Apprentice Blog

This Week: Lessons from the Best Losers

Tue, 12 May 2009 19:06:00 EST

In the days since the season finale of Celebrity Apprentice, Blogs and articles have been buzzing about whether Annie Duke or Joan Rivers really deserved to win. There is much to be said about that question, to be sure. But I would like to make some observations about something else entirely today, by analyzing why some of the strongest candidates did not win.

Case Study One: Brande Roderick
Brande was a terrific candidate at the start of the season. In the very first task, she parked her team’s truck right in front of Playboy’s New York headquarters so that her colleagues there could come out to buy her team’s cookies. But in the weeks that followed, Brande rarely sought the spotlight. She seemed content to avoid the critical role of project manager. Finally, when she came under attack from Piers Morgan two weeks ago, she bared her teeth and showed some strength that she had been hiding inside.

Through the season, it was almost as though Brande was buying into the stereotype that Joan Rivers and Piers Morgan ascribed to her - that she was a just a ditzy blonde, not a smart and capable woman.

My advice to you, if you want to succeed, is to be sure that you are not knuckling under and agreeing to be stereotyped by other people. Look at me. Early in my years after coming to the States, American businesspeople could have written me off as another Brit who was ill-equipped to cut it in American business. But I didn’t let that happen. I outsold them, outmaneuvered them, become Donald Trump’s Apprentice, and went on to found WaveSys, a multimillion-dollar international enterprise.

Remember, you are not a stereotype! You are not just a pretty young woman, or a member of a minority or a particular religion, or a gay man or a lesbian, or a poker player, or a former football player - or anything else. You are what you are, internally. The more people try to marginalize you, the more you need to step out and show them your unique personal strengths.

Case Study Two: Jesse James
I have to admit that for the first half of this season, I really expected Jesse to win - or to come very close to winning, at the least. He seemed to embody many traits that Mr. Trump values - he was quiet, determined and hardworking. When other candidates were squabbling and acting up, he stood at the sidelines and quietly got his work done.

But then - and this was astonishing - he started acting like a spoiled adolescent when Clint refused to implement his ideas for a magazine layout. That happened very late in the year - in episode 10 in the 12-week season! Suddenly, the steady old Jesse was gone. The new Jesse sulked, swore, and destroyed the whole image of quiet competence that he had built in the first nine weeks of the season. His chances of winning fell away like a house of cards, and he had only himself to blame.

So the lesson is that, in one day, you can easily destroy a career that it took you years to build. One indiscretion, one fit of anger, one unconsidered word is really all it takes. If you are determined to succeed, you need to practice the lost art of self-control.

Case Study Three: Scott Hamilton
You might be wondering how much I could have learned from Scott’s candidacy this season. After all, he got fired in the second episode, long before anyone could really assess his leadership abilities.

Still, there are important lessons to learn from Scott. Despite the fact that he seemed to have all the traits of a leader - he was a proven competitor in his Olympic years, a sympathetic listener, and a very smart man - he made one very big blunder that got him fired. When he felt pushed to the limit because his team would not make a decision about creating an action hero to represent the Zappos brand, Scott made a snap decision and insisted in naming their action hero EEE (for Everything, Everywhere, Everytime). In contrast, the women named their hero Miz Z, which resonated perfectly with the Zappos brand.

Under pressure, Scott completely blew it. And he got ushered out the door before he had a chance to prove himself. I have seen that happen to many young professionals. In the early years of their careers when they should be making careful decisions, they act impulsively and get fired or mischaracterized as weak performers.

Don’t let that happen to you. In your early career years, be sure to show cool composure, no matter the pressure you are under.

In summary . . .

This was a fascinating season. Some of the losers had great strengths. Some of the finalists had great weaknesses. But perhaps that is a realistic depiction of life in business.

As you navigate your way through the complex terrain of business and build your career, I wish you every success. May you, like Joan, reach the highest levels of success through your intelligence, determination and hard work.

Related Training
The No-Money Down CEO

Related:
Find out how you stack up against Donald Trump.
Take The Apprentice Challenge

As winner of The Apprentice (2006), Sean Yazbeck, was selected by Donald Trump to oversee construction of the 5 star hotel condominium, Trump SoHo, in New York City. Yazbeck's role included overseeing negotiations on all acquisitions and purchases for this $500 million project.

Yazbeck has since been working with the Trump Institute to set-up WAVSYS, a national technical staffing company providing individuals, project teams and strategic outsourcing services for engagements in IT and telecommunications. As Founder and CEO, WAVSYS leverages Yazbeck's 12-years of unrivaled recruitment expertise, for which he was awarded the EB1 Green Card for "persons of extraordinary ability".

