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Apprentice Blog
The Official Apprentice Blog with comments and editorial by former Apprentice Winners and Trump University Faculty.
Kelly Perdew Comments on Celebrity Apprentice Finale
Only two of the original 14 celebrities left standing...for the prize of $1 million going to the Celebrity Apprentice’s chosen charity! Again, congratulations to Mark Burnett and Donald Trump for bringing much-needed attention to some really amazing charities.
Task: For this season’s finale the celebrities had to work together to run a charity auction and concert event. The final two would be evaluated on who raised the most money in the auction and on ticket sales.
Team Trace: Trace Adkins chose Lennox and Marilu to help him provide the catering, entertainment and decor for the event. The special musical guests at the event were the Backstreet Boys, or as Trace liked to refer to them - the BSBs. It became clear very quickly that a big issue for Trace would be providing all the special items the BSBs wanted in their dressing room - like special peanut butter, black fingernail polish and wheatgrass juice!
Team Piers: Piers Morgan chose Stephen Baldwin as his first pick and ended up with Carol Alt as the last pick for his team. Carol was responsible for the auction and catering. Piers was running a charity auction and his strategies were to get some really amazing prizes up for bid and to bring in some of the wounded soldiers from his charity, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Key Success Factor - Keep Your Cool Under Pressure!
Piers - Over the course of the task, Stephen and Piers had a special moment in the van and apologized to each other for their earlier issues. But with three hours to go, Piers began to panic because Stephen couldn’t get anyone to commit to come to the event. Piers made the decision early on to give away a lot of tickets to wounded soldiers, so they could be at the event and set the tone for why people should bid. Piers also used the tactic of trying to get the wait staff to reduce the food and increase the alcohol to loosen up the crowd’s wallets to hopefully raise more money. Some interesting tactics that would reinforce what people thought about him - but which could also prove to be effective at pumping up the numbers.
Trace - He was depending on his country music star friends to support him. Quite a few did show up, including Ronnie Milsap and Montgomery Gentry. A lot of the logistics of getting the stage set up really started getting to Trace. However, his wife showed up with his two little girls and he realized what was really important and settled back into his “groove.” But just as he was settling down, one of the BSBs twisted his knee and Trace had to figure out where to find a knee brace and some wheatgrass juice to ensure they would perform.
The Auction Starts - Big $s Count!
The auction brought in a lot of money.
Some highlights for Piers’s side...
- Christie’s Auction House - $18K!
- Tea with the Duchess of York - $100K!
- Dinner with Trace Adkins - $6K for Ivanka!
- A Night with the Osbourne’s - $100K!
- Shopping with Ivanka Trump - $100K by none other than Simon Cowell!
Things looked pretty good for Piers...and you could tell Trace was sweating.
The Concert Kicks into Gear and the BSBs Take the stage
The audience really got into the concert and the event was an overall success. The six contestants shared a moment watching the BSBs and Trace and Piers both expressed their strong feelings about the collective team.
The Taped Boardroom Begins!
- Lennox - said they have different styles, but he picked Trace as his favorite.
- Carol - said Piers was the best because he raised almost $300K more for the auction than Trace.
- Stephen - said he didn’t agree with Piers’ methodology of trying to get bidders drunk so they would put more money into the auction.
Live Boardroom
In the live Boardroom, Piers and Trace both had their supporters. Everyone felt pretty strongly that Trace was the “good guy” and Piers was the evil business guy. Gene Simmons put his vote in for Trace via “closed circuit” in his typical genius and insolent manner - while on a break from filming a new movie in Japan.
Trace was supporting The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, which helps educate and find solutions for people with severe food allergies. And the audience was lucky enough to hear Trace sing his #1 hit “You’re gonna miss this!”
Piers was supporting the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund Center, which provides prosthetics and therapy for severely wounded soldiers. Piers felt strongly that there is no greater or better sacrifice than supporting those who have defended our country. The wounded soldiers at the live event got a standing ovation from the crowd.
Both celebrities made very eloquent statements about why they should have won. But Donald made the correct decision and picked Piers as the Celebrity Apprentice, even though Donald acknowledged Trace’s amazing qualities, because of Piers’ effectiveness in business. I guess the lead-in tagline still holds true: It isn’t personal, it’s business!
