The Trump Blog

I have always gone into a messy situation to turn it around. Not so much for the attention, but to make things better. I am not as alive at a job if I am not imroving something or given authority to make things happen. It seems like I am always finding a project or program that needs to be developed, and then hand it over to someone else, while I go on to the next project that needs development. Once it is developed, i get a sense of contentment to reap the fruits of my labor. But after a while, I feel stagnant and have to find something that is a challenge again. I do not do it for public recognition because really I do not like being in a ceremonial lime light; it cause me anxiety. I am comfortable being behind the scenes, knowing that I am making a difference and that only the people whom I work with know of my efforts and what the job took to appreciate it. That is satisfying enough. Gena Davis was quoted something to the effect, "Risk nothing: gain nothing."

I could not agree with you more Mr Trump. I was disappointed to see what they did with your honey though. As you stated honey is one of you favorite products, and if I were to visualize you eating honey it would not be on a sticky piece of toast but rather in a sophisticated cup of tea.

Not one even thought to sell honey with this thought in mind. In my opinion it was an interesting twist that not even Surya thought to sell honey in a cup of tea which in fact had he done so Stefani would not have had the opportunities to hurt Surya as much as she had.

Finally Frank needs to quit being so afraid of you Mr Trump. It blocks his focus in the boardroom. Had he given you a fair answer as to who should have been fired it would have been the person holding up his assembly line bottles. That is where the final count of sales suffered entirely this week.

Who spilled the honey ? Frank rolled with the punches and for that he made up for any respect lost at the beginning of the season but the team should have already known where the sales suffered its not Frank's fault. No one had his back. Again who spilled the honey...

I have found this to be true in many situations.

When our F16 squadron delpyed to Iraq in 2003, we had a peacetime leadership structure.

Though that structure was still in plac ein Iraq, a different informal structure arose as combat hostilities emerged.

Different leaders often rise to the occasion in the face of adversity.

Some actually thrive on it!

Major Reeman
jim@nourishchildren.com

As a woman in business, I seem to get calls from those underdogs, that need EVERYTHING to turn their company around!

From restructuring, to corporate financing to marketing....all seemingly needed YESTERDAY.

They are sometimes in absolute crisis, where peace keeping and the art of diplomacy is needed just to maintain a truce in the very management, by that point blaming each other!

"STOPPING THE BLEEDING" is one part to establish stability and try to turn things around going forward, usually only maintained with financing.
This usually is the cure all to turn raging tigers into purring pussycats, but usually they are in need of more s.o.s. aid within six short months, as a defect in management is the root of the true problem.

It leaves me with the opinion that DESPERATION brings out the best and worst of true character, and if judgement needs to be made, throw them in the pitt as the absolute experiment.

There is a saying about fairweather friends and thus teammates in business; choose not your friends by outward show, for feathers fly high, while pearls lie low.

So what's your point?

I agree with you Mr.Trump. There were a lot of leadership lessons in this weeks "Apprentice". Arron surprised me the most. There he was in the boardroom with you and he didnt do anything. I imagine he was nervous and wasnt sure of himself, but that wasnt the time to freeze up. Aimee (I think that was her name) took a hold of her shot in the boardroom, but I felt went overboard. She got to sure of herself. She was to tough considering her record performance. Her team won, but it wasnt by her leadership, but by two other team mates who "thought big" and went from there. That was over looked.

Donald,
You're a man of great wisdon. I learn from you every day and value you and your expertise. So, you were in Minnesota. Cold up there now.
Thank You,

Jeri;ynn

I believe An Apprentice gave a lot taught for people. An Apprentice and also this blog are the best forum to discuss about management.
I had learn from An Apprentice and whatever I said on this blogs, it came from my work experience.
I got some opinion from Mr.Donald Trump how to work amongst difficult people, also how to learn from situation, Miss USA, Britney Spears and many issues. My brain said, recently, most people working for their nationalism spirit. This is BAD, actually! Because we are not living alone in this world! We must keep the spirit that we are living as one world. Everyone have the same problem in their life like I face in my life. But, when some people demand on me then I became shout on them. In fact, some people surround me not understand that the system that I faced, not allow me to accomplish my job. The point is : IT IS THE HARDEST JOB TO ACCOMPLISH OUR JOB. So.......what we do now?
I choose to keep quiet and watch over the situation. Prepare my feet to be strong to make some steps. At least, what I can do, to express my great thoughtful for Trump Blog and keep watch An Apprentice. Applause for Trump Team and Mr.Donald Trump!

