Lessons Learned

FIT

• Develop strategies to control the potential problem child. Knowing Jim's behavior challenges, Bethenny wisely worked out a strategy with Dawna to keep him from disrupting their task. Their plan was to stay focused on the task and each other -- no matter how Jim acted out for their attention. Dawna wisely instructed the flight attendants during the commercial shoot not to serve Jim alcohol. Also, by putting Jim on the artistic task of the video, they gave him something to focus his high energy on that wouldn't disrupt them. There are several good strategies leaders can use when they have team members who constantly act out. One tactic: Ignore the behavior, not allowing it to become distracting. Another: Don't give the disruptive person too much airtime in meetings. Lastly, if the person is bringing down team performance, unite the rest of the team around developing ways to distract or lessen the impact of the problem child.
   

• Align talents/skills with tasks. Bethenny smartly aligned her team members' individual talents with specific project needs. She relied on herself for the ideas, Dawn for organization and Jim for the artistic talent. Smart leaders will always consider individual's unique expertise for the right team tasks.
   

• Line up promotion with brand and target market. What Primarius did extremely well was listen to the client and then deliver what they requested. They designed a video that squarely hit this mark featuring a cute little girl (appealing to women), Song's innovative signature martinis (high style) and the low fare.
   

• Have passion. I believe Bethenny will win, largely because of her passion. She is a major Martha Stewart wannabe and gives it her all to land the job. No doubt Stewart is flattered by Bethenny's public determination to be her apprentice. Potential mentors are attracted to eager learners who demonstrate passion. Remember too that passion fuels performance and is a must for success in business and leadership.
   

• Respect in disagreement. Even though Stewart fired her for not pushing her ideas strongly enough, Marcela deserves some credit for her ability to respectfully disagree with someone in authority. There is always a way to present a different viewpoint that is respectful and professional. Successful professionals know how to challenge someone without insulting them. For example, Marcela asked Ryan to clarify his rationale for his decision and offered hers. She did not resort to childish behaviors or angry outbursts trying to make her point.

UNFIT

• Drinking to excess in an interview (or on the job!). Ryan, Ryan, Ryan!? What were you thinking? Did you forget you were on a job interview? Surely, you wouldn't consider slamming down a half dozen brewskies during a job interview! Slurred words and (in his own words) that he "wouldn't be OK to drive" is crossing a line. Hint: If you can't drive because of too much alcohol, you shouldn't be working either.
   
• Fun can't be at the expense of performance. Having fun is good business. Fun can increase morale and creativity and happy employees are productive employees. But there is a fine line between going overboard with fun (drinking to excess) and jeopardizing performance. Common sense dictates that there is a boundary here, and there is huge risk in crossing it.
   
• Ownership of the idea. Ryan selfishly wouldn't let go of his own idea. He was self-indulgent, and it ended up costing his team their jobs. He was blinded by his own desire to fulfill a childhood dream of wanting to be a professional baseball player.  This happens again and again in business. Leaders come up with an idea (that they think is a good one) and damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead (no matter what anyone else thinks) and then they are surprised by their own failure.  A far superior strategy is to check out your ideas with others (not to mention your customers!) in a way that invites and encourages an honest appraisal of your idea. A mature leader will ask the question, "Is this a good idea because it is truly a good idea or because it is my idea?" The answer may be very different depending on the perspective.
   
• Listen to your client and your teammates. This is business 101 (no doubt that's why Stewart suggested Ryan go to business school). He completely missed the key part of any sound marketing plan, which is to address the needs of the target market. Ryan ignored the client, stating he "wasn't worried about the target audience" and that "no matter what they say" he would use his idea. Ryan, without the target market, there is no business. Ryan also refused to consider Marcela's concerns. One of the benefits of a team is having different perspectives, ideas and experience. Leaders who fail are often the ones who won't listen to anyone else. Wise leaders are open to influence and consider all ideas and options on the table.
   
• Class. When Stewart asked Ryan why he drank so much, his answer was because "the beer was free." Was this really the best he could come up with? Sorry Ryan, but Stewart has class -- it's what her entire brand is about. Your response about free beer indicates you aren't likely a fit. We can surmise that Ryan's taxi ride home was free as well.
   

• Matchstick just wouldn't learn: Again, as was the case in the previous task, Ryan came up with a promotional idea that didn't work. Again, he missed the client's central theme. Again, his advertisement was ill-suited to the target audience. Not only were his ideas bad, but he showed that he couldn't learn from his mistakes.
  
  The bottom line? One of the key characteristics of successful leaders is that they take time to analyze setbacks. They ask, "Why did this go wrong? What could we have done better? How can we avoid making the same errors in the future?" Ryan showed that he needs to adopt a similar style of working.
   

• Champion your ideas: Marcela knew there was something wrong with Ryan's idea for the theme of the video commercial. She questioned the appropriateness of a sports theme for a largely female audience. Unfortunately, she did not argue strongly enough on her own behalf.
  
  The bottom line? It's not enough to have good ideas. It's important to sell others in the organization on the ideas to make them happen. Sometimes, that means being assertive and persuasive. Marcela needs some additional experience in doing both of these things.

Handicapping the Survivors: