DISQUS

Inc.: http://blog.inc.com/archives/2004/12/the_apprentice_15.html

  • Noir Dame · 5 years ago
    The finale was one of the most tasteless things I've ever seen on television. It was insulting to viewers and spoke volumes about Mark Burnett, and perhaps the Trump organization as well.

    Business is business, but no one, save someone under felony investigation, deserves that kind of public humiliation.

    I understand not everyone liked Jennifer Massey (Kelly was the fave for many, but business AudioGoGo.com wrote a spirited defense)...

    Yet having to listen to person after person recommending Kelly, some of them denigrating her in quite unprofessional ways (namely Trump's COO), would have been a mortifying, humiliating moment for any person.

    This "audience participation" was clearly staged. If I were Kelly Perdew, I'd be a bit embarassed that they had to take someone down so thoroughly, in order to make the choice of me more palatable.

    Kind of like being hired for a job, and your new boss explains, "Everyone else we interviewed was a real idiot, but you'll do." Similarly damning with faint praise was Trump's backpedalling that he already knew he'd be hiring Bill Rancic last year - a not so subtle slam at Kwame Jackson, who has shown he didn't need Trump to be successful.

    Bad enough that some of the best competitors (Bradford, Pamela, Sandy, Andy, Stacie) were dumped for less-than-stellar reasons... Unless there's a real turnaround, and attempt to class up the joint, Apprentice 3 is going to keep hemorrhaging viewers.

  • Kevin S. · 5 years ago
    I have to agree with Noir Dame above. I thought Jenn had a difficult evening, unnecessarily so. And Trump's people ought to have been more diplomatic. Imagine their relationship with Jenn had she won.

    I am not looking forward to the third season. Trump has already shown how he views those without a prestigeous pedigree. Troy and Sandy can speak to that issue.

    I also disagree with Jenn was no match for Kelly. I would very much dislike working with or for Kelly. Jenn would definetely be preferable. And I don't think her abrasiveness would be an issue. George was correct.

    Season One was much better than Season Two. Because Season Three is already completed, The Apprentice can't learn from it errors from Season Two. Thus, I suspect Season Three will continue to suffer in quality and viewers.

  • Chas · 5 years ago
    When I consider the embarrising tongue thrashing Jen gave other contestants, I think her treatment was justly served. She did absolutely nothing, flew under the radar and then manipulated her way out of the board room. When she finally did do something, it was to lambaste the other people, good people like Sandy and Andy. She was a nasty mean manupulative bitch. I think she got what she deserved, I just wish it happened sooner...
  • Conan the Grammarian · 5 years ago

    I have to respond to all those people on this forum and others that have said they would not want to work for Kelly because "he's a micromanager" and would be okay working for Jennifer because "she delegates."

    My impression was that I could work for Kelly because he wouldn't be intimidated by my success or skill and would be able to utilize them better. I got the impression that if I was a skilled a valuable employee of his, Kelly would not work to keep me down and would be okay with my getting promoted to his level - and even work toward helping me get there. He might micromanage a little in the beginning, but would back away as I showed him what I could do - as he did with Raj, Elizabeth, and John on the final task and as he did with Wes and Maria on the bridal task (they screwed up, but he didn't watch over their shoulder while they screwed up).

    Jennifer gave me the impression that if I was capable of outperforming her and worked for her, she would do whatever it took to make sure I never got promoted to her level. I don't think she would take an interest in any career goals but her own.

    BTW, "delegation" does not mean assigning someone a task and disappearing to make signs. The delegator really should check on the delegatee every once in a while (the process is called "progress reports").

    Which feeds directly into my problem with calling Kelly a micromanager. On the bridal task, he left Wes and Maria alone to handle Marketing (Maria's forte) and only entered into it when it was obvious Maria and Wes couldn't handle it. He tends to properly delegate and expect results.

    Were Kelly and Jen the best choices? Probably not, but they were in line with last season's final choices: Kwame had a lot of corporate experience with GS, but little management experience. Bill had run his own company (a start-up) but had little corporate experience. JenM had lots of corporate-like experience as an associate with a law firm, but no management experience. Kelly had run his own companies (3 start-ups) but had little corporate experience.

