Commentary

Lessons Learned

• Keep it positive.

  • Abrasive power plays might put you in the lead for a time - but in the end, they will bring you down. When Heidi began to offer her team guidance about building the tent ("I am a camper . . ."), she stepped up into a leadership role without being too pushy. Frank, in contrast, took an overly aggressive tone in his attempt to wrest leadership from her. When he continued his belligerent ways while leading his team in their task, he got everyone so angry that they later tried to get him fired in the boardroom.

• Motivation works, both positive and negative.

  • The "have-nots" aren't happy proving that losing does indeed "suck" (to quote a losing candidate). Sleep was hard to come by with barking dogs, lizards and automatic lawn sprinklers. The winning team gets to lounge poolside in the California sun and dine with Wolfgang Puck. Talk about motivation!

• If you have an unusual sense of humor, keep it under wraps.

  • In serious business settings, it will only hurt you. When Martin made a bizarre joke to Mr. Trump as soon as he met him (he said he would like to hug Mr. Trump, but needed to go to the bathroom first), he established himself as a weird outsider to the group. Later, when he told Ivanka that he was "tired" at the carwash, he was practically asking to get fired.

• Delegate.
  • Being a leader means making the right calls about which tasks require your presence - and which you must delegate away to members of your team. When Frank and Aaron sprinted off to get handbills printed for their carwash, they left the rest of the team high and dry.

• Think before you speak.

  • Thoughtless statements can get you fired - or sued - in the professional world.  Frank made a sexist statement ("Let's get the girls out on the street selling . . .") and Heidi said something equally unwise when she hired two shirtless young men to stand at the curb outside her carwash ("This is a homosexual area . . .").

• Stick to the issues.

  • Fighting dirty sets up a team dynamic in which nobody wins. When Frank and the members of his losing team fought like caged animals to save their necks in the boardroom firing, the morale of the team suffered permanent damage.

First impressions

• Frank: He's an impulsive loudmouth with great enthusiasm (Trump had to yell at him out the window to pipe down), but he displayed a "ready, fire, aim" approach to business. Frantic Frank was seen running hither and yon but rarely was seen leading his team or developing effective strategy. One candidate quipped he was like a "3-year-old hyperactive kid on grape soda." He prefers barking orders and whistling to get his team's attention. Note to Frank: You are leading people, not dogs. Also, he (like most "Apprentice" project managers before him) needs to delegate simple errands. Frank blew his final opportunity to leave Trump with a good impression in the boardroom. He opened his big mouth, insisting competitor Martin was the one who was "brilliant." Not the kind of an impression likely to win favors with Trump.
   
• Heidi: Good leadership potential. She will need to pay more attention to resource allocation in the future. She initially put everyone on marketing and forgot about operations. When cars started to back up, however, she proved she was one of them by rolling up her shirt sleeves. When the team won, instead of gloating, she credited the team members, no doubt earning their trust and respect for future tasks.
   
• Martin: He began with Trump by asking to go to the potty. Now there's a first impression. It got worse when he failed to roll up his sleeves or take off his tie for the car washes. This made him a boardroom target for his peers (and demonstrated he doesn't know the golden rule that there is no "I" in team.) His stilted attorney-speak and rhetoric put off Ivanka, who said she couldn't see him on a Chicago job site. His wardrobe malfunction of a red checkerboard shirt with striped suit and polka dot tie spoke volumes of his eccentricity. In business, you need to speak and look the part.
   
• James: Confident, sharp, a go-getter and wisely knows when to keep his mouth shut (unlike many of his competitors). Expect him to be around for a while.

© 1998-2007 Maureen Moriarty/Seattle Post-Intelligencer