In 2006, in recognition of his multiple achievements the mayor of Miami Dade County, Carlos Alvarez, named June 20th, as "Sean Yazbeck Day" in Miami-Dade County. More recently in 2008 the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, bestowed the honory title of "Kentucky Colonel" on Sean Yazbeck "in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to the nation".

Since winning The Apprentice, Yazbeck has appeared as Boardroom Advisor to Mr. Trump on The Apprentice, hosted his own show, Reality Trailblazers, on the TV Guide Channel and has appeared on numerous shows such as Miss Universe, MTV Video Music Awards, Live with Regis and Kelly, 1 vs. 100, Soap Talk and Identity.

Yazbeck graduated top of his year with a First Class Honors Degree from Southampton Solent University in England. A British national, he is due to gain dual American Citizenship in 2010.

Comments on Celebrity Apprentice, Episode Eleven

Mon, 04 May 2009 13:23:00 EST

by Sean Yazbeck

Annie vs. Joan in the Final Battle

If you believe that that only one kind of person can be successful in business, you haven’t been watching Celebrity Apprentice this season. Because Annie Duke and Joan Rivers are the finalists, and two people couldn’t be more different.

Let’s take a closer look at each of them to see what we can learn, starting with Joan.

Joan Rivers
When Mr. Trump asked Joan whether she had enough energy to carry on through the final week, Joan pointed to her long history as a survivor and said that if she had to, she would push the final task uphill using her tongue. That points up her determination and remarkable energy. But she has he weak points too. Let’s take a look.

· Joan’s strengths: Ability to improvise, energy, flexibility, loyalty, passion, spontaneity and warmth (as long as she likes you).

· Joan’s weaknesses: Inappropriate favoritism toward a family member, impulsiveness, political incorrectness, inconsistency (one week she loves you, the next she hates you) and lack of ability to implement a long-term strategy to win.

Annie Duke
When Piers interviewed Annie last week, her comments revealed that she has been applying a poker-like strategy through the season. She has raised tons of money, led more winning tasks than anyone else, and avoided harm in the boardroom with near-surgical skill. Yet she too has her deficits. Here’s what I see:

· Annie’s strengths: Composure, financial resources, long-term planning, network, stamina, strategic thinking and thick skin.

· Annie’s weaknesses: Egotism (she seems to think that every idea she has is a masterpiece), inability to listen and poor people skills.

Lessons for Your Success
Given my notes above, it is obvious that neither Annie nor Joan would be a perfect candidate to lead a major business enterprise. Yet if you can emulate their strengths and banish their weaknesses in yourself, you will build a compelling success profile.

If you combine their strengths, you will be financially savvy, energetic, flexible, intuitive, passionate, resourceful, warm, thick-skinned and strategic in your thinking.

If you avoid their weaknesses, you will be even-minded and fair, consistent, loyal, and open toward other people’s ideas.

If that is not a formula for success, I don’t know what is.

What Will Happen Next Week?
Of course, I cannot predict with certainty who will win. But let me just say that given Annie’s ability to create a winning game plan and stick to it, Joan has a very hard final competition ahead of her. The winner could be determined by the nature of the task. If it involves raising a lot of money, for example, Annie will have an edge. If it involves lots of celebrity exposure and pizzazz, Joan will have an advantage.

No matter who wins, we have come to this point with two very tough competitors still standing. It is certain to be an exciting season finale. I look forward to seeing you there!

Related Training
The No-Money Down CEO

Related:
Find out how you stack up against Donald Trump.
Take The Apprentice Challenge

Yazbeck graduated top of his year with a First Class Honors Degree from Southampton Solent University in England. A British national, he is due to gain dual American Citizenship in 2010.

Comments on Celebrity Apprentice, Episode Ten

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:48:00 EST

by Sean Yazbeck

Some candidates were getting stronger this week, others were getting weaker - and a few were essentially holding steady. Let’s take a look to see what we can learn.

CANDIDATES WHO LOST GROUND THIS WEEK

Jesse, possibly the strongest contender in earlier episodes, behaved so badly this week that he did himself a great deal of harm. He stopped contributing to his team. He swore at Clint. And there seemed to be no reason for him to behave erratically, beyond the fact that he had left one team for another. That was hardly a reason to throw away his chances of success.

