The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Creative Versus Corporate: Who Will Win?
Episode 12 Commentary by Donna Emery
December 15, 2005
If you're only as good as your team, then both of these finalists are
doomed.
The episode began with Dawna and Bethenny; waiting up to see which of
the Matchstick candidates would come back to the loft. Both were tired,
but seemed determined to know who their competition would be. Jim was
asleep at the start of their vigil, but joined them while it was in progress. He told them what we in the audience knew: "no one is coming back." He said it like he knew, for sure. And the idea excited Bethenny: she suddenly realized that the Primarius team composed the Final Three of the competition. Exhausted, Dawna decided to go to bed.
The next morning, the team was asked to join Martha at her Connecticut
home. They were told to dress in business suits, and that they would
have a long day. They all complied, and found Martha waiting with four
MSLO executives. They were introduced as Susan (the president of MSLO); Jonathan, who was the head of the retail division; Dale, the creative officer, and Margaret, the editorial director of Martha's publications. Martha told the three that they would be interviewed by the executives, and that this would be their "hardest task".
Jim knew that "everything is at stake". He said that the day of the
interviews was the second most important day of his life (next to his
wedding day). Shown with Susan, the president of MSLO, he was asked if he
had any regrets. When he didn't reply, she assumed this meant he has
none. She reminded him of his comment during dinner, with her and
Charles; about using strategy, and coming to the interviews with the
mindset that he was "playing the game". She said that this concerned her.
Bethenny was very concerned, since she said she had never had a
"corporate" interview before. She said she could only be herself, since
she didn't know how to "act professionally." She identified fellow
finalist Dawna as the strongest from a corporate standpoint, but said she
is the strongest, creatively. She said she was very passionate about
working for Martha.
Dawna told the execs that, unlike Jim and Bethenny, she can "hit the
ground running." She seemed very professional; a welcome contrast from
Jim's brash metaphors of being a "sapling which needs nurturing" and
Bethenny's unpolished realism. At one point, Jim even said he was "the
worst person to work for Martha Stewart," and when the astonished exec
asked for clarification, he said "I am the worst... except for all the
people who applied for the job." I can't say what he was trying to
accomplish with that unorthodox statement, and the executive was clearly
taken aback.
In the conference room, Martha got the executives' opinions. They
unsurprisingly said that Dawna seemed the most professional of the group.
Several of them said she impressed them the most. One of the men said
that her answers seemed "too polished", and another said she was a good
choice; yet, wouldn't offer the company any surprises. They seemed to
mean she wouldn't offer any original or fresh viewpoints.
As Jim waited to hear the executive's verdict, he said that he was
"pretty confident."
Next, the executives turned their opinion to Bethenny. One of the men
said she was the only person he could see working for MSLO. They said
that she was different than Dawna, and that she was a bit manic. One
of them cited her tendency to take jobs from a short-term aspect. She
had worked at several types of jobs, which can either be seen as a
variety of experiences; or an inability to make a commitment. They admired
what they termed as her "scrappiness."
As for Jim, Susan quickly brought up his "strategy," and the men made
the impression even worse; saying that they didn't understand what Jim
was saying. The "sapling which needs to be nurtured" quote came up,
and the execs agreed they didn't have time for that sort of thing. They
said that he might have a lot of creativity to offer MSLO, but Martha
wouldn't be able to rely on him for discretion. One of them commented
that Jim's kind of energy "takes an enormous amount of time" to monitor
and keep harnessed.
Martha thanked the executives; said their comments had been helpful,
and asked for the candidates to come in. She shared the executives'
evaluation with Dawna and Bethenny, and seemed very pleased with them as
prospective employees. But Jim was seen as a "loose cannon." Martha
observed how he had alienated his teammates, and been perceived as
disruptive. She finally concluded that he had "played the game" his way;
but the game would now end, her way. She dismissed him with "the game is
over," and, after a brief pause to let the news sink in, Jim left the
game.
Phew! No more Bozzini until the reunion. Right?
Martha then turned to.....
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