Conflict on The Apprentice (Part 5): Head plus Heart is better than Head vs. Heart

May 17, 2009

In the season finale of The Apprentice it came down to who was further from losing, rather than who played well enough to win.
Either of the final two contestants could have been named the winner. That is not to say they both played admirably. Legendary comedian Joan Rivers’ victory was unsatisfying, but so too would [...]

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Conflict on The Apprentice (Part 4): Gracious Beats Gloating in Victory or Defeat

May 11, 2009

After a conflict is won or lost, there’s still something to win or lose.
Last week on The Apprentice, the contestants were tasked with updating the Starkist Tuna jingle “Chicken of the Sea.” They had to create new music using the same words as in the original song, which has been running successfully for fifty years: [...]

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Conflict on The Apprentice (Part 3): The Fundamentals on Incrementals

May 3, 2009

A little progress isn’t a lot, but in conflict sometimes it’s more than enough.
Motorcycle entrepreneur Jess James has been the most blunt communicator on The Apprentice this season. He is the one contestant who always gives straightforward answers. Others hem and haw, for example, when challenged by Donald Trump to name their weakest teammate. A [...]

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The First, Worst Conflict of Bill Gates

May 1, 2009

The most memorable glass of water Bill Gates ever had, he didn’t drink.
When he was twelve years old, Bill Gates got into a conflict with his parents. He got mad, shouted at his mother, and his father admonished him.
The remarkable thing about that unpleasant but not uncommon exchange, of a sort that occurs in most [...]

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Conflict on The Apprentice (Part 2): Let Emotions Empower You, Not Overpower You

April 25, 2009

Part of taking responsibility for yourself in conflict, is taking responsibility not only for your actions, but your emotions.
On a recent episode of The Apprentice, Joan Rivers got upset—again—that her daughter Melissa might be fired from the show.
It was Joan’s opinion that her daughter’s team members might insufficiently appreciate Melissa’s contributions. Joan feared Melissa was [...]

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Mastering Conflict at The Masters

April 17, 2009

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Competition and conflict have something in common.
Last week in Augusta, Georgia was the 73rd annual golf tournament known as The Masters, which many would say is golf’s most important contest of the year. The final round on Sunday was among the most exciting ever played.
One of the reasons is because the sport’s two highest-ranked players [...]

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Conflict on The Apprentice (Part 1): Ignorance Is an Excuse, But Not a Winning One.

April 13, 2009

Although R&B star Tionne Watkins was fired by Donald Trump in the sixth episode of the popular TV show The Apprentice, she had a good excuse.
On this task and in previous tasks, Tionne was a strong player. Based on her performance alone she should not have been fired. Others performed less well than she did.
Her [...]

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Cramer vs. Cramer vs. Stewart

April 8, 2009

For a few weeks in March 2009, Mad Money television host Jim Cramer had a public conflict with The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. The conflict culminated in Cramer’s appearance on Stewart’s show. Cramer lost.
“Lost” isn’t the right word, because it implies Cramer engaged with some degree of preparation and vigor, but he did not.  He [...]

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