University at Albany School of Business

The Josh Report

Episode 6: Dick's Sporting Goods

Tara

13 candidates left in episode 6, this week’s challenge: an interactive sales event for Dick’s Sporting Goods. In the beginning of the episode the teams were drastically re-engineered when Caroline asked each project manager to select the three weakest teammates to be moved to the other team.

As PM of Excel Corporation, Josh carried the confidence and certainty of the original members, which seemed to act as a blinder to the goal of the task: to increase sales. After very little brainstorming, Excel settled on a baseball concept to increase sales at Dicks. The display for their concept was a baseball diamond with a batting cage in the middle of the store, while visually appealing, overshadowed the products. During what might have been a successful event, the team’s efforts focused on teaching baseball to kids instead of increasing sales. In the end, Excel Corporation caused sales to decrease by 34% which one of the teammates deemed “a huge ass kicking in exponential proportions.”

Conversely, Capital Edge came out on top with a 74% boost in sales. Honestly, Capital Edge got lucky in their sport selection: though no one on their team knew anything about golf, they gambled on the popularity of the sport and “winged it.” Alla showed her skill as a cool-headed PM and kept the team on task of converting customers to dollars. Their family golf extravaganza was evidently revenue driven. The reward was of equal stature, a private jet taking the team to East Hampton to go sport fishing in Montauk, and at the end of the day, a lavish feast of fresh seafood.

Meanwhile in the boardroom, a war developed between Josh and Jennifer, each one determined to get the other fired. What I find interesting in all of these boardroom show -downs is that the location of the disconnect becomes clear. Also, during the challenge generally no teammate mentions that they feel they are off task. This ultimately sets the PM up for dismissal.

In a shocking turn of events, Trump executes a boardroom massacre. For the first time, four people were fired from the Apprentice: Josh, Jennifer, Mark, and James. It was, according to Trump, the biggest defeat he has ever witnessed. I have to wonder if it was the luck of the draw and elements of sensationalism that ended in Josh’s demise. I still think that if Josh had waited it out to be PM he could have ended on top.

Episode 5: Sony Pictures Float Prototype

Tara

14 candidates left in episode 5, this week’s challenge: to design a prototype for a parade float for Sony Pictures to advertise the new motion picture, Zathura. In an interesting turn of events, Trump allowed the women to choose one of the men to join their team; they picked Randall. Capital Edge vowed to keep their affairs in the boardroom between themselves in an effort to maintain professionalism. Yet, it is obvious that the team is falling apart regardless of the addition of Randall.

Building a float in a matter of days takes a lot of skill and manpower. Both teams felt the enormity of the task, with little time and much to do, true colors were seen on either side. Markus is still marginalized because Team Excel was hesitant to let him off the leash. When he wasn’t pulling his weight the PM, Brian confronted him. When it was obvious Brian wasn’t making headway, Josh lost his cool and told Markus to “step up or step out.” It’s hard not to feel bad for Markus for being treated like a child but conversely, every time he opens his mouth all that comes out is blistering arrogance.

Although Capital Edge was adamant to cease the bickering, they could not break themselves of old habits. Their lack of unity carries itself through to their lack of common vision leading to lack of strategy which ultimately ended in yet another defeat. The same story unrolled in this week’s episode as another woman was chastised and a showdown ensued in the boardroom yet again. This week it was the spitfire Kristi who went down, even though PM Jennifer’s management skills were questionable, Kristi was just not a team player.

In the end the men were the clear victors in this challenge with a float that was true to the spirit of the movie. The women sadly missed all of the criteria of the task and gave a poorly planned and poorly delivered presentation.

The men’s reward: record a song in the studio with Wyclef Jean. It’s amazing how even after working for hours on end, Team Excel can manage to pull together a successful product: “The Rubble Man”, which I have to admit is a catchy tune.

Episode 4: Dairy Queen Blizzard Character

Tara

15 candidates left in episode 4, this week's challenge: come up with a character that best represents the Dairy Queen Blizzard brand. Capital Edge is off to a rough start with Toral in the spotlight and the majority of the team questioning her ability. The question on everyone's mind: will Toral step up to the plate? When she doesn't take the job as PM, the blonde bomb-squad (Alla, Kristi, and Felisha as PM) takes control and destroy any chance Toral has for regaining respect from the group.

