I was watching the Irish version of the Apprentice on TV3 last night (episode 9) where the last five contestants in 2 teams were set a challenge to prepare a presentation on Microsoft’s video conference software and subsequently to sell the product to the attendees.  In the board room afterward Bill Cullen (Ireland’s version of Alan Sugar or Donald Trump) slated the team’s performance for a lack of creativity and not making an effort by daring to be different. 

However, the show mirrored the reality in many organizations where the desire to be creative is overtaken by the fear of being foolish particularly in front of an unforgiving boss (not to mention the viewing public !).  We talk a lot about letting people make mistakes and learn from them but in reality we place constraints on being original.  The exact behavior Bill Cullen was trying to find was being suppressed by his own board room behavior.

In previous episodes participants are given feedback on what went wrong and told what they should put right for the future. They were then sent on their way to apply this new found wisdom.  The basic lesson however is don’t let it happen again. At no point do they receive genuine coaching on how to improve or really change their approach.  So is it surprising that they do not show creativity by the end of the series!

In the series some earlier attempts to be creative saw one team put on a stage show dressed as the cartoon characters Rhubarb & Custard as part of a sales pitch. This did not go well but participants learned from this not to try something different again rather than how to try something different.  Last night both teams sought to avoid another Rhubarb and Custard incident.  Coaching creativity is an important consideration for organizations to avoid a creativity crumble.

Did anyone else find The Apprentice a little boring this week? Though I wasn’t Breffny Morgan’s biggest fan (I thought he was a gobshite) I think I missed him this week.

This weeks episode had a curiously bland quality to it, a simple enough task for someone who was capable of a smidgen of creativity, and two teams that, for the most part got on well, with any mishaps simply being recorded as differences of opinion rather than what the public wanted to see which was a full blown argument. With dismemberment. Ahem.

But anyway, just when tonight’s episode seemed to be moving dangerously close to disinterest for me as a viewer, Aoiffe saved the day. Launching into a back-seat rant about Geraldine (Eliza Doolittle), she offered the one and only moment of real human behaviour in the episode. The two teams interactions with each other were boring. I’ve been involved in college groups that have been more volatile than them.

So it came down to Aoiffe to put a bit humanity into the episode, and to be fair, she has been doing so since the beginning. She’s been realistic as a human being. She’s acted like a normal person. If we don’t like someone, we’ll have an oul’ bitch about them.

The Apprentice, at the end of the day is reality TV, with not much reality. Granted, it’s set up with a few frills so those of us who refuse to watch the tripe, generic RTV like Big Brother can convince ourselves that “this is reality TV with substance”.

The candidates are cast. There’s no way that out of the whole country, the 14 that started in the house were the most promising individuals. Breffny was cast for comic relief, which he delivered admirably, saying exactly the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place, (“You can take it with you when you’re drink-driving”) Aoiffe and Geraldine were always going to be set up as an example of the Upper-Lower class dichotomy, and to be fair, their stormy rapport was probably the most entertaining aspect of the series so far. That and Breffny, of course.

So with 4 weeks left, Lucinda, Steve, Stephen and Geraldine remain in the competition. Lucinda, I like. She seems the strongest candidate to me, a good all-rounder, she seems to be able to generate a plan straight away and work to it. Lacking a bit in creativity alright but then after Sam, it doesn’t surprise me that the remaining group are a bit wary of being interesting in presentations.

English Steve is a one-trick pony, albeit, he is the equivalent of a pony that can walk on its front legs while serving champagne off a tray on his back legs, but still just a pony.

Stephen the red-head, well we don’t really know a lot about him do we? If Breffny was the one to use nine lives, Stephen has managed to be in teams which didn’t require him to use lives. I suppose it’s a testament to him that he’s stayed out of the boardroom for the most part, he must be doing something right. But he’s incredibly bland, isn’t he?

Geraldine, I don’t like. Simple as that. I think she’s spoofed her way through a good few of the tasks, and I reckon her saving grace so far has been her “inner city” charm which Bill has naturally taken to, it being so close to his own heart.

At this point, I see Lucinda in the last two. And despite what I’ve said, I think Stephen Higgins may be there aswell. The other two will be fired, Steve for his one dimensional attitude, and Geraldine because, as Bill put it tonight, she’s done nothing more than be a runner.

I’ll stick with the series to see who wins. But I doubt I’ll enjoy it as much now that the human factor (apologies to Graham Greene) has left the building.

I’ve always hated that Donald Trump appropriated “For the Love of Money” for his show, The Apprentice. Written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Anthony Jackson, the song is a rebuke, with lyrics derived straight from the bible, against the evils of greed and materialism. Trump used it as a celebration and an affirmation of the love and worship of money. Ugh… Reminds me of how right-wingers flocked to Bruce Springsteen and his “Born in the USA” for all the wrong reasons.

I hope the right people still own that song…

If you wanna know who was the genius behind that opening bass guitar riff throughout this song, it is this guy, Anthony Jackson, now 57, based in New York City. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about how that sound actually came about.

Jazz bassist Anthony Jackson performing bathed in blue light; it is his bass riff that sounds throughout the iconic O'Jays' song, "For the Love of Money" (Courtesy: Epifani.com)

Anthony Jackson played bass guitar on the song. One day during fall 1973 (when Jackson was 21), producer/keyboardist Leon Huff was leading the members of the MFSB rhythm section and Jackson through a rehearsal. Sigma Sound Studios owner/engineer Joe Tarsia noticed that Jackson had a wah-wah pedal attached to his Fender Precision bass. Tarsia decided to run Jackson’s bassline through a phaser, giving it a swishing sound and later mixed in echo. During the final mixing of the track, Kenny Gamble impulsively reached over to the echo button and added echo to Jackson’s opening riffs.

