I’ve always found quality exciting. And now I rejoice seeing with how much determination, assiduity and care the Catalan coach Josep Guardiola is revolutionising the already thriving FC Bayern Munich and leading it to success. And to bring forward my point straightaway, he is greatly helping his company (FC Bayern Munich) in its internationalisation!

Let me therefore review a couple of his qualities, in my view, which in Guardiola’s case as well as in the internationalisation of an export company can only lead to success in the long term:

Openness:  Already in his earlier days as a player in Italy, Guardiola quickly learnt and showed that one needs to be completely open and adapt to the local reality without however giving up on his own identity.

Learning capacity: openness is really the first step toward learning capacity, which is the ability, when in a new country, to accept the new circumstances how they are while building them in your, as yet, frame of experiences and perceptions. At the end of the day, it means progression, without which no business can survive.

Language skills: learning steadily is an essential cornerstone, which in an internationalisation process means first and foremost language skills. Not only because communication is in and of itself crucial to your surroundings, but also because language represents the key to culture and therefore to the market of the export country. When Guardiola gives sports journalists a post-game interview in German, one can only admire him, his language skills, his attitude and professionalism.

Humility: in his speeches we can observe this facet, which is a rare thing in today’s world: decency, vision and thoughtfulness linked with immense humility, a combination inherent only to great personalities.

Leadership ability: he gives clear indications, is constant and rigorous, and stands unconditionally by his players. But he also demands performance! This generates credibility and creates moral values, something necessary in every company.

Excellence: this leadership ability brings about quality, both a trademark of excellent companies and a motor of growth and international competitiveness.

Guardiola is considered with the respect granted to someone who lives up to his values, leads clearly and will probably bring FC Bayern Munich to new heights.

(I am revealing myself hereby as a fan of excellence, but also a fan of FC Bayern Munich and Josep Guardiola).

In that regard, my advice to export companies is “completely Guardiola or nothing”, as with half things you won’t go very far.