Well...as the matter of fact I could say that if you are in some situation where nobody is clever and you are brilliant, but the enviroment do not let you grow because of any reason, I think that would be a situation where you need to decide either to stay there or not. I am in that situation, and I have decided to leave the place because they do not allow me to show off no matter what ever smart thing I do.

I think this show was a triple whammy. 1) Aaron, who takes accountability gets fired. He seemed to be in transition, learning, but it seemed to not be fully realized, because he got fired. 2) Surya did fall short in his marketing task, because he spoke too far above the others heads, etc. Yet he was brilliant in the way he got Aimee to vouch for him through passing information through the fence to Derek before being exposed to you in the boardroom; 3) Frank, who takes no accountability, as was seen in the first episode or two, but really wants to work for you and will probably win because his background seems to be in construction, scares me to death. I would never want to work for him. Because he's not accountable. And, sometimes, with the projects you work on, people can be put in unsafe situations. A skilled person can get them out. But, one that lacks accountability may not. I've seen exceptionally skilled persons in corporate America, refuse to take accountability for their responsibilities and great harm has come to those who had to answer to them through the chain of command, while they themselves, walk away with zero consequences. Accountability is very important, and even though I understand that Aaron had to go, I had to respect his strength in taking accountability.

Dear Mr. Trump,
I believe you are absolutely right! When everything is working out fine...or appears to be, in many instances, even the greatest ideas will often be dismissed, especially in the legal field because..."That is the way it's always been done and that is the way it will always be done!" Some firms are paralyzed by their own success and are unwilling to push it to the next level.

Those with a true entrepreneurial mindset will certainly want to jump to the perceived "losing" team or to a more challenging environment because they see potential for improvement, they see an opportunity to make a difference, and to meet their primary need for significance.

Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned from you is to "make decisions" and "take action." Especially, when it comes to hiring and firing. There is more to it than looking for experience, character is just as important. And when a person from the winning team is willing to sacrafice their position to make a real contribution, that shows character, which is just as important.

Thanks for posting your article and for all of the wisdom that you share with others.

Tracy L. Singh, Esq., Las Vegas, Nevada

On the Apprentice: Kinetic versus Arrow. Frankly, I find Kinetic a bit more cohesive than Arrow.

Mary Pominville

I agree with DebbieDee to where she sit's back like I do. Sit back listen and take in information for as if it were knowledge of success or failure.
To sit and listen I think you find out that there is alot of people that think they are the best, but they are usually the ones who sound not so intelligent or don't use common sense. Take it in for your own information and analyze it. Alot of research and alot of trials and tribulations that are smart. Not by mistakes of bad judgement and lack of consumer wants. I am on my second chance at getting my business off the ground after first time of picking choices that at that time I thought were sound, well at least I served my country. I will do my best and there is one person to thank for trying to strive to the top even if I am broke now maybe oneday Mr. Trump will be shaking my hand and not saying "YOUR FIRED!"

