COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
BUSINESS COMMENT
OctOBER 2021 • 13
Rekindling passion for your business
A leadership lesson from Apple TV+’s ‘Ted Lasso’
By Jessica Newhall
clatsop community college
Small Business Development center
The fall season is upon us, and, along
with all things pumpkin spice, comes a
return of many favorite TV shows after
the summer hiatus. In our house, a top
choice is Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” the
story of a U.K. football (soccer) team,
AFC Richmond, and its leader, the title
character Ted Lasso. Ted is an Ameri-
can college football coach hired by AFC
Richmond’s owner to move to the U.K.
and take the helm as head coach. Unbe-
knownst to Ted, he is a pawn in her
divorce-revenge plot as she hopes his lack
of experience will lead to the sinking of
the team’s standings.
As the story unfolds, viewers fol-
low along as Ted and his assistant,
Coach Beard, enter the foreign world of
English Premier football and learn to
navigate the complexities of an unfamil-
iar sport and highly charged personalities
of the team members under their charge.
The show has a lighthearted and humor-
ous tone yet underlying all of this are pro-
found explorations into human motiva-
tion and organizational behavior. As the
coaches work to build an incredible cul-
ture rooted in positivity and teamwork it
is easy to forget that you are watching a
sports show. However, you will find your-
self rooting for each character as they
fall under the spell of Ted’s incredible
leadership.
While I won’t spoil too much of the
show’s happenings, a moment in a recent
episode struck me with a particularly poi-
gnant message — one that small business
owners can draw inspiration from. In it,
AFC Richmond’s team captain, Isaac,
is in a dark place emotionally, exuding
negativity with the team he is charged
with leading and his performance on the
field is far below his abilities. To inspire
change in his behavior, he is “tricked”
into showing up to play at a neighborhood
pick-up soccer match. At first, he scoffs at
the idea of playing “down” with a bunch
of amateurs but soon he discovers that
in experiencing the simple joy of play-
ing the game he loves, his energy and
attitude are transformed and his perfor-
mance soars.
Watching Isaac’s experience reminded
me of the journey of entrepreneurship.
When starting out, in that “budding busi-
ness” phase, entrepreneurs exude an
incredible sense of purpose and positivity,
fueled by passion, confidence and hope-
fulness for their future. Yet, once the busi-
ness gets underway, the toll of the long
hours, customer demands and never-end-
ing learning can begin to grind down even
the heartiest of business owners. Passion
and enthusiasm can wane, product qual-
ity slips, customer service diminishes and
employee dynamics sour.
The pandemic has added an extra layer
of stress and complexity. Many busi-
ness owners I have talked to recently
have expressed feelings of exhaustion
and burnout. Some wonder whether they
are cut out for this any longer and if they
should simply throw in the towel.
Jessica Newhall
When these types of conversations
happen in a small business coaching ses-
sion, I often encourage the owner to
share with me their “founder’s story”
— what was it that drove them to get
started in the first place? The purpose of
exploring this early stage is to hopefully
rediscover their “why?” in the hope that
it reminds them and rekindles their spirit
and energy of their early entrepreneurial
journey.
If you find yourself with waning energy
and enthusiasm for your business, serv-
ing your customers or inspiring and lead-
ing your employees, I encourage you to
explore some of these questions:
• What was it that drove you to want to
be a business owner?
• How did you feel when you started
your business?
CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL
• What was that special and unique
thing about you, your product or service
that gave you confidence to get started?
• What benefits did you see your busi-
ness delivering to customers?
• What do you love about your
business?
• Why do your customers love your
business?
Hopefully, by taking yourself on this
journey back to your early entrepreneur
self, you can, like Isaac in “Ted Lasso,”
rediscover the passion and enthusiasm
needed to inspire you to show up fully
for your business, customers and team
moving forward.
Jessica Newhall is the associate
director and Small Business Manage-
ment Program manager for the Clat-
sop Community College Small Busi-
ness Development Center. She can be
reached at jnewhall@clatsopcc.edu.
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