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Smart Teams Know How to Adapt: Inspiration from Jazz Bands
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Smart Teams Know How to Adapt: Inspiration from Jazz Bands

Flirting with mistakes and uncertainty

Gustavo Razzetti's avatar
Gustavo Razzetti
Mar 11, 2018
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Demystify Culture
Smart Teams Know How to Adapt: Inspiration from Jazz Bands
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Flirting with mistakes and uncertainty

Successful teams flirt with disaster every day. — Pic by Ryan Loughlin

“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” — Louis Armstrong

The ability to deal with uncertainty can make or break a team.

Famous jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald made her biggest career mistake on a German stage back in the 60’s. That performance earned her two Grammy Awards though.

Ella started singing “Mack the knife.” Her decision was risky: she had never performed it live before. Everything began well, but it went south faster than the public realized. The legendary singer suddenly blanked and forgot the lyrics. Instead of panicking, Lady Ella started improvising and singing new verses. The band followed along. The mistake turned the performance into a magic one.

The Queen of Jazz said: “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”

Even the most perfect teams make errors. How you deal wit…

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