The "worst team" in the NBA is suddenly the best: What happened to the Utah Jazz and how it applies to turbulent business organizations?

It doesn’t matter if you like basketball, the NBA, or the Utah Jazz. 

If you care about navigating change and crushing expectations, read on.

Before the season started the Utah Jazz were predicted to be the worst team in the league. 

Why? 

Among many reasons, here are the top three: 

1) They traded their two best “All-Star” players

2) They have a 1st year head coach who's also the youngest in the league

3) They have a CEO and GM who signaled hard that this would be a rebuilding season

Instead of coming in dead last,

They’ve taken the league by surprise and are currently the #1 in the West. 

How? 

It ended (and re-started) with Trust & Belief...

When leaders, people, teams, or companies don’t deliver on promises or expectations, it’s a slippery slope to distrust, frustration, and downfall. 

Think about the last time you bought something and it wasn't as promised?

Will you buy from that company again?

Likely not.

Two seasons ago, in the 2020-21 season, the Utah Jazz were #1 in the entire league.

They set high hopes and high expectations.

But then in the playoffs they went on to lose in the second round after leading the series. 

Last season -

#9 in the league, lost in 1st round of playoffs. 

As the Jazz didn’t meet their own, their fans, or the league's expectations, riffs turned into chasms in the locker room and within management.

Goodbye trust and belief.

It was over. 

The same is true of your team and organization. 

If you don’t believe in the people you work with, you won’t trust them, and you won’t work together in a manner that will allow you to win. 

Instead, riffs will emerge and over time they will widen until it’s best to start over. 

That’s what the Jazz have done. 

Only 5 of their 17 players were on the team last year and only 1 was a starter. 

But now they have a fresh batch of belief and are starting with a strong footing of trust. 

That only won't mean you have what it takes to win though...

It doesn’t matter how much belief you have.

If you don’t have...

• Actual skills and ability

• And market opportunity

You will not succeed in business, sports, or any aspect of life.

TL;DR

Even though the Jazz got rid of their all-stars, they still have talent.

Now armed with greater trust and belief, they're crushing everyone's expectations.

Trust & belief + Talent & opportunity = A recipe that will empower your organization to surpass all expectations.