Melissa’s performance got even worse this week, which is saying quite a bit after her acting up in earlier weeks. She complained that Brande and Annie were like the popular girls she knew in high school who treated her badly. Then instead of calmly telling Annie and Brande that they were not listening to her, she went ballistic. And when she was fired, Melissa stormed off the set and refused to say one word to anyone. Thereby, she burned her bridges to everyone involved in the show. So if that is not a worsening of performance, I do not know what is.

CANDIDATES WHO IMPROVED THEIR POSITIONS THIS WEEK

Clint really made strides this week. In earlier episodes, he made bad decisions and shut his teammates out of planning activities. This week, he tried his hardest to listen to Jesse and Joan. As a result, he dramatically increased his odds of winning. It goes to show that when you listen to negative feedback and improve, you build your success.

Brande improved her standing dramatically. In previous weeks, she seemed content to stand in the shadow of her colleagues. This week, she defended herself strongly when she came under attack from Jim Cramer in the boardroom. Her aggressive self-defense - centered on the fact that she is the second-highest fundraiser this season - positioned her very strategically for big wins in the weeks to come.

CANDIDATES WHO STAYED ABOUT THE SAME

Annie sometimes seems to be an aggressive candidate who tries to shoulder her way past her teammates. But despite such flaws, Annie is a very strong contender who understands her strengths and builds on them. When Joan Rivers started accusing her of awful things, Annie was able to look back calmly and let the criticisms bounce off her. That proved that people who refuse to engage in petty infighting usually come away looking stronger.

Joan also stayed consistent this week. You might wonder how I can say that, in light of her final temper tantrum and flight from Trump Tower after her daughter Melissa got fired. Yet if you remember the entire episode, you will recall that Joan was actually doing a good job for her team while Clint planned the magazine layout. The fact that she then went haywire after her daughter got fired was therefore all the more stark and puzzling.

In summary . . .

As we build our careers from day to day, we have essentially two options: 1) We can do everything we can to improve every day, even in small ways; or 2) We can go easy on ourselves and let our performance slip.

Obviously, continuous improvement is the way to go. If you try to get better every day in ways both small and large, that is a simple recipe for success.

Related Training
The No-Money Down CEO

Related:
Find out how you stack up against Donald Trump.
Take The Apprentice Challenge

Yazbeck graduated top of his year with a First Class Honors Degree from Southampton Solent University in England. A British national, he is due to gain dual American Citizenship in 2010.

This Week: Some Advice for the Contestants Who Remain

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:38:00 EST

by Sean Yazbeck

At the end of Episode Nine last week, only seven contenders remained. Instead of commenting on the tasks we saw last week, I’d like to take my commentary this week in a different direction, by offering each of the remaining contestants a few suggestions on how to improve their positions in the weeks ahead - and perhaps even come out as the ultimate winner.

Let’s talk about them in alphabetical order:

Annie - Annie, you are a poker champion. That means you can accurately assess your current situation (the cards you are holding), weigh risks (what can go wrong) and then make and follow a strategic plan that maximizes your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses. I would urge you to apply a similar process now. You have great strengths. You can raise a lot of money. You have a very warm personality when you turn it loose. You are highly intelligent. The negative side is that you are sometimes so assertive that you anger people. That is the hand you are playing with. Your job at this point is to find the best way to play it.

Brande - You are a little self-effacing, a bit too willing to stand in the shadows while other people lead. Yet I must say that because you are still alive at this point in the season, you have a lot more strength as a leader than you probably recognize. (And therefore, more than other people realize too.) Step into leadership positions more aggressively in the weeks ahead. You have what it takes. But you can’t win by following someone else across the finish line.

Clint - You are a terrific contender with a magnetic personality. Yet you have made some mistakes you need to address if you are to win. Specifically, you have shown that you make bad decisions (as in that All video you made) and shut other people out. Unless you showcase some inclusive people skills in the coming weeks, you will probably not come out as the winner. It’s not complicated - you simply have to show that you possess better people skills. You can do it, but will you?

Jesse - You have been the strong quiet man of the season, with great success. People respect and like you. But if you are going to win the season, you need to do a bit more than that. You need to find a way to not just survive, but score a major success in one task - a high-dollar win. And one more thing. Why not ditch the jeans and flannel shirt for just one week? Granted, Mr. Trump believes in substance over style. But you could add to your credibility by showing just once that you can look like a leader. If you showed up in a suit, you would absolutely wow people.

Joan - You jumped in to save the day with KOTU’s jewelry presentation last week. A few weeks ago, you jumped in to be a great concierge during your team’s hotel project. Yet to show that you are a real leader, you need to step out and show your business and planning skills too. You have built a major career. You have run companies. Now show us how you have done those things. And another thing - reel in your emotions. Mr. Trump admires people with level heads.

