What ‘Apprentice 2’ Applicants Should Have Learned

3) Have a Backbone

Both Kristi and Jessie were fired because they meekly accepted whatever was thrown at them, even hideous attacks from Omarosa. Trump flat-out said that he didn’t like the way Omarosa was behaving, but what was worse was that Jessie sat there and took it. So if somebody attacks you in the Boardroom, you need to stand up for yourself.

As we already discussed earlier, this doesn’t mean attacking them back or getting emotional. But you need to explain your side of the story and show how the person attacking you is really the one who deserves to be fired. A good example is Nick in the Planet Hollywood challenge. He was in danger because he kind of shut down during the challenge, as he disagreed with the ethics of what was going on around him. When his lack of effort was mentioned in the Boardroom, Nick stood up for himself and presented his side of the story. It still wasn’t smart to have gone into autopilot mode during the challenge, but he made up for it in the Boardroom.

However, having a backbone doesn’t only apply in the Boardroom. You also need to stand up for yourself and your ideas during the tasks (which is what Nick didn’t do, above). If you think you need a better location, by all means say you need a better location. If the group agrees with you and you do well because of it, you will gain some status. If they disagree with you and you don’t do well, you can say you told them so. Worst case is if you move to a different location and still do poorly, but even then at least you took a stand on the issue.

Also, if you think you are the best at doing something, you should try to do it. Trump wondered why Katrina had not done the apartment negotiations in one task – after all, she was the one who had experience in real estate. I wondered the same thing! She should have said it was her area of expertise and just done it, leaving other tasks to other people.

4) You Can’t Be One-Dimensional

As something of a corollary to Rule 3 (but we’ll give it its own number), we need to note that Trump is not looking for a salesperson. He isn’t looking for an idea person. He isn’t looking for a new ad exec. He is looking for a leader. You might be the best salesperson/real estate agent/lawyer/whatever in the world, but that doesn’t mean you’ll win The Apprentice because, well, that’s not what he is looking for.

Look at who won the first series – Bill Rancic, a man who had already built his own business from the ground up. He showed leadership, he showed an ability to sell products, he came up with smart ideas. He had many different aspects of business acumen down pat.

5) Be Loyal – Or At Least Don’t Be Disloyal

As we discussed earlier, The Apprentice puts people into a weird situation (for business, though not for reality TV). You compete as a team, with a specific team leader, but then if you lose you compete as individuals to avoid being fired. Being loyal helps you in several ways.

First, of course, if you are loyal to your Project Manager, there is less chance that person will pick you to face Trump in the Boardroom. It’s not 100%, as we’ll discuss later, but it certainly can’t hurt.

Second, Trump told Newsweek: “You must work well with others and be loyal to your team. Disloyalty is the worst of all traits.” Simply put, he doesn’t want to see you turn on your cohorts just to try to win. Yes, it’s a game for individuals when it comes right down to it, but those individuals still have to work together. If we need a case in point, we only have to look at Tammy. “I think we were duped.” Yeah, well, maybe your Project Manager was duped. But you were fired. Who got the better deal?

There is a corollary to this rule as well. The flip-side of being loyal is that when you have the opportunity, you should surround yourself with the best people. This means people who will be loyal in return, but it also means capable people. Before the casino challenge, Troy and Kwame had Bill join their team even though they had disagreed about the way to work in the past. But they knew Bill was valuable and loyal, and indeed his idea of courting VIP gamblers ended up winning the challenge for them. Then, in the final challenge, Bill picked Amy, Nick, and Katrina, with whom he’d had good success. Kwame ended up with Omarosa. ‘Nuff said.

6) Don’t Show Your Hand

No, this isn’t Survivor or Big Brother, so you’re not going to run around building secret alliances to vote people off. However, playing things close to the vest can still help. Before Boardroom sessions, it can’t hurt to feel out where people are leaning, without giving away too much of your own thought process. If you find that most people are gunning for the same person, by all means join in! If you find that people are trying to avoid you, then you’d better be prepared to have all the guns turn on you.