Team Excel on the other hand benefited from remarkable team unity even with tyrant PM Clay leading their way (who was described by some team members as a cross between Napoleon and Hitler). The team had no problem creating a fresh new character, Ginny the Genie who boasted impressive DQ bling. The best part of their presentation was that the character was played by the charming southerner Mark who made quite the transvestite genie. Team Excel has continuously proven that they are not afraid to take chances and can come together as a team to meet the challenge. They have even been able to keep Markus under control.

Capital Edge fell apart with the creation of “Zip” – a ridiculously childish character with little appeal and no reference to the Dairy Queen brand. Toral refused to wear the costume when PM Felisha insists, which further alienated Toral from the team. Though Toral seems to be competent, she is not a team player. To no one's surprise, the men won the challenge again. Their reward: play baseball with the NY Mets at Shea stadium. The women are sent to the boardroom where pettiness ensued. Toral attempts to defend herself by pointing out the politically divisive environment amongst her teammates. To no avail Toral is fired without a blink of the eye and Capital Edge is sent away to pick up the pieces.

Where is the illustrious Josh in this episode? He remains behind the scenes in this one, but I have a feeling he is laying low until he is needed.

“Leadership comes in many shapes and sizes, but ultimately, to ensure the long-term stability and success of any organization, leading with passion and by example will set you up for maximum success.” Wise words from Josh.

Lyle

Capital Edge started week four at a disadvantage because they lost the last task, but sometimes groups work better with fewer people. Unfortunately that did not happen. The task was to create a character for the Dairy Queen's popular blizzard ice cream. Capital Edge was off to a rocky start when Toral refused to become project manager. If I had been told to put in more effort the previous week, I would become project manager. Toral felt she was on the same level as Donald Trump and could do any part of the project she wanted.

Later, Toral refused to wear the character costume of Zip, the character Capital Edge created. The truth was that she felt she was too good to wear the costume that the team designed. The men’s team, Excel, created Genie, which was on style for the typical teenager, incorporating sex appeal, attitude and reality, what today’s average teenager is into – not a giant cartoon character like Zip.

The women also ignored a key factor of marketing: put the name of the company on the character. If Ronald Mc Donald didn't have the trademark M on his uniform he would be nothing more than a regular clown. The girls lost because they failed to realize their market segment.

The guys’ prize was to take the field with the New York Mets and play ball with Mr. Met himself. Toral was fired without even a separate board room meeting because of her half truths and constant belittling of simple jobs such as wearing the costume. Going to Wharton might provide you with a strong education but if your social skills and your ability to doing simple projects are beneath you, you will not succeed in the business world. There are times in which pride should matter and there are times when you should put pride in doing something goofy and foolish to succeed in your overall job.

Episode 3: High-Tech Expo at the Cedar Quest Retirement Community

Tara

16 candidates left in episode 3, the challenge: to introduce technology to the elderly. Team Excel was eager to overcome any obstacles regarding the nefarious Markus and took the challenge head-on by addressing the issue in a team meeting. Markus pledged to “behave himself” this time and try to listen more, talk less. The men went with a “Connecting the Generations” theme with Randall as their project manager, who felt particularly connected to the project due to the recent loss of his grandmother. They used the geek squad t-shirts to show their team cohesion and all in all made great efforts in delivering their service with continuity and ease.

Capital Edge however was off to a rough start when Rebecca returned from their game with the New York Rangers with a broken ankle. Eager to step up to the plate, Rebecca took the role as project manager in an effort to prove she was still in the game. Although Rebecca showed enthusiasm there was no real methodology to the women’s strategy. Capital Edge is facing disparity yet again with a lack of cohesion and vision. Their presentation of service was poorly organized and drab which in turn made the women on the team result to utilizing their attractiveness to satisfy their customers. It was a sad sight indeed.

