complete and utter bullshit
this coming from a reality TV guy
yes, I know this is OT, but it ain’t political
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Agreed. DT is a clever, resourceful and shifty guy, but that hair…
two out of a million and they can’t do better than kelly and jen???
raj and andi play in a different league - my 2 cents
greatest show on TV right now…besides ‘curb your enthusiasm’
the best thing about it, is that most of us can see ourselves doing those tasks…unlike survivor or fear factor - these are tasks that we could do, or have done in our real lives.
for business professionals - this is a great show to see what does and doesn’t work in high pressure situations.
I LOVE IT.
but, last night was really…really…really LAME.
Survivor & Apprentice. Thursday night, back to back shows. That’s our junk TV quota for the week.
Just out of curiosity, why were you not impressed with Jen, and why do you think Raj and Andy are in a different league. I only caught a handful of these shows, including last night, but out of curiosity perused the resumes of these folks (some still kids) this a.m. Most had very impressive credentials, including Jen - Princeton and Harvard law, the latter of which is near impossible to gain entry. Bear in mind that I’m just talking about the papers right now. Frankly I found Jen to be incredibly poised at almost all times I saw her; she is also an incredible speaker. She has a great air of self-confidence. Now where I lost her, and where she would have lost my vote, was when she went negative and attacked Kelly’s integrity. Go negative in my book, and you’ll do anything to succeed. Not my cup of tea. Kelly was too “milk and cookies” for my taste. Evidently a solid worker, but not a leader. He also did not speak very well, or defend himself very well, last night. He was weak.
It is interesting after last night that anyone would put themselves into this limelight to potentially suffer the public humiliation that Jen went through. I also question why someone would feel the need to do this - ultimately all about the public spotlight, which begs the question as to whether you want that kind of narcissistic person in your midst. Jen, for example, would take a pay cut to join Trump’s organization. She’s an associate in a law firm that starts its first year lawyers at well over 100K per year.
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My problem with Jen was that she seemed to lack imagination when it came to solving problems. They cut the show so that it seemed like she was always asking someone else how to solve a problem, not figuring it out on her own.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed with this crop of apprenti. Only ones I thought would be worth hiring were Pamela, who seemed to best pull things together under high stress situations, and Andy, whose flaws were ones of inexperience and those kinds of things can be trained out of him.
Raj was too flakey to hire, but would probably be a lot of fun at a party.
I don’t watch TV as I don’t have time…
But, I do have an MBA from a top 5 school and do pretty well at my job (Day off…travelling to Colorado for a snowboard competition).
I did watch the show a few weeks back and listen to what people say, as I’m always curious.
Here’s my take:
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The projects are all short-term gain. Business is not about making a “quick buck”.
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More often than not, the “winner” of each project has either bent the rules or did a crafty trick to win. This gets you fired more often than promoted.
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The show is correct in that people like working for people they like, people hired people they like and people promote people they like. The numbers/results are there to justify irrational decisions already made.
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The show is based on back stabbing. This is not the way to motivate workers. You shouldn’t work out of fear, but rather opportunity.
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Donald Trump is a poor businessman stuck in the 80s. If he were to start over again in 2004, he wouldn’t make it. But, he has done a good job hiring people smarter than him…and that’s the key.
But, what happend last night?
She’s an associate in a law firm that starts its first year lawyers at well over 100K per year.<<
Big deal. There are thousands of associates who fill this bill as all large, multi-state/national firms start their first-years at +100K.
If she were such a hot-shot lawyer, she’d be in their New York office instead of the 7-person Palo Alto office.
clm
Not necessarily. I specifically chose my market over an offer in San Fran, NY and Chicago. It was a decision based on opportunity. Perhaps she saw more opportunity. Perhaps she just likes San Fran. better.
Hey, I sent you a PM last night on some recommendations on San Fran. accomodations - Thanks.
Not necessarily. I specifically chose my market over an offer in San Fran, NY and Chicago. It was a decision based on opportunity. Perhaps she saw more opportunity. Perhaps she just likes San Fran. better.<<
Nope. If she were a true star, she’d be at Wilson or another top firm HERE. CC’s Palo Alto office is just an outpost with a lame duck partner.
