The Apprentice: In the Beginning

In the summer of 2003, I can remember when Mark Burnett came up to the office to discuss a few things with Mr. Trump. I was not a big television watcher, and I had never seen a reality show. I heard that Mark Burnett had an idea to use Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization as the premise for a new show, a business show. I didn’t think much about it because I was busy writing our first book, which eventually became How To Get Rich.

A lot of people think we wrote the book to satisfy the demands of the publicity caused by the premiere of The Apprentice in January of 2004. The fact is, we were writing it six months before, and it was convenient that the television show came along to give it the spotlight when it came out in March of 2004. I can clearly remember when Mark Burnett was waiting to see Mr. Trump, and he was standing by my desk. He said I looked busy and asked what I was doing, so I told him I was writing a book with Mr. Trump. He was very surprised, and said incredulously, “You’re writing a book with Donald? Then I have to tell you a story!”

I said okay, and to paraphrase it, back in 1987 Mr. Trump’s first book came out, which is considered to be a business classic at this point. It was called The Art of the Deal. Also in 1987, Mark Burnett was working as a nanny and selling tee shirts on Venice Beach in Southern California. He came across a copy of the book, and said to himself, “I have nothing in common with a mogul, but I’m going to read this.” So he did, and as he put it “That book changed my life. I said to myself after reading it--I am going to be someone! I am going to be a success!” And he became determined to do what he hoped to do.

I doubt if Mark Burnett thought, twenty years ago while reading The Art of the Deal  on Venice Beach, that one day he’d be a business partner with Donald Trump. But here he was, waiting to have a meeting with the man who had changed his life around. Mark became a visionary in the television industry, and he pinpoints the turning point in his life to reading a book by a real estate mogul.

Likewise, the turning point for us at the Trump Organization happened to be The Apprentice. Prior to the debut of The Apprentice, the Trump Organization was known as a property management company. Sure, we had a very famous boss, but property management it was. When we heard rumor of the set up of the show being 16 applicants vying for a job at The Trump Organization, with everyone being fired until there was one left, one executive quipped “I think we should name the show The Lucky 15.” It could be pretty intense around here and the thought of cameras, a crew and everything else that went along with a show wasn’t exactly a wonderful prospect in our eyes.

We adjusted, and it became a great experience for all of us. Mark’s team became like family and every day became a new adventure. Best of all, it showed a side of Mr. Trump that people had never seen before. He’s a colorful and multi-dimensional person, in addition to being a brilliant businessman, and Mark’s concept of the show definitely showed those aspects of his persona. We were pleased when it was a hit, and we quit complaining so much about everything. In fact, when the team went back to Los Angeles, we were sorry to see them go.

Looking back, I realize that most of us thought the show might be okay, at best, but we weren’t really prepared for the hit it became. Goes to show you that a visionary can see things we can’t--and goes to show you that it’s a good idea to read Mr. Trump’s books.