Archive View (April 2009)

Some candidates were getting stronger this week, others were getting weaker - and a few were essentially holding steady. Let’s take a look to see what we can learn. CANDIDATES WHO LOST GROUND THIS WEEK Jesse, possibly the strongest contender in earlier episodes, behaved so badly this week that he did himself a great deal of harm. He stopped contributing to his team. He swore at Clint. And there seemed to be no reason for him to behave erratically, beyond the fact that he had left one team for another. That was hardly a reason to throw away his chances of success. Melissa’s performance more...

At the end of Episode Nine last week, only seven contenders remained. Instead of commenting on the tasks we saw last week, I’d like to take my commentary this week in a different direction, by offering each of the remaining contestants a few suggestions on how to improve their positions in the weeks ahead - and perhaps even come out as the ultimate winner. Let’s talk about them in alphabetical order: Annie - Annie, you are a poker champion. That means you can accurately assess your current situation (the cards you are holding), weigh risks (what can go wrong) and then make and more...

When people start their careers, they don’t have many assets working for them, apart from their appearance, attitude and possibly their education. After they start to work, they begin to build their greatest asset. You might think that I am referring to experience, but I am not. Because the greatest asset of all is your reputation. It sees you through hard times and saves you when blame is flying around. It is also your most important asset if you are looking for a job. Your experience counts then, true, but not as much as your reputation does. When many people are saying more...

I have rarely seen so much erratic behavior in just one episode of the Apprentice. Clint, who seemed like a great colleague in earlier weeks, became a despotic leader the minute he was put in charge of his team. He shut people down and ignored their ideas. He made decisions that resulted in a very poor viral video - decisions that reflected badly on the members of his team and which could easily have ended any one of their careers. Predictably, mutiny followed. Joan Rivers came out screaming at Clint - her own team leader - in the boardroom firing before Mr more...