Melissa - At this point in the season, you have established yourself as overly emotional. I can’t even point out all the times you have allowed people to see you get upset - times when others have attacked your mother, when you felt that your business skills were not noticed by your teammates, times when you felt that other people were conspiring against you. All that static has made it hard to notice that you have excelled with specific tasks. So now is the time to control your emotions and score several major wins that cannot be missed. If you can accomplish that, there are reasons to be optimistic about your chances of winning.

As I look back at this season, I would also like to say that a few contestants seemed to exit the scene too early. Scott Hamilton seemed like a leader to me. So did Tionne. But good people sometimes fall by the wayside in business earlier than they ought to. Your job in your career is to keep that from happening to you.

One thing for certain is that only one celebrity will be standing when this season ends. And the coming weeks are certain to be very interesting indeed.

Related Training
The No-Money Down CEO

Related:
Find out how you stack up against Donald Trump.
Take The Apprentice Challenge

Yazbeck graduated top of his year with a First Class Honors Degree from Southampton Solent University in England. A British national, he is due to gain dual American Citizenship in 2010.

This Week: Don't Neglect Your Reputation

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:25:00 EST

by Sean Yazbeck

When people start their careers, they don’t have many assets working for them, apart from their appearance, attitude and possibly their education. After they start to work, they begin to build their greatest asset.

You might think that I am referring to experience, but I am not. Because the greatest asset of all is your reputation. It sees you through hard times and saves you when blame is flying around. It is also your most important asset if you are looking for a job. Your experience counts then, true, but not as much as your reputation does. When many people are saying positive things about you, you enjoy a tremendous advantage over others.

So, why am I starting my commentary this week with such a philosophical discourse? Here is the reason:

Only a few of this season’s candidates are building good reputations

Let me share some observations on what the celebrities are doing . . .

Reputation depends on staying true to your word. I was surprised this week when Brian said that he wanted to leave the show - in essence, give up on a commitment that he had made to Donald Trump. Compare that to the action taken by Natalie last week. Mr. Trump asked her if she would like to quit the show so she could go compete in a golf tournament and make more money than she was earning on the show. To her credit, Natalie answered, “I gave you my word that I would do this.” So that is the difference right there. You either honor your commitments or you don’t. Even in today’s rather cutthroat world of business, you word should still be your bond. That is one reason why Natalie is still very much in the running to win this season, despite her youth and thin business background. She does what she says she will do, and that alone puts her ahead of older, more seasoned competitors.

Reputation depends on a good work ethic. Now, the expression “work ethic” sounds a little dated. But it isn’t. Look at Jesse’s performance this week. At one point, he actually had to get out of a car, go into a portable toilet, and throw up. Later in the boardroom, we learned that he had been throwing up often during the course of the competition this week, but that he had worked hard anyway so he would not let his team down. Compare that to the performance of Dennis Rodman a few weeks ago, when he drank too much and then hid in his room with a hangover. Who do you think Mr. Trump would prefer to hire, Jesse or Dennis? So you see, the concept of a work ethic is not so dated after all.

Reputation depends on your ability to deliver. As project manager this week, Brian did a pretty good job of assigning tasks to his team. But then he sat back and relaxed while his people failed to perform. He didn’t supervise work to make sure it was getting done. As a result, a team of carpenters in Brooklyn spent hours waiting for his team’s designs to arrive. So remember that great ideas are nice, but results are much more important as you climb toward success. Potential only counts for so much.

Reputation can’t be built by playing favorites. Every time anyone looks crosswise at Melissa Rivers, her mother Joan goes on the warpath. I wonder if Joan realizes how much harm that is causing to herself and to her daughter. Joan’s own reputation is suffering, and so is Melissa’s. In fact, I sincerely wonder whether Melissa could win this season at this point, simply because her mother has diluted her reputation as someone who has the substance to go it alone.

I was interested to see next week’s task begin midway through this week’s episode. It is the kind of task that really teaches a lot - a simple auction of jewelry selected from Ivanka Trump’s boutique. It will afford the remaining eight candidates a chance to show off their merchandising, marketing and networking skills. I look forward to seeing how it all plays out. We are approaching the season’s end game now, and that is when the real leaders begin to distinguish themselves.

Related Training
The No-Money Down CEO

Related:
Find out how you stack up against Donald Trump.
Take The Apprentice Challenge

Yazbeck graduated top of his year with a First Class Honors Degree from Southampton Solent University in England. A British national, he is due to gain dual American Citizenship in 2010.