Basketball is one of my favorite sports. Growing up, my dad and I would watch the Chicago Bulls together. We saw them win back-to-back championships when Jordan was on the team. When they won their last championship, it was bittersweet because we knew the team would be breaking up. Michael Jordan wanted to keep everyone, including the coach Phil Jackson, but Jerry Krause, the General Manager, didn’t want Phil. Krause even went as far to say even if the Bulls won all 82 games under Phil Jackson, he didn’t want him back. So Jordan said that he wouldn’t be there either and the team broke up. It’s hard to believe that even the greatest basketball player of all time opinion didn’t matter, especially with something as simple as the coach in 1998. It has been 24 years since the Bulls Championship win and how things have changed.
Some General Managers are now allowing players to have major influence on changes to their teams. These changes are so detrimental that they put the team as well as the organization in a precarious position. For example Lebron James went to the Lakers in 2018. The Lakers had a nice young team that consisted of some players like Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zuba, Josh Hart. Lebron James wanted Anthony Davis who played for the New Orleans Pelicans at the time. They ended up trading Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and multiple unprotected first-round picks and swaps to get him. The Lakers did win a championship in the 2019/2020 season but they have been in a downward spiral ever since. So much so they are a laughing stock of the league. This is just one example; another example is the Brooklyn Nets. If you want to know about them, just Google and you will see what I am referencing. They are mentioned for everything but their primary focus basketball
The allowance to allow some players to make decisions on a team is also something that translates to companies. There are some companies that will allow employees to dictate policy and company climate. In some instances this is a good idea but in others they are allowing the least capable to run a group or organization which is a recipe for disaster. This is why some companies are actually considered toxic.
Listening to other perspectives is important in order to make informed decisions. However, giving in to those perspectives can put your team and organization at a disadvantage, as illustrated with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets.