How 'Ted Lasso' Defied the Odds

The trio had what it thought would be a popular idea.

They were going to create a show about a goofy American coaching a soccer club in England and tie in lessons about kindness, perseverance and teamwork.

But no networks were interested.

“What’s the opposite of a bidding war?” Brendan Hunt, one of “Ted Lasso’s” creators, said on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Ultimately, Hunt and fellow producers Jason Sudeikis and Joe Kelly agreed to a deal with Apple TV+ — not exactly the major network during primetime hours that they had dreamed of.

But the fact “Ted Lasso” didn’t have immediate backers also had its advantages.

“We went into filming feeling like the underdogs that Richmond were,” Hunt said of the show’s fictional soccer club. “We weren’t coming on the heels of a bidding war. We weren’t coming on the heels of ‘Here we go with this monster show.’ I feel like it helped. It helped the process, the tone, the feeling, the vibe, everything.”

It’s an important reminder for us as leaders.

Having expectations and a reputation to live up to has its short-term advantages. It may initially mean more money and more attention.

But being the underdog with few expectations affords us some freedoms that may not have otherwise been available. It means we can:

1. Think a bit more unconventionally and take more risks

2. Have more humility and work even harder

3. Have fewer expectations and less pressure to perform

4. Surprise skeptics with our actual abilities

“Ted Lasso” was nominated for 20 Emmy awards last year and is presently filming season three. It’s already the most successful Apple TV show of all time.

But who knows whether Sudeikis, Kelly and Hunt could’ve taken it to this position had they gone into production with a major TV deal already in place?

The lesson here isn’t that we can all achieve what they did if we simply put our minds to it.

It’s that if applied properly, the doubt, skepticism and adversity we face today can fuel our rise tomorrow.