John had it
all wrong on this task dealing
with all the musician's egos with
all his talk
about himself. Although, true to
his reputation, Gene Simmons really
brought John
down-to-earth with his bigger-than-life
ego. I guess
you could say it was a clashof the
egos(...and John lost) with Gene
ultimately the
victor.
On top
of John's interaction with Gene
Simmons, his
treatment of his two female
Apprentice
team-mates was appalling. John was given
just enough rope by the girls to hang
himself. John
definitely as George put it: "Failed
to negotiate." John was 'playing not
to lose' by
lowering the bar on what he asked
of the
musicians. What works is playing to
win. Neither
of John's female team-mates, Erin
and Stephanie
were playing to win either.
Playing it
safe, they squeaked by by not
getting fired
as well.
John's
two new female 'Net Worth' team-mates,
Erin and
Stephanie, had every opportunity to
make a
difference in the outcome of the task
and instead
blamed the failure on John's lack
of negotiation skills. That type of 'it's
not my
responsibility'
thinking has proven to be
a main reason in
them not getting to the
finale as an
Apprentice.
In the
end, team 'Net Worth' leader Chris
showed a major error in judgment by
letting Tana
and Craig go to team 'Magna.'
This choice
showing that 'Net Worth'
virtually got
beat by themselves on this
latest task
with the musicians.
(Ouch! That's
gotta hurt...?)
In the
beginning of the show with
both teams in
the boardroom, the team
leaders had to
chose the two people
they would not
want to work with on their
team and hence
send those two people to
the other
team. The way that Tana and Craig
of 'Net Worth'
received their new team
of 'Magna' and
also how team
'Magna' welcomed both Tana and
Craig as their
new
team-mates, I believe that energy
alone created
and showed the synergy
for team 'Magna's' ultimate
successful win.
Chris'
abrasive attitude will not
get him
to the finale. Erin's lack of taking
responsibility
and her 'holier-than-thou'
attitude, will
ultimately take her down
as well. True,
Erin can look good on television,
just not that
good in the Apprentice position.
Overall,
the female candidates in this
third series
of the Apprentice are much more
focused. By
not making the teams the women
versus the
men, that single difference I believe
makes all the
difference in their overall
interaction.
Jonathan
John had
to go. He just focused himself down to a
pinpoint on himself so that he couldn't see
the other team members and their opinions,
and he couldn't even open himself up enough
to really see the stars he was dealing with.
Gene Simmons
- I will do anything to be the best! And
what did they do? They did NOT take
advantage. MISTAKE! And they lost.
Good job on
the other team - lots of money raised and
good team work."
Jennifer
Martin
"This week was a great show to
watch for examples of influencing
behaviors. Look at the difference
between how John and Tana approached
the negotiations. John tried to
establish himself as an insider by
telling stories about his experiences
as a musician but only succeeded in
showing everyone what an arrogant SOB
he's become. Did you see the Barenaked
Ladies guy's face when John casually
suggested he could play the guy's
drums? Even I know how stupid that
was, and my musical career ended in
high school. The way he kept talking
over Erin and Stephanie showed
everyone that he considered himself
above them, which doesn't go over well
with most people either. And then
there was the tactical mistake George
nailed him on -- starting low and
staying there. Maybe that was also
John's arrogance, assuming that what
he thinks of as the ultimate treat
would fly for anyone else. Maybe
not.
Tana's approach had me squirming in
my seat at first because it seemed so
over the top to have someone so white
trying to be hip-hop. It worked for
her, though. She established a better
rapport with her stars (as a
fan/admirer rather than a wannabe
peer) and then worked them smartly.
She got to agree to something easy and
then, unlike John, asked for a little
more and a little more until she got
great deals for the charity. She also
let everyone else talk, building on
their energy and ideas as well as her
own. Well done, Tana.
Chris made a number of missteps as
PM, but I think most of them were in
the boardroom rather than on task. He
sent two strong players to Magna in
exchange for one weak one (though Erin
was very good this week) and one okay
one. I didn't really expect Chris to
send the weakest players -- that would
be himself and John -- but it's pretty
clear that Magna got the better end of
that trade. Then in the final
boardroom, Chris got emotional again
and started shouting at people. Only a
lucky break in the debate saved him.
This is, of course, amusingly ironic
as it was Chris who chimed in to
support John last week in saying that
Audrey lacks the maturity to lead.
Talk about the pot and the kettle.
From the way Chris accepted George's
rebuke I think he knows that he has an
impulse control problem and may be
working on it, but he's got to work
harder to keep it from derailing him
at the big table. "I'm the best
negotiator at this table" --
really? I wish they'd shown us
Carolyn's reaction to that line; it
must have been a doozy."
Michael Raugh
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