TP&J AutoSpa,LLC
Thomas Samanich

Mr Trump thank you once again for an interesting read. Please may I ask why you dont run more online courses for people already in business other than real estate or business start up, I realise this is where you excel but some of us operate in other area's such as catering (my business in the UK). I would love to see more courses etc. in this area, business expansion, leadership, motivation etc etc. Also why cant you make the course materials available online i.e Audio Courses on mp3, e-books, downloadable video. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way and I for one would be more than happy to invest if the courses where more relevant. I hope you get to read this and perhaps act on it or even more.........post a REPLY. Many thanks for TrumpU and your blogs. Regards NIGEL

Mr.Trump, I quite agree with you absolutely. When a person remains in a winning team, his/her potentials are not fully taped, because there may be few challenges, but a bold attempt to move to a team that is loosing will first and foremost serve as great challenge that will propel the person to think intelligently and begin to seek for alternative means of bringing success to such group. In conclusion, the great giant in such person will be awaken and within the shortest possible time he or she assumes leadership position, things will begin to turn around for the best. Thanks. Dauda, R.S. Redeemer's univedrsity. Nigeria.

I have bee a temp for a long time. Accounting and Adminstration. The temp industry is fueled by companies with people who do not want to do the job at hand. Everybody is jockeying for a higher position and leave the work to someone else, so nothing gets done. I go in, assess the job, and get to work. Regular employees are awed at how easy I make the work look. I have been in situations where I am doing up to six peoples jobs. They see me doing it and they get to work, so not to be outdone. My point is, somebody has got to get the job done.

Here's an idea for The Apprentice. It seems that the players this season have learned to find a scapegoat and unify against that person. For the scapegoat, it's only a matter of time until they are eliminated. In business, where this phenomon occurs, the best strategy seems to be to look at changing companies. Companies who face a loss of employees are forced to negotiate better deals to keep their workforce. Maybe it would be interesting TV to have a rule where one player a week can switch teams- if the recieving PM agrees. Can see some scenarios where some interesting deals with intangibles might come into play. Might be better if the PM can offer deals such as a set number of immunities, choice positions in project management- and if a person is on a winning team- there's the potential to shine on a losing team and have a chance to become PM.

Yes Mr. Trump,

if leadership imply also experiences like put yourself in the other site shoes to understand the roots of a loosing team is not always a pleasant one but final target with everyone breathing the shared win as a team is great I believe, experienced just one time, when my team appear to loose a performance front of 200 people, and as until that moment I was unnoticed in the group, well, the moment the performance was in the aire from emotions of a coleague, I step out and say his part introduce the next role which also did*t understand what*s going on, improuving to the next role and he camed on the scene, it was a succes and my first trip with the team to see the Black Sea for first time in my life as premium from liceum for all of us..3 weeks!! is strange that when need to do it for myself is different, what*s the heck is I don*t know why for myself don*t ask for much but for others well.Can be that the weakest point of somebody and better did*t talk about the paradox where it lead sometimes helplessly ..until few time ago'?!
The acces of the episode nbc say that for my location is not available the movie..I loose perhaps that episode but not the class, thank you
Dana

Thank you Mr. Trump. Your advice and encouragement are invaluable.

Leaving the comfort zone of a winning team to go to a more challenging situation takes guts.

It is similar to leaving the security of a good job and striking out on your own to start a business.

The only obstacle is that gray area between your ears that harbors self-doubt and the fear of failing.

Failing and making mistakes are ok. Its a learning experience. You learn not to repeat the same mistakes.


gea

Donald you know I did like Stefani but now I'm looking more towards Frank. I like the fact he's from New York. Bronx
Maybe thinks more like you. Maybe knows the turf.
There are major problems there with the candidates. Major problems! Do you really want to take them on? The problems I mean.
Is Nicole really that scatter brained? She remind me to much of someone I found to be two faced. I don't like two faced people and you may have a few in your presence.

Jerilynn

It takes guts to walk into a messy situation, especially if you do not know what the mess is going to consist of beforehand. I have a lot of respect for people who head into a situation knowing it is going to be difficult. I am heading into a difficult situation now; I am going to be holding down a job while attending two very different schools full time. Not only that, but I also have a slight problem to work out with Mr. Trump that I have already notified him of. Things are going to be even harder that they already are for me as I chase my dreams, and I am really scared, but as I prepare to celebrate my 21st birthday today and look down the bumpy road that lies ahead, I know that I will not give up and I will make it through. I have Mr. Trump to thank for that.