But the biggest winners of all were...all the charities that received additional exposure and the more than $1M raised because of this season of The Celebrity Apprentice.
Congratulations to all the Celebrities!
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13 Comments Post a comment
And we say, great Job to both of them...both did great! And had great charity's!
The only thing we would change...put every-one on an equal playing field. And help get corporate sponsors for the winners.
We hope to see the show again next year! Mr. Trump and his team did a great job!
I agree the playing field is not even. When it came down to it, the only criteria for a winner was having the richest people in their roladex. Piers had two people that bought in 300,000. Good for his charity but again, should this be the only criteria for the winner? I would think this would be a problem in future shows.
- Piers made 376,00 in auction.
How much of the 76,000 came from piers' ticket buyers? it sure would be interesting to find out though..If anyone knows....let me know...
[I just heard a blip on "Showbiz Tonight" about Mr. Trump doing some type of reality show about the Eliot Spitzer ordeal. What? Are you kidding me?... is right. I'll have to see the actual segment to find out what they're talking about. I hope this isn't true. C'mon, Donald! I hope this is one of those "false" media statements. That's ridiculous!]
The whole dog-eat-dog, business attitude doesn't really work well where charities are concerned. Yes, Piers battled like a maniac and won, and that was the point. But, there is something contradictory there... takes away from the spirit of giving. However, I understand... that is the basis of the show, to teach people how the business world works. It's not like Mr. Trump is pretending that it isn't a place full of snakes. He's showing it like it is, and what you have to do. I appreciate his sharing what really goes on, instead of sugar-coating it like so many businessmen do because they don't want you to know their secrets.
Furthermore, what the hell is going on with the Brits in America, anyway? What's next? We'll change the Constitution so a Brit can be president and Simon Cowell will be in the White House? Talk about a British invasion! Geez! Enough with them, already! Quite frankly, I'm sick of their pompous attitudes, and thinking that they are so much smarter than Americans. Isn't that why our forefathers left in the first place? Or, was it? Oh, I see what they're up to... send over the scamps to get the place going... then, once the place is up and running, they'll come over and take over a couple hundred years later. Why don't we just go back to British rule, if we're going to let them tell us what to do, anyway. The accent does nothing for me. Don't be fooled, Americans. Be proud of your own way of speaking. Everyone is so ga-ga over the accent. Please! You wouldn't be if you married it. Well, I take that back. I could put up with Sir Paul McCartney's accent.
talented writer and skilled businessman. It is a pleasure reading your unbiased comment.
I watched this episode at home and I LOVE IT! Hillary Clinton should take lessons from
Piers if she wants to step into the ring with the Big Boys. Obama should take lessons from
Lennox to build up his body and protect himelf from the mean (Omarosa-like?) step-sister.
Actually I'm joking, because I like Omarosa's fiery Spirit, and I don't think Hillary acts like
a mean step-sister, at least not when she's sleeping!
As always, Donald Trump, looked great. Ivanka was a lady even when things were a little
out of control, and her brother complimented her by being a gentleman. It's nice to see a
family get along so well.
Charity is a noble cause and Piers and Trace were sincere in their effort to do their BEST.
I think Piers must be very lovable to the Brits if The Duchess of York backed him up. She
is well known for her generosity and kindness and I highly doubt that she would back
someone who repulsed her. As Americans we need to be more understanding of other
cultures and certainly respectful.
Congratulations to ALL of the people who worked hard to make Celebrity Apprentice a
great show. You are a TEAM OF WINNERS.
The winner of the celebrity apprentice was difficult to call and arguments for both the finalists to win are valid:
Piers Morgan raised the most money during the final but at the expense of business integrity and an unhappy workforce. Would he continue to be successful in business over the long term?
Trace Adkins didn't raise as much money but conducted himself in a professional manner and made a lot of business contacts (the other celebrities, Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett all wanted him to win). Over the long term, people like to do business with people they can trust.
If the winner was judged purely on the single business task in the final than Piers Morgan correctly won. If it was judged on who was the most professional business person overall and who was more likely to be successful in the long term than Trace Adkins should have won.