    Jennifer seemed to be getting desperate last night. She even interrupted DT a few times. Boardroom skills will only take you so far. She needs more field experience in an actual business setting. She's smart, but not savvy.

    Kelly needs some seasoning as well - he performs well in structured environments (the military, a start-up where he has control), but needs seasoning to do well in corporate America.

    BTW(2), for a magna cum laude English major from Princeton, Jennifer needs to work on a few things:
    1. It's not "between him and I," it's "between him and me."
    2. Learn to pronounce "laude."
    3. When comparing two options, it's not "I'm the best choice," it's "I'm the better choice." "Best" and all the "-est" words represent the superlative - they require three or more options in order to be used correctly.

  • Kreplach · 5 years ago
    Kevin S: You raise an excellent and *urgent* point about Jennifer's english. She *does* need to learn how to express herself better, or else she'll never become a success in life. Those fancy Harvard and Princeton degrees clearly mean nothing. All the success she has had thus far *must* have been dumb luck. If she persists in making minor grammatical errors of the type you describe, she will eventually be found out for what she is. Who cares, after all, that she graduated magna cum laude from Princeton if, as you so devastatingly point out, she cannot pronounce "laude?" Clearly, properly enunciating the word is more important than actually earning the honor! Thank God there are vigilant, intelligent viewers of reality television like yourself to bring her to account. (I was particularly impressed with your mastery of the rules for the comparative and the superlative.) Now, how do we get your vital message to her? Perhaps you could telephone her at Clifford Chance? You twit.
  • Kevin S. · 5 years ago
    Kreplach: You confused my post (Kevin S.) with that written by someone else. If you read my post, you see that I favored Jenn.
  • Hayes · 5 years ago
    I have to agree with Chas, and Conan made some excellent observations as well. I think Kevin was a much stronger candidate than Jennifer. Jennifer is extremely proficient in the boardroom, where her tongue-lashing skills come to the fore. However, she lacks leadership and is afraid to take the helm in projects. One can only slip under the radar for so long, eventually deficiencies will show themselves. No good Project Manager would disappear during an event, this was absolutely unforgivable. Also staying up all night to print posters was not an efficient use of her time. She could have delegated this task to someone else. Instead she delegated the important tasks and took the operational ones for herself, where she could hide in the background.

    More importantly, there is one very telling point about Jennifer, and that is she takes credit for other people's work, or to put this another way, she does not share the credit evenly amongst the team. Also the lexicon she uses is problematic and very telling, when referring to completed tasks. Theodor Adorno said that language contains within it the biases, ideology, beliefs, etc...of the articulator. As such her use of the word "I" rather than "we" when referring to tasks accomplished illustrate clearly that she is not a team player. She is a thunder stealer. I hate to resort to using a cliche, but in this case one will suffice: There is no "I" in TEAM.

  • Hayes · 5 years ago
    I have to agree with Chas, and Conan made some excellent observations as well. I think Kevin was a much stronger candidate than Jennifer. Jennifer is extremely proficient in the boardroom, where her tongue-lashing skills come to the fore. However, she lacks leadership and is afraid to take the helm in projects. One can only slip under the radar for so long, eventually deficiencies will show themselves. No good Project Manager would disappear during an event, this was absolutely unforgivable. Also staying up all night to print posters was not an efficient use of her time. She could have delegated this task to someone else. Instead she delegated the important tasks and took the operational ones for herself, where she could hide in the background.

    More importantly, there is one very telling point about Jennifer, and that is she takes credit for other people's work, or to put this another way, she does not share the credit evenly amongst the team. Also the lexicon she uses is problematic and very telling, when referring to completed tasks. Theodor Adorno said that language contains within it the biases, ideology, beliefs, etc...of the articulator. As such her use of the word "I" rather than "we" when referring to tasks accomplished illustrate clearly that she is not a team player. She is a thunder stealer. I hate to resort to using a cliché, but in this case one will suffice: There is no “I” in TEAM.

