The Apprentice Season 4 - Martha and Donald

Donald - Episode 4 - The Manifestation of Inner Communication

2005-10-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

I missed the last episodes. I was in the process of moving and wasn't able to watch last week. We're back on track now.

Toral is an interesting women. She is so accomplished that it is a wonder that she even wanted to be on the program. Firing her became the obvious choice as the show proceeded. Toral couldn’t integrate into the team because I feel she couldn’t imagine why she was there either. Really she has better things to do.

How do you view yourself in your current company? Are you manifesting results that are driven by underpinning desires? Results that you did not think you were trying to achieve? Sometimes we force results that we want to occur… getting fired for instance. Our lack of enthusiasm and passion become apparent to those around us.

“I am working with people that I wouldn’t even hire as office assistance,” said Toral. I didn’t much care for that statement, but what she was really saying is that I don’t want to be her… I have better things to do. What are your actions saying?

Donald—Episode 2—The Skill of Listening and the Art of Hearing

2005-09-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Chris experienced the back lash of a major problem among business owners. He essentially wasn’t going to get fired, but ignored the cues that were given to him by Donald. He was told who NOT to bring back into the boardroom and who TO bring into the boardroom. He chose to ignore the direct communication and proceed according to his own interpretation of the event anyway.

How many times have you been in a sales situation with someone who wanted to buy your product—you listened as they told you exactly what they wanted to be told, told you how to sell them, and yet you proceeded in your own direction and lost the sale?

Cultivate the art of hearing by sharpening your listening skills. Carefully listen to what your prospect is saying to you by first, having no preconceived ideas of what they said (never conclude a sentence for a prospect and never assume you know what they are saying before they have finished speaking). Second, repeat in your mind what you hear. Third, verify what you heard by stating it back to the prospect in the form of a question. And fourth, show you are following their suggestions by incorporating their words into your presentation.

Do what they say to do and get the sale.

Martha—Episode 2—Harmonize Your Cavy

2005-09-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Martha… Martha… Martha. I got a little queasy watching this episode. I’m concluding that The Apprentice as a program fits Donald’s personality. Its not that Martha isn’t a tremendous business mentor; The Apprentice brand just doesn’t seem to fit her style.

Aside my personal feelings, tonight’s episode brought out some interesting points. Team Politics is what I would like to focus on.

Making forward progress is about unifying the synergy of a team. Having worked a lot with horses, I’ve seen the affects personality can have on an entire group. Horses are more revealing than people.

I trade horses in and out of my group (“cavy” in horse language) based on how their personality affects the rest of the horses in the cavy. When you’ve perfectly matched the cavy, problems cease complete harmony results.

Harmonize your team and progress will serge—as long as there is an accountability leadership structure that is respected, meaning that your team is disciplined and takes action.

Episode 1 – The Need for Speed and the Greater Need to Do it Right

2005-09-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

We are in an era of speed. I liked the beginning of this episode when Donald had the candidates race for a ride in the helicopter. The ride in the helicopter would only take 5 minutes to get back to the city. The head start was supposed to give the winning edge to the team that won.

Now, I don’t know if the extra time really made a difference for this group. The girls lost by one sale. The girls attempt at fitness was less than impressive, which makes it even more embarrassing that the boys barely won. To be fast is important; to do it right is more important.

I think what ultimately made the difference is that the girls simply had more people to talk to. The boys tried to do things right by selling to their existing market, but it may have been too limited.

Think about that in your own business. Are sales lacking? Do you have enough people to talk to? Is your message clear and credible? If not, think of putting some focus on repositioning yourself to a larger market space and improve your marketing materials to represent professionalism. Professionalism builds credibility.