What Board Chairs Can Learn from Soccer Referees

Uruguayan FIFA referee Andres Cunha put on a master class yesterday in how to manage a football (soccer, for my fellow Americans) game in the Iran-Spain World Cup match. On paper it was a lopsided affair with a much stronger Spanish team facing an ambitious, but lower ranked) Iranian crew. A large part of Iran's strategy was to slow the game down, sometimes by laughable flops and feigned injuries, thereby limiting Spain's ability to score. The Iranian strategy worked surprisingly well as Spain ultimately won by only a 1-0 score.Cunha's ability to tightly referee the game and maintain control was crucial to keeping the match from becoming comic, notwithstanding the bizarre attempt at a late-game flip throw-in with seconds left on the clock. Board chairs can learn much from Cunha. Laxity amid disruption invites misbehavior. Firm board management counts!