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PM Wars: Return of the Unsteady
A well dressed Excel met the now
Markus-free Capital Edge bright and early in the boardroom, where
Mr. Trump explained that the corporations would "create the most
compelling interactive retail display for the roll-out of the Star Wars
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD and LucasArts' Battlefront II video
game." Executives Jim Ward from Lucas Arts, and Jerry Arnold from Best
Buy would ultimately judge the winner.
Despite residual resentment among Capital Edge from
last week's boardroom,
Clay nominated himself as project manager on the grounds that he
deserved the role after nearly being fired at the suggestion of his
corporate colleagues. A superficial truce was struck, and they each pledged
to give "200 percent." Meanwhile, Excel had discovered that nobody
knew anything about Star Wars, aside from
Randal who has been a fan since childhood. But because Randal was voted
exempt from firing the week before,
Brian agreed to be PM so long as Randal would provide support.
Big Blastoffs and Crash Landings
Although
Clay was nominally in charge,
Alla became defacto PM because Clay deferred to her on almost all
decisions. "Clay is a little lost," Bill Rancic observed. "Every
decision that was made, Clay had to get affirmation from Alla." During a
photo shoot with characters Chewbacca and Darth Vader, Alla was almost on
her own as Clay flirted with a member of the production crew. But when it
was time for Alla's presentation,
Clay hijacked the meeting and pitched the clients himself.
Meanwhile,
Brian's leadership of Excel crashed on takeoff when he decided to leave
the suite at 10 a.m. for a scheduled 10:15
meeting with execs from Best Buy and LucasArts. Manhattan gridlock
proved more lethal than any Death Star, as Excel turned up more than half an
hour late. "We appreciate you coming, but we have to go to another
meeting," said Jim Ward of LucasArts.
Clueless on the client's marketing goals, Excel battled on gamely. They were
armed only with
Randal's Star Wars knowledge to help create their joint
video-game/DVD retail display. In the end,
Carolyn said, "Excel's display is average. I think if Excel wins, a
lot of it will have to do with their presentation." Marshawn, Excel's
designated presenter, got cold feet a half-hour before the pitch and tried
to
dump it back to Brian. While they squabbled,
Rebecca stepped in and volunteered to present. All went as well as could
be expected. But the clients had concerns on how the interactive display
lacked Darth Vader, the central character in this ultimate installment of
the Star Wars saga.
Darth Vader and Darth Clay-der
At the task evaluation, it was clear that Capital Edge impressed the
LucasArts and Best Buy executives by setting up catch phrases ("Write Your
Own Story," "Be the Jedi," "Watch It, Play It, Own them Both") that
emphasized the connection between the film and the new video game,
Battlefront II. Furthermore, because Excel hadn't featured central
character Darth Vader prominently, the execs felt strongly that Capital Edge
had won. When
Mr. Trump asked the winning corporation to vote on PM
Clay's exemption, all candidates voted against exemption, a first since
week 1's non-exemption to
Markus.
With the exemption voted down, Capital Edge moved on to their reward:
quality time with Apprentice #1
Bill Rancic at the site of the new
Trump Tower in White Plains, NY. Because he had overseen the project
from the start, the Apprentice hopefuls would bask in Bill's advice on
building construction, as well as sales. As they toured the building, Bill
offered his ideas on what it takes to be Trump's next Apprentice:
"Passion, creativity, innovation, fresh ideas. Actions speak louder than
words, it's about delivering the victories. This is the time to step up."
Clay had this takeaway from his experience with the first Apprentice:
"In the end, it's all about you. You have to really stand up. It doesn't pay
me to give the people on my team respect...
It's not about team work anymore."
Donald Zaps Two Into Deep Space
Both Carolyn and Trump were incredulous that Manhattan-resident
Brian missed his only chance to meet with the Best Buy and LucasArts'
executives because he left only 15 minutes to get from Midtown to Chelsea. "Where do you go in New York in 15 minutes?" wondered
Trump. "You go half a block." Trump went on to amplify his
discontent, "Brian, you've been very, very disappointing to me. I don't
think you've stepped up for weeks."
Trump and his execs then shifted focus to
Marshawn's sudden shirking of her presentation duties, which she passed
off at the last minute to
Rebecca. "I think you abandoned your team,"
Bill Rancic told Marshawn. Trump then asked Rebecca why she volunteered
to do the pitch. "I was fearful that we would take up too much time
deciding whether or not Marshawn would present," said Rebecca, "I
wanted to get the job done." Trump seemed to like her answer as much as
he disliked Marshawn's behavior. "I hate the fact that you shunned your
responsibility to present," Trump told Marshawn, "I hate how you let
your team down." A moment later it was all over for Marshawn and Brian. "Brian, you're fired," said Trump. "Marshawn, you too, you're
fired."
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