Personally, I would like to see you flying the American flag right here on this web site Mr. Trump.

~ as ever

How true it happens in real life all the time. In big companies troubleshooters are taken from good departments & sent to troubled departments to take care of problems or increase revenues. They don't mind doing these jobs.

In sports, it happens all the time. Phil Jackson (who appeared on your show) is a winning coach. He came to the Lakesr when they weren't doing well & led them to several championships. (With help from Shaq)

The New York Rangers hockey team was struggling for a long time. Mike Keenan came in as coach in 1993 & led them to the Stanley Cup which they haven't had for 50 years. (With help from Mark Messier). He's use to being fired all the time. Overnight, he's a big hero & a shining star. He then makes a quick move to St. Louis for more money & power but didn't have as much luck in that case with that struggling team & a conflict with a star player (Brett Hull). He knows he's basically a winning coach. He's never afraid of getting fired & trying out another team. Glen Sather was a GM in Edmonton. Everything he touch turned to gold (With help from Wayne Gratzky & a few other star players). Even after Edmonton became a team that was no longer "All Star" he still shined. Since coming to The New York Rangers who were struggling later; he hasn't had much luck in getting a lot of wins. Still, he's confident of himself & will always be a shining star.

With T.V. shows, some shows are struggling with ratings. One actor may come in & increase the ratings making it a big hit as Joan Collins did with Dynasty.

Going to a troubled business to make it a success is something anyone would want to do who is confident knowing they have the talent.

Donald,
I've been pondering a few things here. Concerning hierarchy in a business. I mentioned it before. It seems your Apprentice candidates have bedcome a little to familiar. Where's the space that should be kept between you and them? Your the corporation head. It does not matter the trials and tribulations that must be endure to become the next Apprentice. The respect doesn't seem to be there. If they don't respect you for who you are then they should respect your position and frankly I haven't seen it. I've seen a great deal of disrespect.
Definition of disrespect : lack of respect, esteem or courteous regard. The requirements for a position with you comes at a very high price and it should. You need to be able to trust and depend on the individuals in your corporation. It's a large, extremely vital organization, not just for the Trump family but tor the economy of the United States as well as other nations. It simply just doesn't revolve around the individual. Sometimes I think you need to take the chair you have in the boardroom and raise it just a touch so as to remind them of your position. I'm merely speaking of your position. I value your position both spiritually (yes your spiritual side. It shows) and corporately. Respecting you as a man is a different matter. This is the boardroom.
You walk with a big stick and there have been those that have gone before you that walked the same. But their stick wasn't as large or their position as great. Moses was one.
Me, I've been researching the man as well and I like what I see.
You're a good man Donald J. Trump. A good man.
Jerilynn

just to say i dont think apprentice can teach ppl anything else, nothing is fair except some abt the business, as a very pro businessman, u noes everything u should noe, so sorry to say, nobody will like such ppl (however ur r top in the world, but if ur characteristics is not good), i dont want to use any bombastic word to shoot u, but i just think tat sometime u r really unfair as u r not think of other situation, as a The Appretice spectators, i have watched one of the episode last time, and i think the action of firing Bryce is completely not rasional and unfair for all people, i juz think wat he say is absolutely true and as a leader, u must think of others situation as wat he have done, he just think of his members situation, u will never find such a good leader in ur life, u will regret, his positive characters make all ppl support him soundlessly, but on the contrary, if some ppl "obedient" u you just bcos u r the boss, so as not to be fired then you will not be happy in the rest of your life, this is oso a very good and positive opinion to mr donald trump, a man of arrogance, watever u have, however wives you have means nothing, as everyone around jus love ur money, you wont be happy in ur life, if you say u like present lifestyle the you go on, but u will not b worshiped by gods, wat do think if you is a poor guy who own nothing, i tell you if you tends to have a very impressive behaviour and oso b kind to other especially underprivileged then you will be worshiped by everyone, if you still want to b egoistic in ur business management, then fine, just learn from others sometimes but not want others to learn from you all the time, b truthful to all the women around you, but so sorry to say, however you rich, you should not hv so many wives, we clearly noe that this is ur privacy, but pls establish a very good image to the next generation, dont b the leader of beginner of the negative phenomena in the society, at the end, everybody is going to be mad, you r not wrong, but you are celebrity just to care abt ur own image, and nex time b4 firing ppl jus think carefully and i think bryce is so lucky as he no nit to work wif you, and i believe that you is a very stubborn ppl, you will not change after reading my comment, in contrast you will b angry or to pretend nothing hv happen, just to say accept other opinion and not to find someone trouble, you r not a saint, even saint will do sth wrong, so pls believe others, sorry to say i am not more than 20 years old, young ppl will say wat is true and wont pretend, so just believe it! IT IS TIME TO CHANGE URSELF AND ACCEPT OTHER OPINION!

