Yes, speaking as a current resident of the Capital of the Confederacy, we, like the Colonials, tried to tell the government: “You’re fired.”

However, for us, it didn’t work out quite as well.

Good point about the Civil War being more far more viscerally dramatic — culminating in the death of the father/king figure. It was also huge by comparison to the Revolutionary war — more than half a million dead. And was the first war to employ the new tools of mechanized warfare (although the strategies will Napoleonic marching columns — a bad combination). And gave us a far more powerful, centralized federal government. (Never get someone from the South started talking about the Civil War.)

David

Y’know, as a Canadian, I’m always fascinated at the rabidity of the people interested in the Civil War (In the US) and the relative indifference to the Revolutionary war.

But when you think about it, it makes sense. The Civil war pitted Brother and Family against Brother and Family. The Revolutionary war was just a war against an overseas nation with bad food.

-Phil

One thing I’ve learned from you is to look beneath the surface of things to the underlying marketing and psychological lessons. //

In the case of The Apprentice, I think perhaps the real lessons are beneath the somewhat pre-meditated, manipulated — and skewed by being performed in front of national television — actions of both Donald and the participants. //

The real lessons are being given to us each week by a fellow named Mark Burnett — developer and producer of both Survivor and The Apprentice. Obviously, he’s giving people what they want, so why not look at what they’re getting and see what it is they want. Conflict. Drama. Emotion. Falls from grace. Ego. The mythology of tribes and leaders and contests and even a king — the Donald. (Burnett admits to having been influenced by Campbell’s work on mythology and the Hero’s Journey. And one contestant, interviewed after she was fired, said she didn’t learn diddly from Donald. But she learned a ton from Burnett.) //

Richard Branson was the anti-Donald. He supported his contestants and hugged them and shared their pain when they weren’t chosen to go on (nobody got “fired”). A lesson here, perhaps, in what interests people and our fascination with ultimate events (birth, death, firing), and what it takes for an audience to find you and your competition “interesting” enough to survive in the ratings? //

Lesson beneath the surface #2, I think, does come from Donald himself, and has to do with branding and publicity and how you get someone to PAY YOU to publicize yourself and your products (and real estate ventures — and add value to your name when it attaches to those ventures). And what it takes to stand out from the crowd in a big way. //

Now Al Swerengen on Deadwood — there’s a man we could all learn from when it comes to business building, management, marketing, and understanding people deeply and giving them what they want. //

David D.

I despise the corporate situation in this country. unless your a memeber of the lucky sperm club like trump. The deck is stacked against you. A Degree from a good school cost someone like 200,000 dollars now . A bachelors doesn’t even gurentee them a job. Then to get anywhere once you are in a job. a person constantly has to be taking more and more courses.

So people spend 15 years paying back college loans. While they work 60 hours a week in a high tension office. Spending 80 percent of that time doing stuff that wastes their talent . For a company that will probably not be there in five years .

Books smarts isn’t all bad. Some people have no sence to be anything but book smart. The problem is the world is changing so fast the book are full of outdated information.

As far as the bully billionair. I think when the next real estate down turn hits. He might not be lucky enough to get out of disaster a second time. Now that he is makeing himself the real estate king. I Think there is a possabilty he will end up infront of a judge . With the fed finding him guilty of something

when things are good the public wants heros. When things goes bad the heros get beheaded.

Ken O

Personally I think the show encourages the Jerry Springer mentality among the contestants, forcing them to gang up on one-another. Surely not the best way to go in the business world.

But I guess in the end the “business” is really about entertainment.

John

Trump¬¥s “success” is mostly an illusion which could fall apart a second time whenever the bankers decide they have had enough of his arrogance.

As for the corporate b.s. - same applies whenever 3 or more come together to do biz ness!

Trump seems to have a very sad life as I see it. Where is the love? And without love (not ego) there can be little happiness.

I think he could have real success if he could express the love locked inside him - think of what he could then achieve for himself and others.

It bothers me when I see some top marketers telling people to watch the show becuase there’s so much to learn. Baloney, the more I watch, the worse the ‘lessons’ get. In general, Trump is a pompous, overated egotist, who does seem to enjoy watching the gladiators kill each other. AND, his boasting is enough to drive a person nuts..ie; “The biggest, the most expensive, the tallest, the most famous, blah, blah, blah..”

I’m waiting for the episode where Trump tours his weekly winners through that gargoyle-infested ridiculously gaudy penthouse condo of his and finally reaches the gold plated executive size toilet and exclaims; “I has the strongest SUCTION in all of Manhattan!”

Lately, I find it even funnier to watch the senior suck-ups (Carolyn and George) react to Trump’s proclamations…Most predictable painful corporate BS you can imagine.

(example: Trump; “I really had no choice” ..Carolyn; “Yes, you really had no choice..” and George, “yes, you didn;t have any choice”)

I guess he didn’t have any choice.

I was astonished at how polite Bren was… remember, he was a PROSECUTOR. These are, usually, some of the nastiest I-enjoy-inflicting-pain type personalities I’ve ever seen.

I’m still, astonished at how BAD the marketing/sales decisions are on this show. Anyone reading this blog could whip every contestant in a heartbeat.

PS: Didja notice Trump’s gloating over Branson and Cuban?

Their team deserved to lose this week because they ignored the market.

Is it me, or does this season’s Apprentice candidates seem more bottom of the barrel than the previous seasons?

John