Even though “For The Love of Money” is over seven minutes long, it was given heavy airplay in the early Seventies, both long and short versions, on black soul as well as white stations. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard R&B list and at No. 9 on the Billboard Singles chart in 1974. It is included in the O’Jays’ Ship Ahoy theme album, which charted No. 11 that year on the Billboard 200.

[...] The second single, “For The Love of Money,” is a protest against materialism with a groove that Rolling Stone described as “downright orgiastic”. The song was written around a bass line composed by Anthony Jackson, which in 2005 Bass Player Magazine described as “landmark.” Bass Player went on to note that the song has “become one of the most recycled singles ever, sampled continually by rappers, and appearing on over 75 compilation CDs, numerous movie soundtracks…

In other words, Anthony Jackson’s bass line for “For The Love of Money” ranks with that of Motown Funk Brother Robert White’s easily recognizable bass track for “My Girl.”

Jackson continues to perform singly and variously with other jazz musicians. He started out on the piano and worked his way to the bass guitar. He plays bass and his own invention, the six-string, or contrabass guitar. His influences are Motown mainstay James Jamerson whose performances made him pick up the bass; Oliver Messaien, the French composer, and Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane. Of Casady, Jackson said to Bass Player Magazine, “Casady, whom I’d first heard on Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow album in late 1966, had a big, rich, metallic sound with a full bottom and a curious, guitaristic way of playing that I was immediately drawn to. When I saw him perform live, I was struck by his dignity and serious mien.”

Hmmm. Those psychedelic types do have presence, I guess.

The O’Jays are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame–almost all of them: Walter Williams, Bobby Massey, William Powell and Eddie Levert. Unfortunately, their induction wasn’t all that appreciated by the surviving members of the group–I believe they were introduced by Justin Timberlake, of all people. In addition, one of the original members, Bill Isles, was not inducted at the same time, but the replacement for the deceased William Powell, Sammy Strain, was. Very strange. Very, very strange. Some people may not be getting things right.

They are a trio now: Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, and Eric Grant. They still perform live; their last album, Imagination , was produced in 2004.

Enjoy…

Comeindustrial, the leading manufacturers of sex toys in America and Asia have revealed Apprentice star and expert rower Breffny Morgan will become the new ‘face’ of the company in Ireland. CEO of Comeindustrial’s Irish operations Mark Farrell said he was delighted with the acquisition of the ‘Breffmeister’. ‘Having Breffny’s penis cast for a vibrator-dildo two piece set represents a step forward into the Irish market for us which we have previously lacked’.

The penetration into the marketplace offered by Mr Morgan’s celebrity will mean his penis cast can help us burrow deep into what is an increasingly lucrative market. He will also be the first Harvard graduate to have his penis cast, in what is expected to stand as a monument to penises from Harvard, where business brains meet balls of epic proportions. Mr Farrell went on to discuss how successful he expects the vibrator-dildo set to be: “We usually reserve penis casting for porn stars but pre-order sales of ‘the Breffmeister’ have even eclipsed previous sales of the Ron Jeremy penis cast”.

When asked by Not the News Ireland if Mr. Farrell saw this as the beginning of a beautiful relationship with Mr. Morgan he seemed optimistic. “We are most certainly looking into the possibility of having a full ‘Breffmeister’ range. Using his impressive sexual prowess and history we see his input into nipple clamps, gimp masks and bondage as integral to Comeindustrial’s future here in Ireland. Breffny may prove to be the lubrication we need to push through into the mainstream sex toy market.”

Mr. Farrell remained tight lipped when pressed as to the dimensions of the product: “Let’s just say”, Mr. Farrell giddily stated, “there were cries of ‘we’ll need a bigger cast!’ around the office”. It is still unconfirmed as to whether the vibrator-dildo two-piece set will carry the slogan ‘This will make the battle of Normandy look like a game of paintball’.

The Irish Independent (‘Let’s hope TV3’s ratings success forces RTÉ to step up its game’ – 12th November 2009) reports that RTÉ2’s light entertainment shows have been suffering in the ratings war as The Republic of Telly had an audience of 113,000 and Karl Spain Wants to Rock with 67,000 viewers last week.

The same week, 333,000 viewers on RTÉ1 watched Pat Kenny being lambasted by a member of the audience on Frontline, now a Youtube hit. TV3 enjoyed success with The Apprentice and The Apprentice – Your Fired netting a 493,000 and 297,000 audience respectively. Interestingly in the latter programme the fired contestant, Ruth, failed to show up.

I agree with John Boland, when he states that some of the home entertainment shows ‘have been wretched’.  It seems a half-hearted attempt by the national broadcaster spending the licence payer’s money on shows that don’t attract ‘the younger audience they so desperately crave’. RTÉ2 is out of touch with its chosen demographic.  If a show on an American network received a rating of 67,000 viewers it would be quickly dumped. 

That said TV3 seem intent on tried formulas taken in from abroad as Deal or No Deal hosted by the magician Keith Barry starts tonight, although it has upped its home-produced shows such as Tonight with Vincent Price and Midweek. Hopefully, TV3’s new two-part crime drama series The Guards will help TV3 improve its success when it comes to air in February 2010.

