Lessons Learned

• The Good:

  • When it's Wal-Mart, it's all about the merchandising. Gold Rush smartly put their display together with a heavy emphasis on cross-selling compatible consumer electronics for the Xbox with predominantly displayed product pricing. They won this task because the display was consistent with Wal-Mart's merchandising strategy.

  • When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The best-laid plans can go astray. True winners and high-performing teams don't let unexpected obstacles get in their way. When the vendor failed to show up with a key piece of their display, the men improvised with what they had. Anyone can perform when the going is easy; the true measure of a winner is adapting when the going gets rough.

  • Teamwork. Members of high-performing teams watch each other's backs and give the team 100 percent of their effort. The men were a good example of this, in sharp contrast to the women. The men worked well together and supported each other. For example, when Sean found the display would be significantly delayed, Lee wisely suggested to him not to "snap" at the vendor. Sage advice for one so young.

  • Be honest and transparent. The men didn't try to hide their implementation failure or wiggle their way around it. They openly acknowledged execution problems with the executives and Trump. Integrity and honesty are always better than misrepresentation and blaming others for your failure.
     

• The Bad:

  • Listen (don't argue) to feedback from others! Tammy, Trump, Ivanka Trump and Bill Rancic all gave Allie feedback regarding her continual lack of respect and eye rolling directed to project manager Tammy. Instead of owning up to her behavior and being receptive to feedback, she argued with them, trying to spin her behavior as "pointing my eyes in an upward direction." Give me a break! Although taking hard feedback may be difficult, we need to pay attention -- particularly when it comes from multiple sources. Part of emotional intelligence is being self-aware, understanding your effect on others and being willing and open to making behavioral changes that support improved leadership, partnership and trust.

  • Clear contracting. Sean blew the vendor contracting by not establishing clear delivery expectations or consequences for not meeting them. You knew he was in trouble when the vendor said, "I can probably get it done by midnight." The word "probably" was a red flag to Sean that he chose to disregard. When contracting, remember to establish clear expectations; get everything in writing, including penalties for non-performance; consider the vendor's experience; ask for and contact referrals; and review previous work. When outsourcing, the lower bidder isn't necessarily the best; quality, expertise and reliability are worth paying for!
     

• The Ugly: Blatant disrespect. I wouldn't hire Roxanne or Allie based on their performance this week; they could be poster women for immaturity, cattiness and a lack of professionalism. Their continual display of disrespect for their manager was pathetic. Frankly, it was amazing Rancic and Trump let them get away with it. It also was embarrassing to see the women bickering and talking over one another in the boardroom; hardly role models for impressionable young people watching the show.
   

• It's Not All About "ME:" Tammy made the mistake of telling her teammates that she wanted this week's task to really make a statement about her. Allie and Roxanne were already closer to each other than they were to Tammy, and Tammy's statement gave them that much less of a stake in the project. Not surprisingly, Allie and Roxanne were united in their criticism of Tammy in the boardroom, and they reminded Tammy more than once that she had made the task a personal one as opposed to a true team effort.

  The bottom line:  It's hard to get team members to pitch in and help on a task if they perceive that there's nothing in it for them. By emphasizing how important it was for this task to bear her personal imprint, Tammy made it easy for Allie and Roxanne to disengage.
   

• A Little Voluntary Assistance - and Loyalty - Wouldn't Hurt: Allie and Roxanne didn't expend any effort toward helping Tammy with the task. As mentioned above, Tammy gave them a good excuse to lie back because Tammy made it seem as though this task belonged to her exclusively. But Allie, in particular, lowered herself by taking several opportunities to roll her eyes in disapproval of just about everything Tammy wanted to do. Both of Trump's associates, Bill Rancic and Ivanka Trump, noticed this behavior and Rancic found it very troublesome.

  The bottom line: Allie would have improved her public image by being less snide. Instead, she came across as petty. It would not have hurt her to adopt a more pleasant countenance and a more positive attitude.
   

• Murphy's Law - Revisited: There's an old saying that if anything can go wrong, it will. Sean and Lee are very fortunate to have won this week's task. They put all their trust in subcontractors and had no backup plan. Thus, when the contractors were delayed in delivering the items for the display, Sean and Lee were left with an unfinished product. The judges could have disqualified them very easily for not having completed the task.

  The bottom line: Outsourcing is often a prudent strategy, but when time is constrained, it's a good idea to have a plan B in the event that something falls through - as it did for Sean and Lee.

Rankings

We are down to the "final four." Here is the new ranking of the candidates, based on the likelihood that they will eventually be hired by Trump.

1. Lee (Gold Rush): He still rates as the number one candidate, but a showdown with Sean is approaching quickly, even though they both seem to get along well at this moment. For Lee, a lot depends on what happens next week. If the teams stay intact, and he gets one more win as a project manager, he will have won three of four times in that role. He'll get credit for taking initiative and for results. However, one more loss as a project manager may send him home.

2. Sean (Synergy): He now has two victories as a project manager, but doesn't seem to have as much substance as he has style. As mentioned, he was really lucky that Gold Rush was not penalized for having an unfinished display.

3. Allie (Synergy): She has one victory and one loss as a project manager, and has more leadership potential than her teammate. Unfortunately, her behavior during this week's task made her look somewhat immature. She's due for another turn as project manager if the teams stay the same next week.

4. Roxanne (Synergy): She is, by far, the weakest remaining candidate, in spite of her two victories as project manager.

Commentary

Having watched all the episodes in this season of "The Apprentice," there seems to be something missing from the series, especially compared to last season. The biggest difference is in the demeanor of Donald Trump. Last season, he appeared to be at the top of his game - engaged, witty, unpredictable and thoroughly entertaining. This season, he appears bored, impatient and less interested.

Trump's regular Monday morning interviews on Don Imus' nationally syndicated radio program are supposed to provide Trump with an opportunity to plug that evening's episode. After all, the Imus program is simulcast on cable network MSNBC, and Imus' corps of semi-regular guests includes several NBC/CNBC/MSNBC talking heads, such as Brian Williams, Chris Matthews, James Cramer, Tim Russert and Howard Fineman, as well as Trump.

During this season, however, there have been several times when Trump's interviews on the Imus program dealt less with "The Apprentice" than with other current events. Such was the case this week when Trump took up most of his interview time discussing immigration policy. When asked about the upcoming episode, Trump made no mention of the impending task or of the episode's sponsors, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, even though they are two of the most visible and most powerful companies in the world.

About all Trump said about this week's episode was that it would include his daughter Ivanka, who would do an "amazing" job. Looking back over the episode, it's hard to determine what Ivanka Trump did that was truly amazing. If anything, she was overshadowed by her counterpart in supervising the task, Bill Rancic.

Trump tends to get most excited over the pursuit and closing of deals, as opposed to operational details. Once the deals are done, he likes to move on to something new and leave the day-to-day management of projects to others. The show has given Trump a tremendous boost and cemented his image as a business icon. But much like the deal that has already been consummated, he shows signs of having lost much of his enthusiasm for "The Apprentice" as it nears the end of its fifth installment. So, seemingly, has NBC, which is on the hook for one more season. Although filming takes place this summer, the West Coast version of "The Apprentice" will not air until 2007, freeing up a valuable slot in the fall prime-time schedule.