This Week: Some Advice for the Contestants Who Remain

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 follow a strategic plan that maximizes your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses. I would urge you to apply a similar process now. You have great strengths. You can raise a lot of money. You have a very warm personality when you turn it loose. You are highly intelligent. The negative side is that you are sometimes so assertive that you anger people. That is the hand you are playing with. Your job at this point is to find the best way to play it.

• Brande - You are a little self-effacing, a bit too willing to stand in the shadows while other people lead. Yet I must say that because you are still alive at this point in the season, you have a lot more strength as a leader than you probably recognize. (And therefore, more than other people realize too.) Step into leadership positions more aggressively in the weeks ahead. You have what it takes. But you can’t win by following someone else across the finish line.

• Clint - You are a terrific contender with a magnetic personality. Yet you have made some mistakes you need to address if you are to win. Specifically, you have shown that you make bad decisions (as in that All video you made) and shut other people out. Unless you showcase some inclusive people skills in the coming weeks, you will probably not come out as the winner. It’s not complicated - you simply have to show that you possess better people skills. You can do it, but will you?

• Jesse - You have been the strong quiet man of the season, with great success. People respect and like you. But if you are going to win the season, you need to do a bit more than that. You need to find a way to not just survive, but score a major success in one task - a high-dollar win. And one more thing. Why not ditch the jeans and flannel shirt for just one week? Granted, Mr. Trump believes in substance over style. But you could add to your credibility by showing just once that you can look like a leader. If you showed up in a suit, you would absolutely wow people.

• Joan - You jumped in to save the day with KOTU’s jewelry presentation last week. A few weeks ago, you jumped in to be a great concierge during your team’s hotel project. Yet to show that you are a real leader, you need to step out and show your business and planning skills too. You have built a major career. You have run companies. Now show us how you have done those things. And another thing - reel in your emotions. Mr. Trump admires people with level heads.

• Melissa - At this point in the season, you have established yourself as overly emotional. I can’t even point out all the times you have allowed people to see you get upset - times when others have attacked your mother, when you felt that your business skills were not noticed by your teammates, times when you felt that other people were conspiring against you. All that static has made it hard to notice that you have excelled with specific tasks. So now is the time to control your emotions and score several major wins that cannot be missed. If you can accomplish that, there are reasons to be optimistic about your chances of winning.

As I look back at this season, I would also like to say that a few contestants seemed to exit the scene too early. Scott Hamilton seemed like a leader to me. So did Tionne. But good people sometimes fall by the wayside in business earlier than they ought to. Your job in your career is to keep that from happening to you.

One thing for certain is that only one celebrity will be standing when this season ends. And the coming weeks are certain to be very interesting indeed.
 

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