TV3's Apprentice

The Apprentice is on TV3 again tonight. I’ve been half watching it this year having never watched it or anything of its ilk before.  It is hilarious television in a jaw-droppingly frustrating way. They’ve obviously copied and pasted the reality TV formula in which teams of desperately thick people with delusions of intellectual grandeur fail miserably at simple tasks while we – the viewers – sit there, stunned at their ability to bicker over the tiniest and most insignificant details in an attempt at some sort of corporate posturing. It’s been delightfully funny to watch every contestant brag about how they’re “very creative” when the evidence – their team name choices in the first episode, or the charity product ideas in a recent task, for example – seem to hint at the fact that, between them, they have all the creativity of a ham sandwich. And then, oh yes, then the judges. Bill and your one with the botched face-lift go for the “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” approach. If they chose A, they should have chosen B. If they went left, they should have gone right. If they made a fortune, they should have lost it all. Brilliant. It’s all about keeping up the negativity while the other fella contributes periodical “Pfffft!”-s.

Is there some sort of modern fetish for television where people (who used to go to college with my friend’s sister’s flatmate’s ex-boyfriend’s cousin’s optician!) are berated for their dull attempts at scheming, cooking, singing or whatever it is the show purports to be based on. I fear that it’s a matter of time before our education system gets an overhaul and reduces the Leaving Cert to a 10 minute audition in front of three faux-celebrity judges behind a desk. This seems to be what everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to see these days. The X Factor juggernaut (though I’m proud to say I haven’t watched it either) seems to peddle the same concept but with occassional teary-eyed support for whichever act is put forward as the greatest performer ever to grace God’s green earth for long enough that they claim the Christmas number 1. They also seem to scale up the Winning Streak-style banner-waving lunacy by about a billion times.

What’s my point? I don’t have a point. I don’t have to. We live in a country where David McWilliams is rewarded for the monstrosity of awful television that was Addicted to Money with the job of being the new permanent host of The Panel. Do RTÉ have an obligation to people like him to keep trying new things until they find something, anything at all that he’s good at? Or are they just so god-damn lazy, that they can’t look beyond the personality-vaccuum in their own staff canteen for new talent?

I’m emigrating to a place where they don’t know the meaning of the word Jedward.

Recently I have found myself watching more and more television. Some of them are great shows and some are just guilty pleasures. I’m sharing them here in the hopes that I’m not alone and to see who else likes the same…and what I am missing out on

The Apprentice – a Monday evening must especially with the Live Blog on Culch.ie when possible, I love this show. Breff-ny, Breff-ny, Breff-ny. He started out as a gombeen but seems to have won some people over this week, myself included…:D

Location, Location, Location – I don’t know why I love this programme so much, it is probably an inherent nosiness of getting to see into so many lovely different houses, apartments, flats, conversions, cottages. Kirsty and Phil are both lovely of course too but I think it really is the amount of potential and inspiration for when I have the financial capability to move myself. Til then I can do it vicariously through the buyers on LLL.

Four Weddings – definitely in the ‘guilty pleasures’ box! In case you haven’t seen it, Four Weddings follows the same format as Come Dine With Me and is made by the same people. Four brides come together and attend each others weddings, scoring the food, venue, overall presentation, dress, etc. The winner and new husband receive a honeymoon of a lifetime, usually to somewhere in the Caribbean. As the viewer you get to look in on four different weddings, listen to what they all have to say about each other (yes, there can be a lot of bitching!) and just to marvel at the different things people think are ‘inspired’ for their wedding. Like the couple who took off from their reception in a sports car. To the local nightclub for more dancing!

House – well, I’m still ploughing my way through season five, I had given up on House a bit. But I have a new found love for him. Having seen the ads on tv for season six, I can’t wait to get through them all. His caustic, intelligent wit never cease to amaze and delight.

The Tudors – well ok, I only started to watch it after I was an extra on the show earlier in the summer so I am still firmly in Series One. It is looking very promising though and absolutely something I can see myself settling down to on a long winter evening for some candlelight, feasts, dances and lots of naked flesh-mostly Jonathan Rhys Meyers if we’re honest

Grey’s Anatomy – one of my absolute favourites at the moment is Grey’s Anatomy. I didn’t watched it from the very beginning but it was part way through series one. I love this programme. I went off it a bit when Izzy ‘killed’ her husband trying to get him a new heart and all that but got back into it in a big way afterwards and I have been a firm fan since. Season Six has been great so far and I tentatively wait to see every new episode with bated breath and tissues at the ready!

Anything I have missed? Anything there you think is absolute tripe?

From TV’s “Celebrity Apprentice.”

As a virgin entrepreneur who has struggled to raise finance although having a creditable business plan, I find Lord Sugar’s comments about frustrated entrepreneurs living in “Disney World” hurtful and disappointing given his position as the Government’s Enterprise Tsar and given that the vast majority of enterprises in the UK have less than 250 employees.

It is unfortunate, but Lord Sugar’s role is no longer tenable and he should resign or be fired as would befit someone on his television show “The Apprentice.”

See it’s all about the chocolate this week! Cadburys want you to design a new Cadbury Dairy Milk wrapper with an Irish theme. The best five wrappers will go to a public vote on this website in January 2010. If everyone loves it you’ll win €10,000 and see your wrapper in shops across Ireland. If nobody loves it: you’re fired!