I just had about the same thing happen to me. I am a contractor for a major U.S. corporation in Iraq. As a rule contractors here do not share much of anything other than disdain for one another. I recently stepped in to help another company with a problem they could not fix. I figured I would be the bigger man and save them from embarrasing themselves in front of the military. Mind you before this situation we did not even speak let alone help each other. And now after I have helped them they held a meeting to make sure everyone knows who I am and that I deserve there total help and respect.

Now instead of an adversary I have a new alliance. And that should help tremendously over here.

Erik

Paint a picture and then visualize it. Good luck! I'm sure it will be worth the effort.

WELL TO RISE FROM ASHES IS DEFINITLY A GREAT TASK FOR ANYONE. SEEKING AAL AND SEEING JUST THE TRIP OF THE ICEBERG WAITING , KNOWING ALL THE TIME THAT 3/4 IS UNDER THE SURFACE. BEHIND IS THE OVER LY PASSION OF THE CHASE WITH CRASHING SOUNDS OF KEYBOARDS AND MOTOR'S. OF COURSE THE KEY'S ARE PLAYING JAZ Z AND MOTOR'S ARE THAT OF THE EVERY ELUSIVE BOGOTTI WEELL I DIDN'T SPEEL IT RIGHT , BUT I HOOVER DAMN WELL KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE , SO CLOSE TOO THE SLEEK LINE OF THE G111. HOOVER DDAM!!!

One would think that that would be the goal of anyone doing a job. Why even go to work, just to spin your wheels and take home a paycheck... bide time, or, socialize with other workers? Perhaps, children get into these habits in school, then, carry those practices into their jobs. Pretty boring if you ask me. Some people are just sloths and no matter how you try to motivate them, they would much rather****and moan and wait for some quick fix, or, some rich relative to kick the bucket, instead of just living life and making money on their own.

If the Apprentices want to step into a mess and let their skills help them rise to the top then I suggest those who want to make a name for themselves in a truly significant way come up with a plan to create economic security in Haiti. How would it be done? Micro credits? What kind? How would fraudulent activities be identified and weeded out? How much money would be required to achieve the goal of subsistence for most Haitians? Where would that money come from? What economic policies, in the US, globally and in Haiti, are in place now that obstruct that goal? The questions are numerous. Can the apprentices come up with some suggestions for solutions. They want to wade into a mess and demonstrate skill in turning a bad situation around. Here is an opportunity!

In my opinion the show this season was the weakest to date. The tasks were far below the level of quality and competency of previous seasons.
Why is it the contestants get weaker each successive season? Is it that the million people applying no longer are the "cream de le creme" or is there just a terrible breakdown in the screening process?
The tasks in no way reflected or challenge the contestants as they did in the first 3 seasons. They were for the most part weak and generally had no socially redeeming value.
The mansion versus the camping was an abysmal failure other than as an attempt at "gimmicry".
If Bill Rancik had been a candidate this year - the season would have been one episode long with a finale. "Where have all the flowers gone?"

