Celebrity Apprentice:
Lessons Learned from Episode Three

Trump University

Episode Summary:

Mr. Trump asked Gene if he wanted to leave the Hydra team to become project manager for the women of Empresario this week. Gene eagerly agreed and proclaimed himself "The king of all women." At Hydra, the men picked Tito to lead their team because of his solid performance over the last two weeks.

For this week's task, the teams created marketing events in Airstream trailers to promote Kodak's new Easyshare photo printer. Two Kodak executives would pick the winning promo for its originality, brand messaging - and strong printer sales on promotion day.

At Empresario, Gene announced that his reign would be a "benevolent dictatorship." Next, he refused to attend a vital briefing with the Kodak judges. He was convinced that he had already created the perfect promotional tagline - "It's a Kodak World" - and he did not want to be swayed to give it up. Only Nely and Carol from the team went to the meeting with the Kodak execs, which left them puzzled and slightly miffed.

Meanwhile, all the men of Hydra met with the Kodak judges. They asked questions and learned that Kodak wanted to trumpet the message that the Easyshare printer uses very little ink and produces prints of exceptionally high quality. So the men decided to showcase Lennox and Tito in a promotion built around the theme that Kodak printer ink will "knock you out."

At Empresario, the women grumpily lined up behind Gene's "Kodak World" theme. And the men of Hydra had some problems of their own. Disaster struck them when Stephen, who was clowning around, spilled a cup of coffee into the team's laptop. That destroyed all their plans and they rushed off to an all-night printing shop to get their signs produced overnight.

On the day of the promotion, Gene strutted cockily around their Airstream. He was confident that his "Kodak World" concept, presented through colorful banners, would triumph. In contrast, Hydra's shoddy signs were literally falling off their trailer. But the judges selected Hydra as the winner anyway, because the team had delivered Kodak's message. Plus, the men had generated $2,000 more through printer sales.

In the boardroom for the firing, Gene maintained that his promotion had really won, because he was smarter than the Kodak executives. But that display of hubris did not carry any weight with Mr. Trump. He fired Gene.

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This week's episode taught great lessons about creativity in business. Let's take a closer look.

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Nely talked too much during her briefing with the Kodak execs and alienated them. Meanwhile the men of Hydra quietly listened, absorbed what they heard - and delivered exactly what the judges asked for. No wonder they won!

Success Lesson

Listening is more powerful than talking. When you open your ears and your mind, you empower yourself to give people what they want. That's a powerful way to build your success.

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When Stephen spilled a cup of coffee into Hydra's laptop, he destroyed his team's graphics and concepts.

Success Lesson

Always back up your data. If Hydra had simply kept handwritten notes about their plans, that would have saved the day.

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Gene was so assured of his own brilliance that he overlooked critical details. He didn't even learn the name of the product he was promoting! Worse yet, he considered that detail beneath him. In his view, everyone needed to stand in awe of his genius, which outshone everything else.

Success Lesson

A bloated ego will sink your career. Of course you are smart. But use your intelligence to advance your team and your organization.

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What will happen next week? Can Nely survive a third week after a string of erratic performances? She's on a slippery slope. Will a strong leader emerge from the ranks of the women, who now seem rudderless? It looks like Tito will emerge as Hydra's strongest player, but we won't know until next week. See you there!

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