I’ll work on your PM this weekend…I have some ideas.
clm
Agreed. Hard to view this as a viable litmus test for business success. Your points are dead on.
Difficult to take seriously when the Donald continually referenced Andy being “outdebated” in the boardroom. He was sitting between two women having a fingerpointing, monkey-vs-dog-in-a-cage, bitchfest.
Kelly seemed solid, if not a bit ploddish. Jen had some real issues. I would think is a more “real” scenario she would be passed over as too high maintenance.
Jen seemed to have solid management skills, but with the level of abstraction that you would expect from someone that manages on behalf of a third party, rather than from the position of one of the interested parties. Very different situation.
Another point above mentioned Jen’s desire to always go negative and what that indicates. That was her pathology and she was kind of scary in that regard.
She totally slid through on the “Levi’s” task. Took credit for a very successful effort and she contributed zero.
I love that this season, there is always a little segment where the Donald tries to show important and/or busy he is. The best was his being 10 yards from his chopper and trying to talk on his cell phone. Classic.
I spend a lot of time in boardrooms, dealing with corporate boards. I watch the Apprentice when I can for the comedy. I one of the “players”, when referring to activities within the Apprentice’s boardroom would footnote it, like: “She is really good in the boardroom - on this show.”
COMEDY!
Jen was just not likable at all. She was entirely too defensive, and never had the security about herself to own up to areas of improvement. Plus, she was just robotic, unemotional, and has alot of baggage.
Kelly seemed unshakable to me–I pegged him to win early on, he’s the most like Bill who won last time. He did a good job mediating the nutjob that tried to pull a “dictatorship” with him and his team. But, he could speak up more.
Overall, Pamela was my favorite. She is gifted, and has a lethal business mind. Pam doesn’t need Trump to make her riches though. IMO, he thought highest of her out of all of them. It seemed like when he spoke with her they were on the same level. She lacks compassion, but hell, she’s got what it takes. She can hire someone to fill the bill for compasion.
I’m so bored of reality…and unfortunately, there will be yet another damn survivor. geesh, I just can’t (and won’t) watch another one. This past one put it in the toilet for me. Maybe the Bachlorette will be good (I say this in jest. if I have to watch another rose ceramony, I will vomit–it’s horrible!)
kittycat
Of the reality shows, for whatever reason, my wife and I make time to watch the Apprentice because it is so bizzarely off.
Too bad reality TV isn’t really reality. Survivor would be cool if it really was about surviving. I mean, go total Lord of the Flies, with the teams/camps staging raids until you are down to four individuals, then it becomes the “Most Dangerous Game.”
These things are so ripe for satire. I’d like to see a mockumentary on the Bachelor with Vince Vaughn as the bachelor. I need to start writing this stuff down.
You just did.
And it’s a good idea.
it’s the best show ever, mainly b/c I won a bet w/ coworkers where the entry fee was $50 a person! Merry Christmas from the Apprentice. The reality is I’ve never seen the how and won by prepicking the right person.
Jen was probably the best looking, believe it or not that goes a long ways with egomaniacs like Trump. I have a hard time with Kelly holding the chair for the women all the time though. I mean, granted high-tech is pretty laid back compared to the Manhatten scene, but the women I work with would probably think I was getting ready to take their chair if I tried that. Maybe he thinks it will impress Trump, but I’m pretty sure the Donald hasn’t done much chair holding. Trump is a totally unrealistic boss, totally totalitarian. My favorite part is how he always does something “dramatic” in the board room, totally neglecting the advice of his staff, and then they all kiss his ass afterwords about what a wise and obvious decision it was. What a laugh. And none of the applicants are equipped to manage a large development project…probably that’s why you see last years winner on TV all the time.
Is there some rule against what seems to me to be the obvious way to win each week? Ie, say the contest is selling ice cream cones. You call up the marketing department of the biggest TV advertisers in Manhatten and say “how would you like your corporation to be featured on a 1 hour hit primetime TV show. All you have to do is buy a few gallons of this crappy ice cream at $50,000 per gallon. Highest bidder gets the TV time.” I would think this would work every time. You have to believe they already thought of this and banned it, but, I mean, how can you really prevent it…if they buy the ice cream they will be on the show.
I’m always waiting for Trump to let slip with something like, “She’s gone to the best schools, and she’s a dynamite broad.”
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