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Fast-Tracking Breakfast
After a brief teary interlude,
Charmaine rebounded from the second-hand
boardroom blame game and resolved to lead Gold Rush to victory. Meanwhile,
Tammy stepped up for Synergy, a corporation
that seemed to be on a more even keel despite the ongoing rift between
Brent and his colleagues.
Gathering the candidates at the Trump Tower Buffet and Grill,
Mr. Trump assigned the corporations a vital
marketing mission. They would get a look inside the $6 billion annual U.S.
cereal industry with one of the world's best-known brands, Post. The
task: "To identify the 'new face' of Post
Grape Nuts Trail Mix Crunch cereal and present a vertical billboard campaign
using your 'new face' to Post executives."
Grape Nuts: the Next Generation
Charmaine's positive leadership kept Gold
Rush moving throughout the task. She received brainstorming input from the
others but forcefully made decisions even when her strong-willed colleagues
wanted to extend debate.
Bryce's creative thrust for the
corporation's billboard was bold yet simple: an attractive woman
pouring an avalanche of Post Grape Nuts Trail Mix
Crunch into her mouth.
Tarek found the perfect girl-next-door
model in no time on the streets of Manhattan. But when the photo shoot
images weren't as stellar as they initially appeared, Bryce started
second-guessing his concept. Once again, however, Charmaine decided what
they had was indeed good enough and pushed forward.
Synergy highlighted the new Grape Nuts by pairing a forty-something dad with
a twenty-something daughter. In their brainstorming session,
Brent had suggested a weight-loss theme but
was overruled by the group. When he subsequently pressed to make the
presentation,
Tammy tactfully declined, implying that
Brent's plus-size image
might send the wrong message.
Ivanka observed of Synergy that, "They're
trying to manage Brent by having him do absolutely nothing. It's just not
going to work." But then again, Brent's off-message suggestions to the
graphic designer weren't working either, which led Tammy to clear the room
and cede graphic-design oversight to
Andrea. Even without distractions, Andrea
faced a challenge in visually presenting Synergy's complex message: "Try the
next generation of Grape Nuts. Finally, the cereal for everybody."
Creativity: Food for Thought
Sean's stammering presentation didn't help
Synergy, but the Post executives clearly favored the bolder and more
immediate poster created by Gold Rush. Their reward was a day with
world-class chef Jean George at his restaurant in Trump International Hotel
& Tower,. "Jean George is so successful in his kitchen because of his
creativity and I think that overall is what made us winners," said
Charmaine. Equally inspired was Bryce,
whose day with the chef made him wonder, "Why waste a single day not doing
exactly what you love?" As always,
Lenny did it his way, adding his own
finishing dash of cayenne pepper to an
already finished meal, which caused the
chef to half-joke about Lenny, "I don't like him as a customer. Au revoir."
Meanwhile, someone from Synergy was due to hear the same message from Mr.
Trump in the boardroom.
Brent Bounced Early
Brent boasted before the big showdown with
his Synergy colleagues that, "I'm a nuclear weapon in that boardroom." But
he had an unexpected meltdown when he faced
Mr. Trump and the mogul's trusted
associates
George and
Ivanka. Having been marginalized by the
rest of Synergy, Brent seemed to have dodged a bullet--since he had no vital
task, he bore no direct blame.
Despite the loss, most of Synergy had nothing but praise for project manager
Tammy. (Roxanne
even irked
Andrea by saying Tammy had been their
best P.M. so far.) But when asked by Mr.
Trump to assess the PM, Brent was surprisingly hostile and said that Tammy
really
stank as a leader. The unprovoked attack
shifted the focus to Brent. "How come you can't get along with anybody?"
Trump asked him. Brent maintained that the others were ganging up on him,
but Trump wasn't buying it and decided to save everyone the trouble of
bringing Brent back for the final boardroom formality. "Brent,
you're fired," said Trump. "Out. Over. Go!"
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