the links between two very important areas of modern Western society: business and sport. I had been thinking of writing this book for some time as a result of my own personal and professional experiences, which have always been closely linked to these two fascinating and complex worlds. Experience has shown me that sport and business, business and sport, are two concepts that are increasingly intertwined, for many reasons, and that the teachings and methodology of one are perfectly applicable to the other. For many years now I have been taking time from my daily work to note down everything which could help me to write this book. I have often had to get up in the middle of the night and write down ideas which have woken me up. Now, after a very busy number of years in all respects, I have decided to put down in words my personal reflections about business, sport and what they have in common. And I do so after having achieved the two biggest dreams in my life. The first, professional: 4 the start-up and consolidation of a very ambitious business project which I am lucky enough to manage, the USP Hospitales hospital group; the second, in the world of sport: having been a competitive swimmer for ten very tough years and having for five years tried to contribute my sporting and business knowledge to the board of F.C. Barcelona, first, as a board member under Josep Lluís Núñez (1989- 1990)and then as vice-president under Joan Gaspart (2000-2003). For two years I was also chairman of the NFL’s Advisory Board in Spain. These experiences were very different but very enlightening. Two goals achieved, related to business and sport, two of the cornerstones of my life. But there is a third: my family. My wife Cris and my three children, Gaby, Alex and Paola have been, are and always will be the driving force behind my efforts. Ten years of training every day from Monday to Sunday almost all year round, year after year, led to my discovering the two sides of sport. Winning, which is joyful, euphoric, glorious, vain but incredibly fleeting. And on the other hand defeat, which is sad, depressing, frustrating, at times unfair, but enormously character building, as, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see it has taught me far more than any victory. My various coaches, from different countries, taught me methods, ideas, strategies, techniques and even languages. From my fellow swimmers, almost all bitter rivals, I learnt the meaning of true friendship, camaraderie, and generosity, but also envy, jealousy, cheating and deceit, in conclusion everything which years later I would encounter in my professional life. Having experienced all this intensely in my sporting life it came as no surprise when I encountered it in the world of business. I may not have realised it at the time, but I took on board 5 values which have been of great use to me since: self-sufficiency, discipline, meticulousness, perseverance, endurance, humility (in victory) and desire (in defeat). Also, in recent years through occasionally playing water polo I have learnt the importance of teamwork as opposed to the individual effort required in a sport like swimming. I believe that in life one must be able to successfully harness the leadership of the individual with the work of the team. If you can achieve this, you are sure to succeed. I learnt a great deal from my time as a manager in the world of sport. Professional sport is a highly complex and very competitive world in which all kinds of interests exist in addition to extreme egos. When you form a part of this world, you become familiar with the enjoyment and suffering it brings. Other areas of activity appear dull and boring by comparison, although easier to handle than the business of sport which is a mixture of management, passion and a certain romanticism. Management is controllable, but passion can lead you to success or ruin, that is the grandeur of sport. Family, business and sport. Three things which have made my life unique and exciting. It is very satisfying to combine ways of acting, ideas, experiences or procedures acquired in these three areas to optimise performance in any activity. That this is possible is the key message of this book. I don’t pretend, heaven forbid, to lay new ground rules for operating in any area. It is not my intention to provide a magic formula for success in business and/or sport. My sole aim is to share my personal experiences, transmit all the knowledge I have acquired and how I have applied it, explain the mistakes I have made and share the successful decisions. This is not a theoretical book, quite the opposite. Experience is the best school. I speak to all 6 those who wish to learn from others: to sportsmen and women, businessmen, managers, students and all those whose believe life is the best school, and that sport is an extraordinary source of mental and physical training. I also wish to speak to those who believe in always being open to sharing and applying methods from one discipline to another, although at times this involves a certain calculated risk. This book is dedicated to all these people and in it I try to explain my particular business theories and their close relationship to the world of sport and vice-versa. In other words, how this world, which is continuously changing, can and must adopt ideas from the business world in order to advance. Aside from my personal opinion on various areas of interconnection between business and sport, each chapter also includes an interview with a person directly related to the world of sport or business in which they express their opinion on the subject of the chapter in question.