What you use to design your wrapper is up to you: draw it, paint it, stencil it, paste it, photograph it, stitch it, knit it or do it on a computer. It’s all up to you so the €10,000 is yours to win or lose.

There are three ways to enter:
1. Pick up a leaflet in your nearest store, cafe or college campus. Design your wrapper using the template on the back, then post it to: Cadbury Apprentice Promotion, 6 Ely Place, Dublin 2, or scan it and submit it below.
2. Download and print the template then post your design to the address above.
3. Design your wrapper in the Cadbury Studio and submit it on and submit it online.

For more information or to enter online, go to http://theapprentice.cadbury.ie/

This video may contain content unsuitable for younger children.

For our ICT lesson on wednesday we watched the apprentice. Season one, week two. There are two teams which battle off against each other to be the best, and for one person to win an apprenticeship with Sir Alan Sugar

This episode showed a clear winner of a team, with the men’s group rising above the females, to what I can only explain as the ‘worst representation of a women’s team’. Women are meant to be the better communicators however this did not show through, and Lindsey, whose job was a ‘Communication’s Manager’, seemed to show the least understanding of communication and managing which resulted with being fired, much to her surprise!

For a start there was two very bad ideas out of three. One was a potential death trap for kids, encouraging them to play with electricity; the other was these cards which you would then establish meanings to them, so children did not need to even speak. The third was the robot that you could smash and rebuild. So Lindsey, the ‘amazing’ team leader decided to go for the cards. But goodness I thought women were meant to have a ‘motherly’ quality about them.

This sparked controversy between the women’s team and made a team member resign from the team and sit back and watch it sink. This showed a pure lack of teamwork. Showing that we, as a team, need to voice our opinions in a clear way and listen as much as we talk.

I can’t defend Lindsey’s actions as team leader however Raj, the other leader of the males group did prove to be a very good leader, he was open to opinions and provided constructive criticism, praise and commendation. “Your idea’s are better then mine” really lifted the team’s spirit. I could see a lot of our team within the males team. Maybe that is because our team is mainly males except me, and guy’s have a simpler way of communicating, or if its just peoples skills matched well. Everyone has had a go at team leader, and I did not have one problem with any leader, everyone worked, no one argued and everyone wasn’t afraid to speak up about their opinions. I feel that we are a very good team together. Many in our team have created good idea’s like the interactive timeline on our DVD.

‘The apprentice’ showed us a good team and a poor team, the teamwork and also some of the standard ways of creating and managing a project. All in all it was very interesting program which showed and displayed qualities to avoid or to copy so that we can become an even better team.

The format of reality TV show The Apprentice will be altered so that contestants will get a more realistic apprenticeship experience according to the show’s head honcho, business magnate Sir Alan Sugar. 

The new series will still feature aspiring young businessmen and women, each competing to win a £10, 000 per annum job with one of Sir Alan’s companies.  However, rather than embarking on a series of projects, where each contestant is judged on his/her profit making and project-management abilities, hopefuls will instead be given apprenticeships with a number of blue-collar businesses. 

Contestants will be split along gender lines, with the men being allocated work placements at an air-conditioning duct fabricators in Uttoxeter – an environment equally as challenging as any high-flying business enterprise according to Sir Alan.  ‘They’ll be put through their paces, that’s for sure.’ claims the formidable entrepreneur.  ‘They need to prove to me that they can survive this challenging environment.’

The wannabe tycoons can look forward to a series of gruelling apprenticeship tasks, including being sent to the stores to ask for a ‘long weight’.  They will then be judged on how ‘long’ they ‘wait’ before they notice that the storeman is laughing at them.  Those that survive the first sacking will then be exposed to a similar process involving a glass hammer, sky hooks and left-handed screwdrivers. 

A number of small, tedious and repetitive jobs such as sweeping the workshop floor, cleaning the cutting press and polishing the foreman’s car also awaits them, weeding out contestants one by one.  The final pair will then battle it out in gruelling initiative test in which their steel-toecap boots are welded together while their toolboxes are dipped in the galvanising tank, tools and all.  Finally they will be held down by two burly duct fitters while Big Mandy from the canteen paints their genitals with a mixture of engineer’s marking blue and Swarfega. 

Meanwhile the girls will also be having a tough time of it at Cindy’s Beauty Parlour, Maidenhead, where a relentless regime of hair sweeping and tea-making is on the menu.  Successful candidates will then be required to demonstrate their shorthand and touch-typing skills at a local temping agency. 

At long last a single plucky winner will emerge triumphant and will proudly take his or her place at Sir Alan’s side.  This remarkable individual will be able to hold their head up high as Sir Alan utters those immortal words: ‘I’m sorry but we can’t afford to keep you on full-time – you’re fired.’

(Written 9 Mar 2009)

Grey’s Anatomy is starting to sound like The Apprentice.

Every week it’s someone getting “You’re fired.”

Good news everybody! Tonight on BBC1, starting at 11:20 PM, there’s a new series of The Apprentice USA! Hooray! Release the balloons!

Really though, everybody should be excited about this. It’s a tremendous programme. Think about The Apprentice UK, and then crank the ridiculous up to maximum. And crank the actual point of the series up to maximum as well. You see, whereas here in the UK, the eventual winner ends up with some daft prize like colouring in liquorice allsorts or trying to flog the latest Amstrad product (‘It’s a briefcase AND a pen!’), from what I’ve seen of the last few series of The Apprentice USA, the winner actually gets to build a giant tower block of their own, or construct a casino, something impressive like that. I’m fairly sure that Tim, one of the former winners of The Apprentice UK, got the reward of having to market a toothbrush, which is hardly comparable.