  • Barb · 5 years ago
    Conan -

    Thank you for your grammar comments, which were secondary, of course, to points presented earlier. I too had expected that, Jenn M., being a practicing attorney (who generally speak and write for a living, for goodness sakes!), would have impeccable grammar. You took the words right out of my mouth...

  • bob · 5 years ago
    I am amazed that dt thinks that jen and sandy are better debaters than andy or anyone else, as andy and most good debators know and dt missed, you dont win an argument by out screaming your opponent. As successful as dt is I would think that he would know that when both parties are screaming at each other there is no room for gaining knowledge or understanding of the argument or how to counter your opponents argument, and your opponent will not listen to you if he knows that you are not listening or respecting thier oppinion.
    To win an argument, or even to have a meaningful discourse, you MUST:
    1. Listen to your opponent and make sure they know that you are listening.
    2. Understand what they are saying.
    3. Formulate your reply, recognizing what they are correct about. and CALMLY explaing what and why they are incorrect about.

    dt is only grasping for ratings when he rewards this kind of bad behavior, bad leadership, and bad negotiating skills. and to stand up at the ceremony last night and say that andy failed as a debater against these 2 screamers was just plain wrong and somebody should have called him on this, too bad all of the people around him are all Yes men.

  • Rosemary · 5 years ago
    Thank you Noir Dame for putting so aptly into words my exact feelings about that last show. Tasteless isn't a strong enough word though for me, myself and I.

    We three were outraged by their exalted, holier than thou behavior towards Jenn and I applaud John W. for speaking out about it. Bravo John!

    A note for Trump's lackeys: This is a job interview boys, not the inquisition!

  • HC_Lawson · 5 years ago
    That was the most tasteless moment in reality tv history. Jen didn't deserve that sort of treatment. Trump felt threaten by a woman who was smarter than him and his COO. Heck, that goon can't even speak a complete sentence without getting terrified. With all the thrashing laid upon her, Jen still kept her senses and beat Kelly in the final boardroom. Kelly was so nervous, he should've been fired instead of Jen. This is the last time I watch the apprentice. What a joke this show has become!
  • timmer · 5 years ago
    Another point about Trump's attraction to the glow of pedigree:

    When he picked Jennifer over Sandy. He basically told Sandy her small business entrepreneurial skills were worth spit, and she wouldn't hold a candle to Jenn's law background in dealing with the complexity of big business transactions.

    It seems he is only interested in corporate lackeys with purebreed papers, and has no respect for entrepreneurial types like Troy or Sandy. A small business owner has to juggle all the balls, know a little about everything, and constantly MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS for the survival of the business.

    Maybe they are not technical specialists with a ton of knowledge in one particular area, but is that what a manager should be? Don't you just hire those people when you need them?

  • dolphin · 5 years ago
    It wasn't exactly trashing Jen as some comments here intend to. If you are deciding between 2 people most people gave their reasons of choosing Kelly over Jen (except maybe Trump's COO). Maybe they could have sugarcoated their choices, but in the end it doesn't matter. Amy from last season correctly said that Jen's style is confrontational, someone who says she moved all the way to San Francisco, that she stayed up for 3 nights blah blah, which boss wants to hear that kind of catty talk ? The sponsors come in and complain that Jen is disorganized and they were not satisfied, the team mates complain that she steals their credits, Jen never showed dignity to opponent Kelly, and all 4 executives and his own executives did not endorse Jen; sitting in Trump's seat do you still want to hire Jen ? It would have been a very very risky decision to go for Jen.
  • Chas · 5 years ago
    Kreplach: You raise an excellent and *urgent* point about your comprehension skills. you *do* need to learn how to express yourself better, or else you will never become a success in life. Those fancy Harvard and Princeton degrees clearly mean nothing. All the success you have had thus far *must* have been dumb luck. If you persists in making minor comprehension errors of the type you describe, you will eventually be found out for what you are. Who cares, after all, that you creamed the wrong guy if, as you so devastatingly point out, you cannot differentiate between Connan and Kevin. Clearly, reading names is more important than actually earning the honor! Thank God there are vigilant, intelligent viewers of reality recap forums like yourself to bring everyone to account. (I was particularly impressed with your mastery of the rules for the incredibly stupid mistake.) Now, how do we get your vital message to the right guy? Perhaps you could telephone him. You twit.


