Season 7 - The Apprentice - Week 1

Introduction to Week 1: 

Mr. Trump began the show talking about commodities. A commodity by one of the definitions is one that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market. In this case, stars or celebrities. Mr. Trump’s introduction really was a backdrop for setting up the next several weeks of this new season of The Apprentice. Instead of playing for a job, they are playing for a charity. Only one will become the Celebrity Apprentice.

Recap Week One: The celebrities were divided into two teams, females and males. Their first assignment was to select a team name and the first project manager. The ladies came up with Empresario, and the men came up with Hydra. Omorosa stepped up to be the first project manager for the ladies. Steven Baldwin is the first project manager for the men’s team.

Week One Task: The Hotdog Stand in New York

Each team was given the task to set up a hotdog stand in New York. The team that sells the most hotdogs wins. Mr. Trump gave them a hint about selling - the importance of location. He also gave the hint about the fact that the celebrities are commodities. Both were factors in the task the celebrities faced tonight.

The men began selling in their preparation and planning. Gene Simmons, using what I like to call creative problem-solving got on the phone and called people he knew. He called and asked them to come to New York and buy a hotdog. His expectation was that his network would contribute large sums of money for the hotdog and put his team in the win column. They started out slow, but were able to pull it out in the in.

The ladies on the other hand, missed an opportunity to use their celebrity to assist them with pulling in some big bucks. In the end it cost them the win. The ladies didn’t turn away anyone’s money. If you had a $1 than they sold you a hotdog, if you wanted to purchase one for $20 dollar that was great too. That is wisdom. And that is playing to win. Very impressive!

The Results - Empresario - $17, 038.79, Hydra - $52, 286.00! The numbers are incredible! Steven Baldwin’s charity: Caroline Baldwin’s Breast Cancer Charity gets all of the money raised through this task! Excellent idea for Mr. Trump!

The Boardroom was tame for the most part. Tiffany Fallon was fired because she didn’t call Hugh Hefner. That was a good business decision. Tiffany didn’t display any fight for Mr. Trump and that alone was enough to dismiss her from the playing field. Omorosa lives to see another day. Amazing! As far as her leadership, I would say she did better tonight than she did with her first appearance on The Apprentice. We will see if she survives for any length of time. My prediction is that Omorosa will make a quick exit this time around. I don’t see her as asset to the ladies team. She does not rally people and I think it will hinder the ladies from working with her.

Coachable Moments:

The men used their celebrity better than the woman. That was a critical mistake by Omorosa and her team. In your job search it becomes very important to discuss your strengths. You have to know what those strengths are, and you also want to speak to how you leverage your strengths to do an excellent job for any organization you get to work.