“It’s a toothbrush… AND a pen!”

“What? So I’m scribing on my teeth?”

“AS YOU CLEAN THEM! YES! … Hello?”

What also makes The Apprentice USA so brilliant is the presence of Donald Trump himself. People here seem to assume that Alan Sugar is some kind of brilliant maverick, but they probably just haven’t been witness to the insanity of Donald Trump, in which the boardroom scenes are basically just an opportunity for him to play some kind of demented buckaroo, seeing how far he can push things before he gets wheeled off to a home. There have been weeks where he’s decided to fire everybody, and indeed, one week it just became like watching a reinactment of the Stalinist purges, where one person up for a firing said that they thought another member of their team was crazy (who wasn’t even in the boardroom, and there was absolutely no evidence to suggest she was crazy in the slightest), before Donald Trump then summoned her from the safety of the mythical ‘I’ve not been fired yet’ house, and fired her based on this piece of fiction, letting everybody else go free. He’s a maniac. Apparently there’s 15 episodes in this series, though it’ll probably only take 3 until everybody’s been fired and Donald Trump has to craft himself some kind of Pinocchio-esque apprentice out of the boardroom table to make the whole thing seem worthwhile. It should be fun though.

I also went and watched The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus yesterday. I thought it was good. A magical film. That’s my review, so expect to see that on the front of the DVD when it’s eventually released.

Now I am going to go and try to prepare a stand-up set, as I might do a gig tomorrow, and maybe eat some noodles whilst I’m there. Both fun activities. Bye.

Last night I finally finished reading Jacques Pepin’s autobiography ‘The Apprentice; My Life In the Kitchen’.  In getting through the final two chapters, as i was reading I found myself smiling more and more. Have you ever smiled so much that it actually hurt a little bit?  I have never read anything that really touched on how I feel about food and reflects my exact opinions.

“I am not a skittish eater.  While I enjoy the esoteric, refined food of the great restaurants, I eat that food only occasionally.  My everyday tastes tend to a fare of roast chicken, braised pork, sauteed whiting, and tomato salad.  I love chocolate desserts and custards and… large, bluish, juicy cherries… and apricots… still warm from the summer sun and sticky with natural sugar and ripeness.  I like copious glasses of wine with my food and I do not like to eat alone.  I need family and friends to enjoy the dishes and the pleasure of dining.”

I understand what he was saying and I couldn’t agree more.  I love great food and all, but to me nothing makes me happier than the simplest of dishes(hence the previous blog of meatloaf).  It is fun to experiment and try new things but most of the time at the end of the day nothing beats a simple roasted chicken seasoned simply with oil, salt, and pepper.  Serve that with Mashed or roasted potatoes and simple sauteed vegetables, a nice bottle of wine(red or white whichever), and finish all that with a small dish of chocolate ice cream or whatever you like.  That is so simple but if shared with someone you love it becomes a truly great experience.

Thanks again Jacques!

Keep cooking!

Tarek Saab took a moment out of his busy schedule for an October interview in honor of Catholic Speaker Month. According to his online bio at Saabstories.com, Saab is president of T. Saab Media and the co-founder and president of GoldandSilverNow, a gold and silver bullion company. In 2005, he co-founded Lionheart Apparel, a Christian clothing line, and he remains a minority owner in the business.  He was a contestant during season five of the Donald Trump reality television show, The Apprentice, and he wrote the book Gut Check: Confronting Love, Work, and Manhood, which is in its fifth print cycle.

Claudia: Out of your varied experiences on The Apprentice, in business, and as an author, might you say anything about how you have relied on your faith as a Catholic?

Tarek: It is really difficult to pinpoint. It’s like asking when I have relied on breathing. Faith is to the soul what breathing is to the body; it’s as though we only become aware of its necessity when it is taken away or when facing tremendous hardship. It’s not like we rely on it less at all other times. That said, my faith was a great consolation to me on The Apprentice. The pressure, the uncommon relationships, the artificial circumstances, the overnight fame – they all were tremendously challenging to my soul.  Praying the rosary was a great comfort.

CB: Your interests range from business, to science, to writing, to… you name it!  How do you keep it all in perspective so that you can still be successful?

TS: Well, the opening line in my book reads: “Success in life and business begins by focusing on death.”  That statement really sums it up. I keep my interests in perspective by keeping them secondary.  Insofar as my vocation requires that I provide materially for my family, business is important and profitable (spiritually), but still a distant second to the preeminent vocation, which is making it to heaven.  As the gospel says, “Unless the Lord bless the house, they labor in vain who build it.”  As for writing, I write only when I have fulfilled my other duties. As a creative outlet, I love writing and I hope it serves a valuable purpose. As a career, it is unreliable, and so it’s only a hobby to me as a family man.

CB: One of your projects was writing Gut Check. What was your inspiration for the book and what are the main messages that you would want a reader to capture from the book?