What hasn't been mentioned is that Piers Morgan appeared on an one off charity special of the UK version of the Celebrity Apprentice and was the one who got fired. He lost due to the other team have a bigger rolodex plus the fact that he was up against a better player, Alastair Campbell (Director of Director of Communications and Strategy for the former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair) in the boardroom.
Piers Morgan had obviously learnt from the experience and had prepared a sizeable rolodex in advance for the US Celebrity Apprentice giving him an unfair advantage.
Anyway, more importantly a lot of money and awareness was made to all the celebrities charities and what a great series it has been (the US Apprentice is a lot better than the UK version). Well done to all!
I like how you express yourself. You really nailed it. People should never forget what truly matters, and Trace and Piers both seemed to have their heads screwed on straight, as do you.
I offered my thoughts on the finale, and my admiration for both finalists and Mr. Trump himself.
http://blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/trace-adkins-for-president/
http://blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/celebrity-apprentice-don...
I wish you much success, and I extend those wishes to the other Apprentices as well.
Respectfully,
eric aka the Tygrrrr Express
www.blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com
Initally, I was heart-broken to see Trace lose. It was mentioned in this blog (I believe) or one closely related, that one way to achieve success was to focus not on greed; from a blue-collar perspective, Piers' attitude reflected that of greed, and he was rewarded for that (Ouch!). He very rarely got away from the idea that he made the "big bucks." Wonderful - he knows how to raise money... BUT, he also comes from money, so of course he would have the "resources" and "clout" with other white-collared, well respected indiviudals.
While I do appreciate that he showed appreciation for fallen soldiers (and justifably so), his attitude toward most others he conducted business with was with an air of arrogance and indifference. How much sense does it make to hire someone who would potentially aggrivate and offend clientele (present & perspective)? It's one thing to be able to make money for a business; it's another to run that business with dignity and respect. Trace may not have raised as much money, but I still believe that the potential's there and his personality should have been wieghed much more heavily.
Now that I've had the opportunity to vent... I'd also like to mention that there should indeed be another episode of Celebrity Apprentice; the idea of raising money for charities is a phenomenal and respectable one. It helps to maintain focus on something more important than oneself. Additionally, I have the beginnings of another cast in mind for the next celebrity apprentice! Why not highlight any of the following: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Steve Carell(that would be some excellent comic relief!), a couple of the "Earl" actors/actresses,Madonna, Mia Hamm, Kristi Yamaguchi? I'm running out of people from the tip of my tongue, but it would be great to see some more different celebrity apprentice shows sprinkled in from time to time to swtich things up.
I look forward to the next season. I've been learning a lot. Blessings!
Best
Søren
http://www.debatcode.com
To call Piers evil and greedy is simply unfair. Just like all of the other celebrities, he took time away from projects that could have made him a lot of money for himself. Instead, he took part in this competition for several weeks to make money for a worthy cause. He was even willing to make himself look silly at times to do it. His chosen charity provides money to American soldiers, not British. And the number of people that were willing to come forward and contribute for him should say something. So many people would not be willing to give so much money to a person that they feel is bad or disingenuous.
This first installment of Celebrity Apprentice taught some interesting and valuable business lessons, to be sure. I hope that there will be more in the future. But the people who've display so much prejudice on the blog these past several weeks need to remember that the show is, first and foremost, about entertainment, complete with a colorful cast of characters. Piers and Omarosa were portrayed as the villains, to be sure. But don't take the brief glimpses that are shown of them (or anyone else on the show) and try to make a complete picture of them. Don't shape your views on life or the world based on who won and who lost. A lot of money was raised for a lot of good charities. If anyone is upset that one celebrity's charity didn't get any money, then that person can and should donate to that cause. Make a positive out of a negative. Everyone on the show has their own set of good qualities that got them to where they are. For someone like Trace Adkins, these qualities are easier to see. For someone like Piers or Omarosa, you have to look a little harder, but those qualities are there.
It's all about education. That's why I joined the Trump University. I hope that all of the bloggers that I've read are taking the opportunity to learn and grow with the courses Mr. Trump and his organization are offering. A little knowledge goes and long way and makes everyone a lot richer.
Best wishes,
J. in Seattle
Thank you for reading this.
Barbara