  • Slippery Pete · 5 years ago
    WARNING: Some words might not be spelled correctly in this post. (and i don't even know, or care, what magnum cum laude...or is it magnum PI.....is.)

    Bob: I agree. andy was wise in not screaming back at those girls. it is important to listen. when donald said he was a terrible debator i thought it was rediculous. i many episodes he just sat there and listened intently. i respected him for that.

    I really didn't care who won either. but i knew that jen was going down. it would have been better for sandy to be there. she's much better looking and it's good to see the entrepreneur winning.

    Nadine....you were suppose to take me to the after party! :-(

  • erg · 5 years ago
    One thing to remember is that the Apprentice Environment was a highly pressure cooker type of atmosphere, with all the contestants packed into one (if highly luxurious) apartment, having only a couple of bathrooms (one male, one female) very little privacy, with one breakneck task after another. That makes for a lot of stress and some frustration on the part of all candidates. Thus the fact that Jennifer made negative comments about othe candidates should not be used as a yardstick for how she should be treated. And FWIW, I don't think Jennifer was that bad in her comments about other candidates. Certainly better than, say Ivana.

    My annoyance is simply that Trump was alomost certainly lying when he said he didn't know. He most definitely did have a preference, probably for Kelly, and he should have gone ahead with it, instead of the silly show at the end with Regis. I thought that was unnecessarily humiliating to Jennifer.

    I don't believe even the finale did that well in ratings. So unless Apprentice 3 really does well, I doubt there will be an apprentice 4.

  • Chas · 5 years ago
    "Thus the fact that Jennifer made negative comments about othe candidates should not be used as a yardstick for how she should be treated."

    yeah, right..... She walked around the suite and conspired against other players; forming alliances and trashing people behind their backs. She laid plans to "go after" people, she attacked like a pit bull. She eaves dropped on Kelly, and as he was doing the same thing she did, she accused him of having no "integrity".

    Jen got what she deserved, she acted like a snake on TV, and was treated like one on TV.... she reaped what she sow...

    What comes around goes around...

  • Donald Guy Perry · 5 years ago
    Boy! Boy! Boy!
    First of all I think that Jane must have been pretty stupid to have left her job in pursuit of a position at Trump Organization.Didn't she learn anything at Princeton and Harvard? True she got the national exposure but boy did they let her have it.I agree with an earlier assessment that this whole thing must have been staged to begin with. But did it have to be at the poor woman's expense.I don't think that she knew in advance what she was in for.
    I think the only person gaining from this whole apprentice crap is Donald Trump himself.After having been booted from the CEO post at Taj Mahal, Trump himself turned up on the end-of-year list of worst CEOs put together by several business publications. The guy himself is a looser. No wonder why he's now out selling cologns and perfumes. Go figure!
  • Amy · 5 years ago
    Hey everyone...a good friend of mine is getting married next year, more than anything in the world, her mom wants the dress that Ivana wore at the finale...does anyone know who designed it??? I would sooo appreciate any help!!!!
  • pizzaboy · 5 years ago
    Mr. Trump is the Greatest , this is not a job for the faint hearted or poor me I lost babies.
    Kelly is a fine buisneess man.Hey jenny lost she thought she was in court trying a case. Trump is the new TV host and big bopper. So get use to it
    times are a changeing for tvland...
  • joe · 5 years ago
    Yes, 3 hours was waaaaaay too long for me and my wife. And....all of the commercials.
  • The Profit · 5 years ago
    I kept hoping that someone would bring up the fact that Jen stole Ivana's credit for the Levi's brochure/selector - I'm not saying I like Ivana ... but it was in true Jen style to have taken the credit that she didn't deserve.

    You can have all the pedigree in the world, but if you can't perform ethically in the real world, you'll eventually get what's coming to you.

  • erg · 5 years ago

    I kept hoping that someone would bring up the fact that Jen stole Ivana's credit for the Levi's brochure/selector - I'm not saying I like Ivana ... but it was in true Jen style to have taken the credit that she didn't deserve.

