Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Lessons from "The Apprentice"
So, I don't watch "The Apprentice." I cannot stand Donald Trump to be honest. To me he's just a loudmouth blowhard who has made money despite bankrupting companies repeatedly. Smart guy only bankrupts the companies that are public, though, so the shareholders bear the brunt.
I have begun reading, however, the weekly recap of the lessons to be elarned from "The Apprentice", found at the HireDiversity site. Here's this week's lessons.
The lessons I like this week? (Bearing in mind that I have no idea if those lessons were really imparted by the show...I didn't watch it I just read this recap!):
Good behaviors:
-Protecting and supporting your team.
My take: The worst boss I ever had stole credit when things were well and blamed his team when things went poorly. The worst executive I ever worked under refused to hire the best and brightest people because he always needed to be the smartest guy in the room. But I walked away from those experiences learning that choosing a great team reflects well on you. and supporting and promoting your team also reflects well on you, while simultaneously generating loyalty from your team.
-Don't reward bad behavior
My take: Apparently in the context of this episode neither team did well, so both teams paid a price. But I also find this concept reflects how I feel about politics. So many people voted for the devil they knew. So many people don't want to reject the policy they know is bad if they can't be guaranteed something better will replace it. I actually think that's self-defeating. Sometimes you can fire a bad performer without having a replacement or without a guarantee that the replacement will be able to turn things around. but you gotta stop the guy driving you off the cliff.
Bad Behaviors:
-Lots of stuff about how you can't lead if you won't delegate, if you're threatened by your team, if really just want slaves, not contributors.
My take: see my comments on the bad bosses/executives I've observed. 'nuff said.
i may not watch the show. But I do enjoy the HireDiversity.com recap.
I have begun reading, however, the weekly recap of the lessons to be elarned from "The Apprentice", found at the HireDiversity site. Here's this week's lessons.
The lessons I like this week? (Bearing in mind that I have no idea if those lessons were really imparted by the show...I didn't watch it I just read this recap!):
Good behaviors:
-Protecting and supporting your team.
My take: The worst boss I ever had stole credit when things were well and blamed his team when things went poorly. The worst executive I ever worked under refused to hire the best and brightest people because he always needed to be the smartest guy in the room. But I walked away from those experiences learning that choosing a great team reflects well on you. and supporting and promoting your team also reflects well on you, while simultaneously generating loyalty from your team.
-Don't reward bad behavior
My take: Apparently in the context of this episode neither team did well, so both teams paid a price. But I also find this concept reflects how I feel about politics. So many people voted for the devil they knew. So many people don't want to reject the policy they know is bad if they can't be guaranteed something better will replace it. I actually think that's self-defeating. Sometimes you can fire a bad performer without having a replacement or without a guarantee that the replacement will be able to turn things around. but you gotta stop the guy driving you off the cliff.
Bad Behaviors:
-Lots of stuff about how you can't lead if you won't delegate, if you're threatened by your team, if really just want slaves, not contributors.
My take: see my comments on the bad bosses/executives I've observed. 'nuff said.
i may not watch the show. But I do enjoy the HireDiversity.com recap.
// posted by ElisaC @ 8:52 PM 
