Slightly over a week ago, France were knocked out of the Euro 2008 Championships. Personally, I’m not really surprised, but there are some who were, and understandably so.

On paper, the French have a great team. They should be good enough to match any other squad. They’ve got the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Karim Benzema, Frank Ribery , Saloman Kalou, the list goes on. On paper, they’ve got really talented players.

So why am I not surprised that they failed? Because of their manager, Domenech. Yes, I don’t have his experience, and it’s a lot easier to criticize from here. But that said, he does not seem to know his best team. He doesn’t seem to have been able to build a good atmosphere within the team. And his tactics have been criticized by both past and present players.

I’m not really sad to have seen France go out of the tournament, but it does serve as a lesson for us. It’s not just about the talent you have at your disposal. It’s about how you manage it, and how you plan and make use of what you have – people, tools, anything.

Your strategy is just as, if not more, important than the tools.

How are you using the things you have?