TS: Gut Check was a response to the fan mail I received from the television show (The Apprentice). Many young men and women requested my thoughts on success, and their questions were largely similar. I felt like there was a transparent need for a book written for my generation. Additionally, there was something therapeutic, you might say, about the opportunity to expose the “real me” to the public, and not the pre-packaged, manufactured version that viewers watched on television. Of course, my thoughts on success are unique, as evident from the first sentence of the book, and as a thesis I think success is quite easily determined between those who make it to heaven and those who do not. As a sub-theme, I think it is important that people realize it is not how we begin but how we end that matters, and in the mind of God perseverance is a necessity. “He that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.” We are members of the Church Militant, and the fight does not end until we die.

CB: What do you have to say about education?  Has the time you put into your education been worth the effort?

TS: Education is very important, obviously, and if we all devoted as much time to educating ourselves as we do to entertainment, especially upon leaving school, I am certain we would live in a vastly different society.  But it is important to remember that one can be a saint without being educated. (Some might argue even more easily, nowadays.)  We are not all called to be scholars. Given the nature of our times, it is critically important that every Catholic know his faith well, at the very least, as the faith is attacked constantly by innumerable enemies. That is the minimum.  I regret not having been more dedicated to my studies when given the opportunity, and sadly, my time in college was largely wasted on the college life. There is a stark difference between pure education and our modern educational system, both Catholic and secular.  The system centers its activity on test taking, grades, certificates, and titles. The purpose is resume building, and the motives are honors and degrees – not necessarily an education.  A true liberal arts education, let alone a staunchly Catholic one, is rare to be found even among the most conservative Catholic colleges, and entry is afforded to many untalented students.  If only the best athletes can play collegiate sports, shouldn’t it be that only the brightest minds attend university?  If the standards were higher across the system, most would receive the modern college education at the high school level.  Only now am I finally learning what I should have many years ago, and yes, the effort has been highly rewarding.

CB: When you speak publicly, on what do you focus?  What is your “takeaway” message?

TS: Beyond the core themes of the book, I ask audiences to consider the term “addiction” in all its modern forms.  It is terribly sad to see so many Catholics addicted to television shows, Facebook and other Internet browsing, sports, fantasy sports, music, movies, video games, etc.  The list is endless.  We are a country of addicts.  The average American watches four hours of television every night.  My greatest addictions historically have been sports and music – especially sports, which I considered to be a “harmless” past time until I awoke to the realization that I spent 20 hours every week consumed by sports.  This was in contrast to my prayer life, to which I devoted perhaps five minutes per night.  We spend so much time concerned with entertaining ourselves and so little time developing our faith.  It is such a waste.  If there exists something in our life, beyond the essentials, that we “simply cannot live without,” it is an addiction.  Otherwise, we could live without it.

CB: Finally, I read on your website that you don’t have a television.  (I haven’t had one for 15 years, either.)  How do you and your family make your own fun?

TS: We live very simple lives. Enjoyment to us consists of travel, reading, cooking, playing games, spending time with family, etc. My wife is an artist, and we are both learning Spanish. We are never bored!

Again, many thanks to Tarek for taking the time for this interview! (Reprinting is available, please use the contact section above to reach Claudia Broman.)

I was chatting to a girlfriend  recently who wanted to talk about her career options. She didn’t know really what she wanted to do – but she did have strong ideas about what she didn’t want to do – “nothing entrepreneurial   ” she  told me emphatically.     The sub text was that  this was a bit risky, possibly   slightly pushy  ( all that  ghastly selling  ) and maybe even  vaguely tacky,  just  too reminiscent of Alan Sugar and the Apprentice for comfort.  She just wanted to find a normal job.

But what is a normal job and can it be found normally?

I think she’s due for a wake up call.

The internet has revolutionised our lives in so many ways especially the way and speed in which we do things and exchange information. The recruitment process, as with many other sectors has been dramatically impacted and is constantly evolving in response to technological advancement.  These developments have coincided with a  dramatic worldwide recession and a huge decrease in the number of jobs available. Job loss outstripped job creation 3:1 in the first quarter of 2009 in Europe.  Globally unemployment figures are now tipping over the 9% mark, so that  in some countries and sectors almost 1 in 10 people are now unemployed. The number of jobs posted on line in the US dropped by 13%, 2008 on 2009, where there are now 3.3 candidates for every position.

HR Managers claim that thousands of applicants per vacancy is commonplace. 80% of recruiters use on-line media and search engines to identify and source candidates for the hidden job market and only 20% of jobs are advertised in a traditional way.   Entry level candidates compete even for unpaidemployment .   

“For every 1,470 resumes, there ’s 1 job offer made and accepted” - Richard Bolles, bestselling author, What Color is Your Parachute?

Phrases such as  personal branding,  career management,   raised visibility and google ranking  have slipped imperceptibly into the career coaching lexicon.  The goal posts are moving faster than you can say Beckham or Ronaldo. Today’s “normal ” may have reached its  shelf life before the Q4 results are released.

The days when we could join a company and stay with it ” man and boy”   ( or to be politically inclusive “woman and girl”)  as the saying goes,  are  long gone.  As are the days of guaranteed employment until retirement in any job. Will retirement  even exist as a concept  for future generations? The truth is we don’t  know.  What we do know is that there are no guarantees. 

We are also learning that we have to do things differently and if we don’t we’ll get left behind.

So as I coach people in  enhancing their competitive edge by recognising their added value and looking for metrics to demonstrate that, identifying their USPs,  creating a personal brand, increasing their visibility via different media to just the optimum level   (not over doing it to become a nuisance factor), protecting their on-line image , topped off by the perfectly pitched elevator sound bite,  for casual  and appropriate introduction  on all occasions and functions,  it strikes me that this is actually probably no different to a company running its operations and  launching a product on the market.   

