Recapping Lessons Of ‘The Apprentice’

From time to time, Donald Trump, as television’s ultimate business professor, needs to pause for the cause. And the cause is worthy – it’s a class called “Business Behavior 101” from the good professor who is the high-powered guru and central character of NBC’s reality show “The Apprentice.”For season three, we started with 18 potential Apprentices. And now it is down to nine, all in search of the ultimate prize – to become The Donald’s Mini Me.Last week’s episode of “The Apprentice” was the reality TV equivalent of the instant replay as viewers were treated to a recap of the eight most important take-to-work lessons we’ve learned so far during season three.As we have come to expect, The Donald delivered and reinforced his tried and true theories while sharing the nuances of earlier business techniques.In episode one, the Burger King battle, both the “street smart” kids of NetWorth and the “book smarties” of Magna worked behind the counter to introduce a new burger for the fast-food giant. NetWorth whipped Magna, and Magna project manager Todd suffered the humiliation of being the first of the season to hear “you’re fired.” He failed to properly teach his team cash register skills, and they botched the lunch rush. Big lesson: Training matters.Episode two was the Jersey shore hotel renovation contest. Even after all the psychological testing Mr. Trump does to make sure contestants are up to the mental torture of this 16-week job interview, Magna’s Verna cracked up and quit without being fired. NetWorth’s team leader Brian was fired for putting primary priority on new potties rather than customer service. Big lesson: The customer comes before bathroom fixtures.Episode three featured the Apprentices introducing a new Nescafe coffee flavor. Magna’s project manager Danny, the musically-inclined Apprentice who seems to break into song at every turn, was fired for being unable to make up his mind on a promotional theme. Big lesson: Making timely decisions, right or wrong, is at the heart of leadership.Episode four found all of the Apprentice candidates clueless when it came to making a television commercial for a new Dove body wash product. Advertising mogul Donald Deutsch judged both teams’ entries to be losers and Mr. Trump pulled both teams into the boardroom to face the Trump-A-Dump. While both teams proved that a good ad is one of the hardest things to do, NetWorth’s project manager Kristen made it even harder by elevating her team’s bickering to an all-time high. Mr. Trump fired her. Big lesson: You win some, you lose some, but even more important is keeping your team together.Episode five had both teams creating a business on wheels in a custom-fitted Airstream trailer. Even though Net-Worth’s Audrey, the team accountant who could not count, lost some of her team’s money, Magna’s Michael’s inability to sell was the difference in his team’s close loss. Mr. Trump fired Michael for running his mouth in the boardroom. Big lesson: Most of the time it is better to keep your ignorance to yourself rather than speaking up and eliminating all doubt.Episode six presented both teams painting wall-sized graffiti ads for the new Playstation video game. Magna won the task by doing impromptu surveys among the local target audience in Harlem and adapting its art to their preferences. Mr. Trump fired NetWorth’s project manager Tara for not understanding that marketing is all about what customers want. Big lesson: In marketing, guessing what customers want is much less reliable than asking them.Episode seven pitted the two teams in a mini-golf course shootout at New York City’s Chelsea Piers. NetWorth’s team leader Audrey overdelegated, and was unable to make critical decisions that cost her team time and attendance. In the boardroom, The Donald dumped Audrey for pointing fingers at everyone but herself for her team’s loss. Big lesson: Win or lose, leaders take ownership of their actions.Episode eight saw Mr. Trump trade two team members from each team, mixing some high school diploma-earners in with the college graduates. In the contest, to raise charity cash by auctioning off the services of celebrity musicians on a live Fuse TV show, Magna outearned NetWorth by two to one for the third consecutive NetWorth loss. Mr. Trump fired NetWorth team leader John for his horrid performance in negotiating celebrity prize packages. Big lesson: In Trumpland, you negotiate from the top rung and never fall too far below.With seven episodes and nine Apprentice candidates left, we head into season three’s home stretch.Next week, we are back to live bullets in “The Apprentice” boardroom.Stay tuned.Mr. Whitehead is a consultant specializing in workstyles and career advice. E-mail your questions and comments to trumponomics@aol.com.

Recapping Lessons Of ‘The Apprentice’

Recapping Lessons Of ‘The Apprentice’

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