The Apprentice -- 3/11

Cafe Society
21

Stupid $#%&! hamsters ate my post.

In brief: I totally agree. Troy is gonna be one of those guys for whom subordinates would walk through fire without hesitation. And that is an extremely rare, extremely valuable trait.

And I am so let down after the “Don’t. Cross. Carolyn.” promos. There really wasn’t much crossing of Carolyn going on, unless you count the “I disagree that I suck” type of comments that have been made in every boardroom thus far.

Mark Burnett still owns my soul, though. And after all these years of successfully avoiding Survivor, too. Damn.

22

And another thing: Heidi is officially the anti-Omarosa – meaning that she seems pretty well-grounded, self-aware and non-delusional. Her taxicab confession was great – “I love selling and I can’t wait to get back doing it” (meaning, apparently, her job at Qwest). No claims of future granduer, suggestions that Trump was off his rocker, or pageant-winner glurge. It was a nice change of pace.

23

I’m not sure I understand this… wouldn’t Team 1 want to overpay big time for those used cars then?

24

I don’t think Amy bats her eyes or crooks her finger any more than Katrina has and does. Amy’s tactics, and I don’t just mean using sex to sell, have been consistently successful, and while she’s not as pretty as Katrina, she’s about 10x as smart. No, Katrina’s comments flow directly from one source: jealousy. Amy is the only person who has never been to the Boardroom; Nick is obviously smitten with her; she kicked ass on this task; she is taken seriously by Bill and Nick. Katrina’s been bitten by the Green Eyed Monster, and if she tries to play that in the Boardroom at any point, or her “no one listens to my ideas and that’s why we lost” crap, she’ll be the next Tammy, fired for disloyalty. Not to mention ingratitude: what did she contribute to this win? Nothing. She should be thanking Amy for keeping her whiny ass out of the Boardroom, not snarking about her behind her back.

I’d like to see Katrina fired next. Oh please!

25

I was actually baffled to see Kwame go back up. I honestly thought he would have been fired since he’s been more under the radar than anyone. Don’t get me wrong, I like him VERY much(he’s hot, smart, responsible), but he seems more suited for Survivor than for the Apprentice. At the same time, I wasn’t surprised he was safe since I knew that Troy would never let him get fired.

I grew to really like Heidi and it was a shame to see her go, but between her and Troy, she was obviously the better choice to get fired. She seems more like an individual salesperson than someone in the corperate world. I do think Troy shot himself in the foot with that “born leader” claptrap, but overall, he’s among the best there.

Katrina should be next though. We’ll see.

26

Kwame saved Troy for no good reason last week, other than that “he was his bud” or something like that. Troy was just repaying.

27

I don’t think he " shot himself in the foot". Trump, at the series beginning was talking about how he believed being good in business is all about your genes. So Troy’s merely reinforcing his opinion; a smart movie.

28

Troy and Kwame are my favorite players, but I can’t imagine either of them winning. Niether of them seem ruthless enough to head a big Trump company. They both seem like they’d be great to work for, though.

29

A very disappointing boardroom session, indeed – the “don’t cross Carolyn” promos were misleading in the extreme. (Is there a Carolyn Fan Club yet, BTW? I want to join.)

I was totally disappointed by my boy Troy this week. For the second week in a row, they got totally chewed up and spit out by the other team. He’s a charmer, but I don’t know how good he is as an idea guy – and as was pointed out, a lot of this is about the ability to come up with good ideas. When Trump said “I should fire all three of you,” he was right.

The other team’s advertising idea was good, not mind-blowing – but the way they implemented it, by working the connections they’d developed during previous challenges – was outstanding. That’s the kind of solid development that really marks a great business person. I am increasingly impressed by them – even that smirking asshole Nick.

It’s official – I’m no longer rooting for Troy, it’s now all about Amy for me.

30

So it was Heidi! Should’ve stuck with my instincts. I’d make a crappy horse-player. Carolyn’s really becoming transparent, though. She does not like these women, and she’s going out of her way to eliminate them.

I cannot tell you the sigh of relief I breathed when Troy made it through the axing. That was wayyy too close for a guy of his fiber… I wouldn’t say his days are numbered, like Kwame’s, but he certainly lost some of that golden sheen in the Don’s eyes. I do agree it was stupid sending Kwame upstairs- Heidi didn’t deserve to be booted half as much as he did, as much as Kwame has for about the past four weeks. But Kwame’s charmed existence doesn’t irk me any more; at least he’s a great guy.