Does this mean that we all now have to become mini entrepreneurs in our job ( opportunity)  seeking efforts and that managing a career is now like managing a business ? 

Both require  creative thinking,  identifying  target markets,  an effective product launch, closing the deal , client relationship management,  long term planning and maintenance, underpinned by sound  on – going investment. 

So yes …I guess it does.

Estão abertas as inscrições para “O Aprendiz 7″ nessa edição os candidatos serão selecionados novamente entre universitários matriculados em qualquer curso reconhecido pelo MEC, inclusive jornalismo.
A versão original americana “The Apprentice” foi apresentado pelo megaempresário Donald Trump.
Nas 6 edições brasileiras, a disputa era pra ser demitido pelo empresário, publicitário, cantor, modelo e apresentador infantil Roberto Justus.
Após a ida de Justus para o SBT, as inscrições foram suspensas e só retomadas após a escolha de João Doria Júnior para substituílo. Doria é empresário do ramo de comunicação e marketing e conhecido por apresentar o Show Business.
A nova edição de “O Aprendiz” pretende repetir o sucesso das anteriores em que 3 profissionais foram contratados, 2 tiveram o projeto escolhido vencendo as versões “o sócio” e a sexta edição premiou a universitária MarinaA Erthal com um estágio como trainee na Y&R com salário de R$ 10 mil além de uma bolsa de R$ 1 milhão.
As inscrições podem ser feitas pelo portal R7 da rede Record. Deseja-se disponibilidade de horário e atrasos não serão tolerados. Boa sorte!

Ivan Leal @ivanlegal

Many of you might know Katrina Campins as the star of Bravo’s series Miami Social. Some of you might remember Katrina from season 1 of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. A select few of you might even know her as the female real-estate powerhouse of Miami. But truth be told, Katrina Campins encompasses many more impressive qualities and accomplishments.

We’ll start by examining how Katrina Campins built her brand by first building herself. At the tender age of 18 she became a licensed real-estate broker. She earned her first six-figure paycheck at age 17. Katrina attended the University of Miami and majored in International Finance and Marketing, graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. In 2004 she launched The Campins Company which today encompasses many facets of business, including marketing, production and a sports & entertainment division. In total, Katrina has represented 160 high-end clients and has yielded over $520 Million in sales. Her clientele includes rapper Lil Wayne, producer and music artist Timbaland, various NFL players and other sports professionals. These factors have led Katrina to exactly where she envisioned she’d be: at the top 1/2 pecent of realtors nationwide. Her company does not solely focus on Miami – The Campins Company is a national brand. She has been recognized by many publications and television programs such as Forbes, ESPN, Variety, NY Times and People Magazine. In just a few short years, Katrina has combined hard work with networking to form an impressive and powerful business doing what she loves.

Katrina is not only an inspiration because of everything she has accomplished in such a short period of time, but by the way she conducts herself.  She is the perfect combination of classiness, compassion and charity. Her involvement with various charitable ventures and organizations keeps her humbled in a world fueled by greed. Through reading her blogs and tweets, I have gained a real sense of Katrina’s inner self and I truly believe that there is not a bad bone in her body. She is always kind and gracious and treats everyone with the same level of respect. I am reminded of an episode of Miami Social where she and Hardy take Ariel to dinner to convince him to think before he speaks. Katrina eloquently told him that sometimes he comes across very judgmental thus making that person defensive. Taking time out of her busy schedule to try and help Ariel was not something she was obligated to do, but she did it regardless simply because she saw the good in Ariel underneath his shell of hostility. It is a firm belief of mine that the reason Katrina has remained so successful not only lies on the fact that she is brilliant and driven, but that she never regards anyone with disrespect, rudeness or judgment. This makes her a beautiful person on the inside and out. In a blog she writes, “I learned the difference between my ego and my opinion,” which keeps her poised.

For anyone who watched Miami Social, it was easy to see how Katrina balanced her work and her social life – her work was her social life. As she stated in her blog, she was influenced by Donald Trump who advised her to make her work more pleasurable, therefore no balance was required. Katrina also prides herself on being a spiritual person. From episode 1 of Miami Social you could notice that she wore many bracelets on her wrists. While reading her blogs on Bravo.com, she mentioned that each one has a meaning – a spiritual reminder if you will. She either made them herself or they were made for her. With an interest in Esoteric Astrology, or the focus of spiritual evolution, she is attentive to her own spiritual path and higher purpose. It is one of the main driving factors behind the success that is Katrina Campins.

Katrina Campins, to me, is the epitome of career inspiration. She encompasses all of the qualities necessary to be a successful woman in business: determination, humility, intelligence, courteousness, diligence and professionalism. Her career is her life because it is her passion; it is not about a paycheck. She thrives outside her comfort zone because she knows that is where opportunity lies. As a junior in college, I am thinking about my career relentlessly and I find myself relating to Katrina’s professional life often. “What would Katrina Campins do?” That might sound ridiculous, but I believe that Katrina’s answer could never be wrong. She has built a rock-solid brand in 5 years that has thrived in a bad market while effortlessly maintaining her classy image. I can only hope to emulate Katrina’s professionalism and accomplishments through my own approach.

