The Apprentice: Weekly Performance Review, Episode 8 – Thinking Outside the Box

Protégé:

Kwame: Wait… you’re still here? Do me a favor and move around a little so we can be sure you haven’t been replaced by a mannequin, ‘kay?

Amy: Once again, people on the show seemed to think you did a great job. I’m not sure what they were talking about. Not to say that you didn’t do anything, I just didn’t see it.

Omarosa: It’s one thing to be arrogant and condescending when you have the skills to back it up. It’s quite another when you don’t. I have still yet to see you exhibit any of the wonderful qualities you keep telling us you possess. If that weren’t bad enough, the way you talked to your customers in this episode was disgusting. Do you actually think people are that stupid?

Heidi: I’ve said in the past that I was looking forward to seeing you as Project Manager, and you didn’t disappoint. You had the intelligence to work when you needed to, and knew when to step back and let the others take over.

Troy: Once again, you exhibited a highly sought-after aspect of management, “thinking outside the box.” You were presented with a problem – lack of storage space – and you came up with a way to solve the problem while staying within the rules. I just cannot say enough about your performance in this series, and I think it would take a MAJOR mistake on your part to cost you the Apprenticeship.

Versacorp:

Katrina: Boyoboy… where to start? For the second week in a row – only your second week on a losing team, I might add – you were spared when you were a prime candidate for firing. Had Ereka taken you into the Boardroom instead of Bill, you might have indeed hit the streets. You contributed nothing to the team, and were only saved by your friendship with Ereka. Alliance-mates protecting each other are hardly new in reality shows, but in this show, it just doesn’t work.

Bill: Your biggest problem continues to be your reluctance to take a stand and stick to it. It seems to me that you just want to put your head down and get to work, not worrying about what anyone else does. While that is an admirable trait, and one that could stand to be copied by many people, it does not fly for a manager.

Nick: A few weeks back, I warned you not to let confidence become cockiness. I think that’s what happened this week. You were so eager to get started that you didn’t bother to think about preparation. Had you been up against stiffer competition, it could have meant your downfall. That said, you were third on the list this week.

Ereka: Do I need to say it again? You just don’t get it! When you lose, the only thing you gain by blaming others is telling Trump that you can’t take responsibility as a manager. I’m not saying you should be a doormat, either – that didn’t work for Kristi or Jessie. There’s a fine line you have to walk between taking the blame and being the victim. A good manager can walk that line. Example: blaming Nick for not having the paperwork ready. Sorry, but that’s your job, and your fault that it wasn’t ready when Carolyn got there. If you have to stand over Nick’s shoulder, then that’s what you do.

Just like Tammy last week, the only reason you hadn’t gone home before was that this was your first time in the final three. Throughout the show, you’ve been unprofessional, overly emotional, and, quite frankly, unproductive. I realize that you’re in marketing and not sales, but did you really expect to sell water with that lame “create a buzz” line? That’s not even a good advertising line! But your crowning “achievement” is the way you treated Bill. I could understand your being upset with him for “turning on you” if you hadn’t done the same thing to him last week! Your firing was long overdue.

Mike DeGeorge has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, and has almost ten years of management experience. Email Mike at mikmaria@charter.net.

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