Now Katrina, sweet fancy Moses. Would someone please shoot this girl already. She is a whining, talentless, envious, self-important, self-deluded twat. She spent the entire episode bad-mouthing Bill, who performed fantastically, because they weren’t implementing her asshole ideas. (Something about cartoon characters?!) She bad-mouths Amy, who also kicked ass, as vain, because Amy had the gall to exude some confidence while she was working to get rides from the Wall Street types. When I think of genuinely talented people who have been cut, like Kristie, so that this clueless, screechy, insecure windbag can advance to the final six riding on a winning TEAM’S COATTAILS… well, it fills me with some degree of displeasure. :slight_smile:

31

Okay, we’re down to four (Amy, Kat, Bill, Nick) vs. two (Troy, Kwame).

If, next week, TK get to steal someone from the other team, who should they take?

I think you have to go with Katrina.

Amy would be more helpful in winning the task, but Trump already criticized the teams for taking her every time. Bill’s not bad; he would be my second choice. But he’s not great either. Nick would be a liability, because I don’t think he would work with T and K very well (remember how he checked out of the Planet Hollywood task).

However, with Katrina, you get her looks (in case it’s a task where that will help). She’ll be grateful to switch teams and get out of Amy’s shadow, so she’ll probably work hard to contribute. And, most importantly, Trump doesn’t like her, so you have some protection if you have to go to the boardroom (unless you really screw up on your own).

32

I guess I’m in the minority here. I think Troy was exactly right to send Kwame back up and bring Heidi to the chopping block. Heidi made a lot of contributions to her team, but she also had some very negative aspects. At times, she exuded negativity and courted conflict. Her lack of control over her comments and facial expressions was a problem. And she did get into too many spats. Assorama was definitely being a jerk about the lunch thing last week, but a good leader has to know how to smooth things over when the heat is on. She was a great salesperson, a hard worker, and damned funny, but it was time for her to go.

Boring Kwame should get fired sooner or later–he’s got upper-middle management written all over him–but not this week.

33

Outstanding? No, that par for course in Corporate America. You establish good working relationships and return to the well again and again. That Troy’s team was so clueless about it–and also about the obvious advertising angle (see my post above)–shows why they are not fit to head Trump’s company.

Troy and Kwame are living on borrowed time.

34

Yeah, you’re right – I didn’t express myself very clearly. What I meant was, “an outstanding example of doing what they need to be doing to prove that they are the most worthy of a job in the Trump organization” – which is, of course, the point of this whole exercise. I wasn’t calling it – or at least didn’t mean to call it – brilliantly creative or an outstanding example of thinking outside the box, but rather “outstanding” in the sense of being set a task and using everything available to them to kick ass on that task, which they most emphatically did. At this point in the competition, they should be using contacts and experience gained during the course of the game, in addition to using their innate skills and strengths and the experience they brought in with them to begin with.

35

I agree that strategically she’d be the best choice, but man. I’d sure want Bill on my team. He’s the most underrated remaining player, at least here among the SDMB cognoscenti. :slight_smile:

36

I so totally agree with this analysis. Kwame is a nice looking fellow. . . but he is useless! Troy should have seen beyond his alliance with Kwame and brought him to the boardroom. I don’t much care that Heidi is gone; if she doesn’t have Omorosa to fight with, she’s just too Joisey Girl for me.

Trump does not seem so impressed with Troy, however. He kept reminding him of his failures. Ouch!

What will be really interesting is next week. If Trump evens the teams again to 3 & 3, I think Troy and Kwame should choose Nick. That would leave Bill with the evil Katrina and Amy, which would really test her strength.

37

This would be too unfair to Bill. He isn’t going to last much longer, he’s not ulimate management material, but he is more of a team player than Katrina.

I’d like to see Amy & Katrina on their own with Nick. The boardroom on that one would be fun, fun, fun!
**Someone settle my curiosity: **When exactly are these tasks done: This week or last week and then a gag order on the outcome until the show is cropped and ready to show.
And I am a **George ** fan: That gold chain on his neck just makes me rwarrrrrr!

38

Though I grew to not totally dislike Heidi, she was not going to make it. Someone will hire her - she didn’t end up looking awful, but her mouth… there were some shots of Carolyn’s face when Heidi was spewing, and Carolyn was not pleased.

I don’t know if I’ve said it before, but I think one of the problems for Bill is that the tasks don’t play to his strengths… I think if they had a longer term task “you have a month to get this started and keep it running” Bill would shine. But in the 1 day things, until last night’s task, he just seemed comfortably above average.