There is one quote I refer to every day to keep me focused on my goals: “My career is my self portrait which is why I autograph it with excellence” – Katrina Campins

Make sure you visit all of Katrina’s websites and her store. I’m especially excited for her bracelet collection, “Brace Yourself,” which is coming out very soon! Follow her on Twitter for Details!

• http://www.katrinacampins.com
• http://www.thecampinscompany.com
• http://www.tccse.com
• http://www.twitter.com/katrinacampins
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katrina-Campins/89649558188

Photo Credit: Kristy Furg

1. Aviso para periodistas: Como diría el Nobel Paul Krugman, lo sucedido en Copenhague ha sido una burbuja, otro golpe de exhuberancia irracional de los mercados. Se creó una ilusión ficticia, alejada del sentido común, y la pompa estalló. La noticia también ha traído cosas buenas. Se ha demostrado que hay millares de periodistas capaces de redactar un titular como “El sueño de Madrid se desvanece”. Antes, ya habían repetido hasta la saciedad que Winston Churchill perdió las elecciones después de haber ganado la guerra. Si eres periodista y aún no has utilizado ninguno de estos dos clichés, date prisa. Úsalos antes de que tu profesión salte de una vez por todas por los aires.

2. Agora. La peli de Amenábar aún no encuentra distribuidor en EE.UU. Quizás la película llegue tarde al discurso post-11-S. O quizás la gente prefiera que le narren cuentos chinos como La Vida es Bella en lugar de cuentos chungos como el de Hypatia. A mí el hostión que se avecina me ha recordado al que se dio el industrial Barreiros. Después de petarlo con algo que la gente demandaba (un motor que ahorraba combustible), la pifió produciendo un modelo de coche (el Dogde Barreiros) para el que el país no estaba preparado. Tengo la sensación de que hay cosas que la gente no quiere oír. En fin, es como si Amenábar se hubiera olvidado de repente de cómo es España. Y, sinceramente, lanzarse a producir una historia de ese tamaño sin tener firmados los derechos para muchos territorios me parece tan temerario como poner a Belén Esteban de profesora de EGB.

3. En The Apprentice, Bassat intenta sustituir a Donald Trump. Pero en la versión española faltan algunos elementos vitales. El primero, nadie se identifica con un jefe que tiene pinta de arcángel. El publicista parece recién salido de Qué bello es vivir. Dos, le falta hijoputez, algo que el currito español ha visto en el mundo de la empresa y que añadía morbo en el programa americano. Tres, Bassat tendría que presumir de sus posesiones, usar el programa como una plataforma, hacer marketing de su imperio. Si hubiera sido Sánchez Dragó, a buen seguro que habría aprovechado para hablarnos de manera desvergonzada  de sus libros. De haberlo presentado algún actor español, seguro que sacaba a relucir a esos refugiados a los que apoya con toda su alma. Ya sabemos que, como en Plácido, cada actor español de prestigio sienta un pobre a su mesa por Navidad .

Puede que a la Sexta les haya costado lo suyo encontrar al presentador adecuado. Los grandes empresarios españoles prefieren mantener un perfil bajo. Saben que si salen a la palestra no faltará el listo que explique el origen de su fortuna, los cadáveres en el armario, el cohecho por aquí, la cuenta de Aena por allá.

Quizás, rizando el rizo, el Aprendiz ganaría mucho si lo presentara Zapatero. No solo porque el título del programa dice mucho sobre nuestro bachiller en Economía (El Aprendiz), sino porque además podríamos concretar conceptos como la economía sostenible, el sueldo sostenible (la triple nómina de Pajín) o la creación de riqueza recortando el I+D con las tijeras de la señorita Pepis. Recuerdo que cuando yo estaba en la escuela nos enseñaban pre-tecnología, es decir, algo anterior a la tecnología. Quizás pensaban que haciendo vasos con palillos de la ropa en el futuro íbamos a cortar el bacalao. Lo que demuestra que no se puede esperar mucho de un país que solo es bueno inventando freaks. Habrá que ver si Industrias Belén Esteban impulsa de una vez por todas nuestro comercio exterior.

Monday night marked the launch of The Apprentice Australia, which I watched and enjoyed thoroughly. Though according to Mumbrella, disappointingly for Nine, only 691,999 other people joined me.

One Tim’s post there was a lot of discussion about why this failed. Some people thought the show was on too late, others that The Apprentice concept was tired and more than a few who thought that Mark Bouris was simply not up to the task. None of this was an issue for me. The late-ish slot works for me, I like The Apprentice series (having been a big fan in the UK) and I thought Mark was fine. Though what I thought was lacking was the PR!

I am a fairly big consumer of media, being a PR guy, but the show hardly touched me. This was completely the opposite in the UK at series launch. The Apprentice was absolutely everywhere! Profiles of the contestants appeared in the papers, the radio stations talked about it, the morning current affairs programs cut to scenes of it, celebs were asked their opinion, last year’s contestants gave their insights. There appeared to be little of that here, which is disappointing.

Of course in the UK the show was on BBC, so benefited from the power of its news and influence network. However, Nine, its affiliated online partner ninemsn and magazine stable ACP for all the poor decisions they have made over the last decade are still a media powerhouse.

Maybe I am getting this wrong, I was moving last weekend so didn’t consume the same amount of weekend media that I normally do, but a quick straw poll of some of my friends suggests the same. The PR simply didn’t register.

As momentum around the show heats up perhaps it will all change? I hope so, I really enjoy The Apprentice series and want others to talk with about it.