Oh, “The Apprentice,” how frustrating you can be.
I’ve been watching “The Apprentice” this season because Fayetteville resident Kelly Smith Beaty is a contestant. I think it is important to see not only where she finishes, but how she gets there. In the earlier episodes, Kelly has been quiet and in the background. Would that change this week?
No.
We did get a bit more dialogue from her this week than in the past though. She spoke up in the board room portion of the show, basically saying that even if you don’t agree with the project in a job, you give 150 percent. While I agree with the sentiment, that’s a lot to give.
This week’s job was for the teams to create a viral video using guerilla tactics for a popcorn product. The men seemed to get the idea (sort of) and set up a popcorn fight on Fifth Avenue. The women did not get it and just made a commercial. A viral video is something so unique that it gets passed around. The question the teams should have asked themselves is, “If I got this in my e-mail, would I pass it on.” The answer for both teams would have been no, but the men were closer.
So, where was the drama? Well, there was none on the men’s side. David, the petulant brat from previous weeks, broke a tooth on a bagel and sat out the task. Add in his benching from the week before and he appears to be playing the invisible man strategy. On the women’s side, the drama was between, you guessed it, Mahsa and Tyana. Tyana understood what a viral video was supposed to be and she knew her team was not making one. Unfortunately, she had no better idea and she was a winning project manager the week before. The target on her back was huge. If the rest of the team had joined her and piled on Mahsa for steering the group in the wrong direction, we would have mercifully been done with the angry assistant district attorney for good.
No such luck. Tyana took a hike.
Donald Trump and his kids, Ivanka and Don Jr., let Mahsa off the hook. They said the client liked the video but felt it didn’t go far enough. They could have blasted her because she got the entire idea wrong. It was as if the task was to make a pizza and she made grilled cheese with marinara sauce on the side. Sure, it might taste just fine, but it wasn’t what they asked for.
Oh well. It was good to see Kelly get in the action a bit. Next week, the teams conduct a fashion show. David, the reader as the models take the stage, says “blah, blah, blah” while reading from the script so good money says he finally takes his poor attitude and teeth to the curb.
Good job this week, Kelly. Keep giving 150 percent.
Business lesson of the week – Use Google. Tyana could have spared herself and her team some agony by “googling” the term “viral video” and showing the girls examples. It also would have helped them brainstorm in the right direction. I am blown away by people who have answers at their fingertips (smartphones, laptops, etc.) and just sit there and argue instead of getting the right answer. You are living in the 21st century, people. Answers are seconds away.
