EPISODE THIRTEEN

OFFICE SPACE

With the teams down to only a few candidates each, it was just Craig, Tana and Kendra in the suite waiting to greet the latest batch of boardroom survivors. In an interview, Tana held nothing back and said that Bren would be the next to go: "I've seen him on tasks and he's an absolute zero." But Tana was proven wrong when Alex and Bren walked through the front door. The two remaining members of Net Worth reported on Chris and his emotional goodbye - and the tears that had been shed. But Alex and Bren admitted they each thought they were going to be fired. In an interview, Bren said he was "…lower than whale crap on the bottom of the ocean in Mr. Trump's eyes."

That night, Bren and Alex got away from Trump Tower to hang out and smoke cigars. In an interview, Bren said that he had found a new best friend in Alex. And Alex felt the same way. "Bren is my oasis in this vast imbecilic land," he said. The two friends had a relaxing night, but knew that the upcoming days would be full of hard work with only two of them on their team.

The next day, the candidates met with Trump and two executives from Staples, the world's leading seller of office products. For their next task, each team would have to create a new product to make office life easier by cleaning up clutter. Each group would have access to their own design and manufacturing team that would produce their product. Then the candidates would present their new creations to the Staples executives and a group of office managers. The team with the best new product, as judged by the executives, would win. The losers, as always, would return to the boardroom where someone would be fired.

Craig led the way for Magna as Project Manager in the group's first brainstorming session. Kendra suggested that the team ask real people what their biggest office problems regarding clutter were. There was only one problem with her suggestion: Kendra had spoken the idea aloud instead of writing it down. You see, Craig had laid out strict brainstorming rules - everyone had to write their ideas down and Kendra wasn't cooperating. This caused friction between the two candidates, who had already had plenty of run-ins on previous tasks. In an interview, Craig called Kendra the team's "biggest obstacle" to success. In her own interview, Kendra call her communication with Craig "dysfunctional." When Craig explained that he had seen lives changed by his brainstorming technique, Kendra couldn't help but smirk. Privately, Kendra said she could get more done by simply letting Craig talk for five minutes and then doing things her way.

On Net Worth, Alex was Project Manager and was in charge of his only teammate, Bren. The two took the time to meet with their product designers and learn a bit about the fabrication process. But for their meeting with the Staples execs, Alex opted for a conference call. There was only one problem - the conference call never happened because of poor cell phone reception.

Magna took a different approach and met the Staples executives in person. Kendra said that the meeting gave them a huge advantage because the executives essentially spelled out what the team should do. The executives said that Magna shouldn't try to invent a brand-new product; instead, the team should simply improve upon an existing one. Tana said another advantage of meeting with the execs face-to-face was getting the know them on a more personal level.

Alex told Bren to call office managers from the phonebook to conduct their market research. But as polite as Bren was, no one wanted to take the time to participate in the team's survey. Instead of answers, all Bren got was the brush-off. In fact, Bren wasn't able to get a single response. In an interview, Bren called the idea of a phone survey "nonsense."

Things were a bit different on Magna. The duo of Tana and Kendra went right to the customers, as they had on previous tasks, by conducting research at a Staples location. They simply asked customers what they were buying to help organize their offices. The women found that "stackables" - stackable containers with individual compartments - were popular. Craig, however, was on his own and not part of the team's focus group research, according to Kendra. In fact, Kendra said she hadn't the slightest idea what Craig was off doing in the store.

Later, Craig, Tana and Kendra met with their designers to finalize the idea for their new product. Kendra said that many Staples customers were buying stackables, so she suggested a new product based on them. But Craig complained that Kendra couldn't express her idea in a concrete way. Then, Craig suggested putting four of the stackables together to form a cube for storage. In an interview, Kendra said that Craig took her idea. Then she added, "That's just who Craig is." The tension only escalated when Craig and Kendra argued about what items they should put in their new storage product during their presentation. When Craig told Kendra he would explain his position again to her "slowly," Kendra took offense and said that she was sick of the condescending way Craig spoke to her.

Without any input from Staples executives or a focus group, Alex and Bren sketched out their new office product: a table on wheels with compartments and shelves. The crowning glory of their brainchild was the table's clear top, which was on a hinge so it could be lifted to gain access to two compartments underneath. The next morning, Alex and Bren arrived at their design shop and were thrilled to see their product, which Alex dubbed "The Packrat." Alex was so impressed that he said he wished he could have the rights to market it; he was sure he'd make a million dollars. Bren was so confident that he said he feared the lashing his opponents would take in the boardroom.

As Magna waited for their product to be fabricated, Craig and Kendra clashed… again. Kendra accused Craig of talking to her like she was a six year-old. Craig had no problem admitting that he talked to Kendra the same way he talked to his children when he had to repeat himself. Kendra again accused Craig of being condescending. Craig claimed that Kendra didn't even know what "condescending" meant. Kendra fumed and said that their conversation was over. But Craig wasn't finished. He told Kendra that he had given her respect that she didn't even deserve. Kendra shot back that every time she had asked Craig to do something he had said "no." Craig said, "Every time?" Kendra corrected herself and said, "…almost every time." Craig repeated, "Every time?" And then he said, "Now you're a liar." For her part, Tana avoided the battle of accusations and insults, but she was worried. Tana said that she had two teammates who hated each other and a presentation to make. But Kendra said, like faking a marriage that had gone bad years before, she and Craig would plaster on big fake smiles and get through it. The three candidates got in front of the execs and office managers and performed a little dramatization. Craig was a poor office worker with a mess on his desk that was out of control. Fortunately, the team had their product at the ready - a large, rotating caddy with multiple compartments. The caddy held a lot and the team was able to organize all of Craig's mess, which included several reams of paper, a dozen or so highlighters, pencils, a stapler, extra tape, ink cartridges, an office planner, a notebook and more. The reaction from the crowd was positive and an office manager commented that while the product was a little big, it was interesting.

Next up was Alex, Bren and The Packrat. Alex opened the clear top and showed how easy it was to insert an inbox and outbox and then close the top again. And because the top was clear, Alex explained, it was easy to see the contents of the boxes underneath. Then Alex showed that he could stack several piles on top of the table and still see the inbox and outbox. But an office manager raised a fundamental design problem - Alex couldn't get to the contents of his inbox or outbox without removing all of the piles from the top of the table. Another office manager jumped onboard and eventually everyone seemed to be concerned about the issue. Alex tried his best to explain the design, but the issue seemed to take the wind out of Net Worth's sails.

Trump arrived in time for the Staples executives to hand down their judgment. Magna, according to the execs, had clearly connected with the customer - and their product was "innovative" and "practical." Most importantly though, the office managers said they would actually buy Magna's product. Net Worth, however, failed to hit the mark. The execs said their product lacked important features. But their big issue was the seemingly useless storage areas directly below the hinged tabletop. Magna was the winner! As for Net Worth, both Alex and Bren would meet Trump back in the boardroom where one of them would be fired.

For their reward, Magna had breakfast with George and Carolyn at the legendary Rainbow Room. Between the sumptuous food and drink, Tana, Kendra and Craig got the chance to know George and Carolyn on a more personal level. Craig called the experience "valuable." Kendra said it was "special" and Tana said that you couldn't put a price on it.

The night before one of them would be sent home, Alex and Bren took a walk and got some coffee. Even though they lost, they both agreed that they had the better product. They still believed in The Packrat. Alex admitted that he was sad knowing that no matter what happened in the boardroom, he would have to say good-bye to his "buddy" Bren.