Needless to say the men won a clear victory in this challenge and were rewarded by Trump giving them thousands of dollars of electronics to bring to a children’s hospital to share with the children. The interesting aspect of this show is that Josh is continuously the voice of reason, he is even featured in solo interviews more often than other candidates. His potential for victory is evident, possibly even foreshadowed.

The women’s team was in an uproar in the boardroom when fingers were pointed at Rebecca for her shortsightedness, Toral for being the weakest link and Jennifer W. for her lack of creativity in event planning. Although it looked as if all fingers would point to Rebecca to be fired, in the end it was Jennifer W. who didn’t make the cut. Trump’s final words about Rebecca were: “This girl is either going to be great or a disaster.”

Episode 2: Lamborghini Ad Campaign

Tara

Our alum Josh was among the17 candidates left in episode 2. The challenge: design a print-ad campaign for the rebirth of the Lamborghini. The spotlight fell on the men's team, Excel, with the hazardous Markus reeking havoc. It is obvious that Markus is not a team player. Unfortunately Chris, the PM for this challenge, did not do a successful job at keeping him in check. The women, Capital Edge seemed to pull it together this time; however there were minor problems with Marshawn's hands-off management style. When it came down to presenting their ideas the women clearly shined above the men. As Linda Kaplan of the prestigious Kaplan Thaler Group stated “Men say it, women feel it.” This was clearly shown in the composition of their ads. The women's reward: Play hockey with the New York Islanders. The men were sent to the boardroom and berated for being overly-confident and short-sighted. Trump gave PM Chris options for redemption but Chris was focused on a show-down between himself and Markus. Meanwhile, the cool calm and collected Josh maintains his role as silent leader, providing his honest opinion when asked. As a side note: Was it irony or a marketing ploy that a taxi advertising “Yahoo Hot Jobs” picked up Chris as he left the building?

Episode 1: Bally’s Total Fitness Challenge

Lauren

I thought Josh started out really well with the first task. He was selected to ride in the chopper because he was from the city and knew how to get around. This episode showed a lot of his testimonials, and he seems to have a good grasp on how to make money. I can tell already that he does not agree with Mark, which will probably cause some conflict, so that is something to look out for. I also predict that he will soon become a project manager.

Lyle

As season four begins we already see that we are in for more than ever expected before. Donald Trump himself has hand picked who will be on this season's show. This season the teams will be divided by gender, and we will see which team can better work as a group. The men's team, Excel, was off to a good start but not a great start. The reason for this was their project manager (PM), Markus, could not make a decision if his life depended on it. Markus was constantly looking for leadership from the group instead of providing it to the group. Josh made a point by saying that, "Mr. Trump would never ask his employees if he was doing a good job." Even though Excel only won by eleven dollars, it was still a win and that kept them out of the boardroom. When Mr. Trump asked if Markus deserved immunity for the next challenge there was not a majority in favor of it. In the past the PM would receive immunity or a free pass on the next task. Josh explained that he would support immunity only if the project manager was a major contributor to the success of the task, which Markus was not.

Tara

The season is off to a running start as Trump’s handpicked candidates compete in an interesting new arena: Men vs. Women. It is evident from the start that there are going to be exciting dynamics unfold between the candidates. Both teams took an interesting approach to the problem: to design a fitness plus class for Bally’s Total Fitness Center . Team Excel (men) headed by self elected and self important inventor, Markus held a competitive advantage by being able to choose which location of Bally’s first. The men focused their efforts on existing members which ensured their win over the women. Team Capital Edge lead by the young and energetic Kristi, seemed to struggle to focus. The team’s marketing strategy, centered on their class concept, “Triple Threat” with the letters XXX (implying, although not intentionally, “adult” content) seemed to fall short of the team’s expectations. Melissa, the snappish and rude real estate investor was the first one to criticize the team’s efforts. Needless to say even after trying to win over the women and rally them against Kristi, Melissa was fired. After all the drama and competition unveiled in the first episode, the shining star and voice of reason was none other than Josh, SUNY Albany’s successful alumni. Keep your eye on him; he has the modesty and effortless authority that could win him the game.