    In that case, one could have brought up Kelly's claiming to wash more dogs than he actually did ..

  • Chas · 5 years ago
    Caroline DID bring up the fact that Kelly claimed to wash more dogs..... but Jen's idea stealing never made it into the board room; that was what the poster meant.

    Jen was worthless, she tried to rise to the top by stepping on people...we all know you have to learn to fly to get to the top, and you have to do it without stepping on people.

  • Staci · 5 years ago
    Kreplach and Chas: You guys both have alot of
    anger and sarcasm that is screaming from your posts. Bet you are both loads of fun.

    Jen talked alot at the end about having "integrity".

    A person with real integrity does not rip others down to build herself up. I found it disgusting the way she ripped into Sandy in the board room, telling Sandy that she walked around feeling inferior, and that she "doesn't even know what a lawyer does". It has been said that over 80% of verbal communication consists of NOT THE WORDS THAT ARE SAID, but rather, the tone and attitude
    that was conveyed BEHIND THE WORDS. Jennifer was ruthlessly mean in the way she tore into Andy and Sandy. Demeaning another human being to get ahead and promote yourself is not an example of "having integrity". Jennifer may "think" she has integrity, but she sold her integrity out the instant she opened her mouth to demean another human being. I am glad she didn't win, I don't think she deserved to win, and I sure don't think she has integrity.

    I was always a fan of Kelly's. He got in and led, worked hard, came up with fantastic ideas, and provided the Mosaic team with a game plan that helped them win many tasks. That software game plan that Kelly himself devised and implemented rightfully got him his many wins. When John didn't want Raj to eat the day they were selling ice cream, Kelly stepped up and made the decision that it was not right to keep Raj from eating all day, and gave Raj some money from the team to eat. That showed logic and caring.
    John was just being a jerk. Kelly also showed alot of discipline, self discipline and emotional discipline. He was able to detach his work and his goals and his teammates from his emotions, thus led and was led in an unemotional manner. That is not a bad quality, by a long shot. Probably something he learned in Ranger school as well. He has a very high emotional IQ. Plus he
    was very polite and showed respect to everyone on the show, even when disagreeing. He NEVER stooped as low as Jen did to try to win at the expense of degrading another contestant. I personally think he is wonderful, and that the other contestants and CEO's and Carolyn Kepcher
    were all sincere with their replies that Kelly was hands down the better leader. Kelly won over 1 million candidates, and I bet he is better than one in a million. I say with all the supurb qualities he possesses, he is 1 in at least 30 million, or more. DT hit the jackpot.

  • Chas · 5 years ago
    Staci,
    You sound angry; you are also yelling.... are you ok?

    Yes, I am a lot of fun, come on over and hang with us. Thanks for noticing.

  • JP · 5 years ago
    If Trump is looking for a true executive, and ESPECIALLY one with entreprenuerial instincts a lawyer like Jen will never get picked. its not a job for a lawyer type, period. I've said that since the very first episode, actually shocked they actually included lawyers on the show. the one's who's only experience is being a lawyer that is.
  • jp · 5 years ago
    too clarify, lawyers like Jen are nothing more than Tools for the real players like Trump. not an exective, but useful tools.
  • Pearl · 5 years ago
    Who you think should have won is more a reflection of yourself. There is no right or wrong in this debate. All the candidates could run a company well, but with differing styles, we all then stack up behind the style we prefer. Jen's company would lack a little direction, but negotiate well and take credit for things it had little to do with. Ivana's company would look great in bikini briefs. Bill's company would wear two golf gloves. Kelly's would be efficient, disciplined but perhaps lack innovation. In terms of the TV discussion, the show has already run it's course, but it was fun for a while.
  • Dv · 4 years ago
    Heh. Funny, Pearl. Very funny.

    And probably quite true.

  • taylor · 4 years ago
    very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very long log long site bored me half to death yahn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • i_knew_he_was_the_wrong_choice · 4 years ago
    It looks like Mr. "West Point" Drunky Pants made a fool out of himself on commercial flight!

    I bet Mr. Trump couldn't be more proud!