New Ladder To Success

13 Apprentices' applicants (Dan and Lee excused themselves to observe the Jewish New Year) met Trump on the 87th floor of Trump World Tower. With Carolyn and Bill next to him, Trump stated George was observing the same holiday, so Bill stepped in to take his place.

TEAM SYNERGY:  Allie, Sean, Tammy, Pepi, Andrea (project manager), Roxanne, Brent, Stacy and Michael.

TEAM GOLD RUSH: Tarek, Dan (absent), Bryce, Charmaine, Leslie, Theresa (project manager), Lee (absent), Summer and Lenny.

THE ASSIGNMENT: This week the candidates had to organize corporate retreats for car dealers and promote the 2007 Chevy Tahoe. The teams' performances were evaluated by the attendees on three criteria: interactivity, informational value, and motivational value.  The reward was a day at Atlantis Marine World in Long Island to swim with more than a dozen 12-foot sharks.

THE WINNING TEAM: Synergy

FIRED CANDIDATE: Theresa

LESSON LEARNED:

1)   Life is not fair.  Never expect it to be.
When Brent came back from the boardroom, Andrea rushed off to the bathroom in tears and refused to come out when another teammate Roxanne knocked on the door. Andrea professed that part of her just wanted to go home because Brent didn’t get fired. Fairness apparently is an important issue for Andrea, but business is not fair. Life is not fair.
In Lenny’s case, he felt it was not fair for Dan and Lee to excuse themselves from performing the task because they wanted to observe Jewish New Year. Lenny, also a Jewish, believed Dan and Lee should stay on the team regardless of their religious beliefs. Later, when he brought this subject up in front of Trump, he was told by Trump, "Life is not fair."

"It’s nothing personal. It’s only business." A familiar motto and many abide by it. How many times do we forget we need to leave personal feelings out of business dealings?

2)  Never lose sight of the real goal 
Theresa’s (project manager of Gold Rush) ideas for winning the task was to throw an event that included a putt golf course, horse and buggy rides, a comedian, spokes- models and an open bar. The only thing she overlooked was the main reason why the event was taking place. It was about selling the new Chevy Tahoes!  The result was a "lack of product knowledge."  Gold Rush loss.

3)  Strategy on dealing with difficult people 
Trump said, "If you cannot handle Brent, then you cannot handle my business."  Andrea volunteered to be the project manager, so she could show she had the ability to manage Brent. What did she do?  She assigned "busy work" to Brent.  Andrea wanted to ensure that Brent wouldn't be disruptive.  Even if he failed, it wouldn't hurt the group's efforts. Great idea.  You bet!

Trump's Lesson of the Week: “Plan B”

Trump says people should always be flexible and have a Plan B. Andrea demonstrated her flexibility with her quick thinking. Andrea and her team set up a rock wall, fly fishing, and a skeet shooting area.  When they were informed the park did not allowed skeet shooting, Andrea then decided to replace the sport to golf cart racing.  Judged by the laughter from the participants, the race was a success.

Related links:    The Apprentice on NBC, The Apprentice on SirLinksalot.net, and The Apprentice Blog