Still, after last night’s win (and the dressing down of Troy in the board room), the smart bet is Bill or Amy (I still can’t stand Nick.)

39

Not surprised. Troy’s strengths are considerable, but they’re not necessarily what Trump is looking for.

All right. It’s time for my big confession: My father grew up down the street from the Donald. My pop was a few years older, so they weren’t buddies, but he knew Donald and his folks. No, he doesn’t have any good stories. :slight_smile:

So that was merely a random bit of trivia in my life until I got hooked into watching this show. Like many (most?) New Yorkers, I disliked Donald Trump and his ventures. However, in watching The Apprentice, I have been forced to conclude that in many ways, the Donald is just like my pop. And since I’m very much like my pop, it turns out that I’m very much like the Donald. (And FWIW, there are many Georges and Carolyns among my folks’ friends. Yes, I’m lucky.)

Here are some traits we share:
–Low tolerance for bullshit.
–Straight, blunt, communcation style.
–Appreciation for people with zetz.*
–Tolerance for abrasive personalities.
–Not especially impressed with “good social skills” or charm.

I think Nick might well win this thing.

Here’s my impressions of the remaining candidates, in order of likelihood of winning (not necessarily the order that they will be eliminated):

Katrina: An inept dud. She’s out of there.

Troy: “Yeehaw!” “Shut up.” Troy is a back-slapper, and his interpersonal skills are great. That’s both good and bad–he seems like a bullshitter. He is a hard worker, and that’s good, but he’s not an idea man. I’d bet that Trump would be willing to hire him in a sales position, but not to run a company.

Kwame: Boooring. No zetz. No great ideas. I don’t think the “risk” he took by choosing Meghan’s art is the kind of risk that Trump appreciates. Trump gets outlandish ideas that he loves and finds a way to make them work. Sometimes he fails spectacularly. But it’s always with something he genuinely thought was a good idea. Kwame may win if the other contenders self-destruct, but it’s unlikely.

Bill: Shown better leadership and ideas than Kwame, but still hasn’t really distinguished himself. As the series goes on, he seems to be getting along with people less and less well. That doesn’t portend well for him in a long-term position. I’m impressed with his success with the Cigar-of-the-Month club, but it’s not like he came up with that great idea all by himself. He married a common business model with a big trend. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not exactly Trumpian. He has a decent chance of winning.

Amy: Hard to say. She has shown over and over that she’s a good team player. To me, one of the marks of a good leader is being able to be a good follower too. Also, she’s very good at avoiding stupid arguments. She’s competent, but not necessarily inspired. Like Bill, has a decent chance of winning.

Nick: He’s the one Trump relates to. He’s the feisty one. He has big ideas and big screw-ups. He is a good leader because he’s not afraid to make decisions and because he uses his team members’ strengths wisely. He’s arrogant and over-confident, but those are faults that I think Trump can live with. His biggest mistake–not learning about his clients–is pretty major. But at least with Nick, you can tell him straight out that that attitude won’t fly, and he won’t dissolve into a teary speech about what a good person he is. He’s my bet for the winner, but he may screw up big and get the boot.
*Zetz is one of those Yiddish words that doesn’t translate too well. It means to have spunk, or a spark, or something. Heidi has zetz. Katrina has none.

40

but later (on Amy):

See, I think this is Nick’s fatal flaw. When he’s a leader, he’s a great team player. When he’s a team player, he’s not a very good team player at all. He checks out when things aren’t going his way – note his decision to just fork over the full $250 last night. He could have negotiated, or at least told Bill he was going to give him the full $250, but he pulled a passive-agressive move by agreeing to take on that task and then performing in the way most detrimental to his team. (Of course, Bill could’ve been clearer about what was an acceptable outcome. No target amount? Tsk.)

I think Trump’s as critical as he is in the Boardroom because he wants to see how people respond to the heat. In that regard, I thought Troy did pretty well, except for the common problem of beating around the bush when any direct question about teammate peformance comes up.

And I think Kwame vs. Heidi was a crapshoot. Neither of them, it seemed to me, did an appreciably better job this round. I think either of them would’ve been fired over Troy, but he was also lucky (and smart) enough to get the Carolyn-Heidi argument. Not the meltdown Omarosa and Heidi produced, but again, good to sit back, shut up and let the sparks fly.

Also, The Controvert, you’re right. They’d have to use blue book values as a guide – the winning team is the one furthest from blue book value in the right direction (lower, in the buyers’ case, and higher in the sellers’). I like the idea of one team having to work with what the first team produced.