Suggestion for improvement(s):
Move back to New York - the LA concept was gimmicky at best.
Hire new screeners or better train the current ones.
Have the challenges return to more business oriented ones.
Bring back the previous way of eliminating the final two with the interview process.
Return to the HUGE final projects run by ONE individual.

I hope this information is not only echoed en masse but is given serious consideration.

Good luck.... maybe these changes will raise the ratings.

I know all about that. I was at one of your seminars in dayton OH and I like everone else there would love to "talk shop" ie become the "real" apprentice of the "don" but I was in the middle of a room full of people vying for your attention on your girls birthday. anywho after the show you had a talk session and while all these people rushed the stage I stood at my seat. as they crowded I was left standing alone centered right in your vision ready to bet my life that i had the right mindset for expanding the trump brand into the beyond. Question after question was adressed by you and each time i thought it was odd that I stood 6'3" white polo screaming at the top of my lungs hoping for preperation to meet opportunity(aka success). No call in my direction even? then as you took your last few questions it became clear to me why you hadnt called on the ONLY guy in the seating......the shows lights were in your eyes... i was like wow..... all that preperation, i was even willing to bet my laptop that my stuff was right up the "Trump alley" and the lights were in his eyes... I thought that by positioning myself away from the others i was opening up a chance for myself and separating from the group the logic was there but I couldnt manifest. the apprentice taught me to stand out and be noticable. if i had rushed i would have been taking a 1/100chance. By staying it was at least 50/50 me vs the masses. Which would you have done?

your student, Anthony

Sunday, May 11, 2008

It is so hard to see the blessings in the storms, when aggravating situations that challenge you to the absolute core surround you; it is hard to see you are making progress. There have been so many situations in my life like this. The quest to be on a "winning team" or be "picked first" is hard to dream about when the fight for survival, and the mind is spent/ occupied with drawing a constant line in the sand between what is acceptable, and what is not. Or what is truth, and what is just another game to throw you into another tail spin to keep you from knowing your potential, to keep you an emotional wreck, to keep you off your quest to achieve anything you set in your mind as a goal. There are managers, bosses, entities or powers that do NOT build people up they simply tear them down day after day without any good reason, when this is the case in any organization, the human spirit sours towards authority, and begins to question the point of it all. "If this is leadership, then perhaps I do not wish to be led", they may conclude. In this conclusion I feel it possible for such people to seek standards that they hold to be true leadership qualities, and once those qualities are "true" to them, there is no question regarding what or whom they will further. Any and all causes are fair game to a true leader, the true leader, stays true to his or her inner values, and knows a truth that they are not willing to compromise for any cause. This takes even the most disgusting of organizations to the other side of the spectrum, once a true leader emerges because it is then possible for this truth to be passed down to the ranks making all that once was so unsightly, so revolting, to even the leader, at least worthy of the journey. It is very hard to be on a team that never wins, a team that has limited vision; a team destined for extinction. It may take humans to sitting in a corner with tears flowing down your face yearning for the taste of victory. Victory to some people is just a thing that happens to the lucky few, or the elite, or the people in the movies, or the rich and famous, or the sports teams. Victory is something people can barely begin to imagine when they have been taught to believe that they are not worth winning, or people who do not value the concept of "finishing what they start", surround them. Today there are so many people, who just do not intellectualize upon - what they finish, what they improve, what they focus on, what they are passionate about, what they are focused on. Storms, come they feel like they will never end, some take your breath away and leave you wondering, "will the rain ever stop, or how much closer could that lightening have been"?
Life for many in our culture has become a cowardly game that we seem unwilling to admit we are playing with one another, what is more amazing to me is in the time it takes most to take a bath, or make a meal, or send a e-mail, they could also contemplate the overall quality of life that they may have, and wish for something more- if only they had a reason to believe wishes do ever come true, and people are not always punished for wanting something more for their lives then what they have been taught to expect as "normal". If only there was a way to pay the weatherman off to take away all the storms from our lives long enough to dream again of sunny days! Now that would really be news worth watching for a change!

Best regards,
Tammie Anderson Coffey