Volume 4, No. 3 
Dear Reader,
In this month’s issue, a new article by Beverly Ryle considers the celebrated reality show, “The Apprentice” from a professional development perspective.
“The Apprentice” presents distorted images of success, and exploits the kinds of dysfunctional professional relationships that exist in many, if not most, organizations to draw viewers in.
Apprenticed for What?
by Beverly Ryle
The Center for Career and Business Development
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few weeks ago a client asked me if I'd ever watched “The Apprentice”. I hadn't. (For those of you in the same boat, it’s a TV “reality” show where contestants compete to keep from getting fired; the winner is hired by Donald Trump at the end of the season.)
My client told me that, given the professional development work I do, I would probably find the show enlightening.
I did—so enlightening that I had to write this column in order to come to peace with my reaction to it.
Watching “The Apprentice” reminds me of something my grandmother used to say: “Everyone's good for something, if only a bad example.”
The supposedly “professional” behavior depicted on the show makes me cringe, and I'm not alone—colleagues I’ve spoken to about it agree. The conduct of the the contestants is more appropriate for a dorm room than a board room.
Success by Association
Before the first suitcase comes rolling off the elevator, it’s clear that the driving force behind the contestants' quest is mirrored perfectly by the theme song: “Money, Money, Money”.
In the fantasy business world of “The Apprentice”, success is achievable by association. The American tradition of self-made men and women has been replaced by the idea that “making it big” means being in proximity to someone who has—and owns the towers to prove it.
This helps me understand what happened last year when I made a presentation at a career event at a vocational high school.
I asked the students about their goals for the future, and their answers were unconnected to anything specific or tangible, such as living independently, traveling, buying a house, starting a business, etc. They knew with complete certainty they wanted to “make a lot of money”, but they seemed confused when I asked them, “for what”—as if anyone ought to know that money is the key that opens every door.
I suspect that the contestants on “The Apprentice” see things pretty much the same way. They want money because it opens doors—for winners only, of course—to posh places and expensive prizes they “ooh” and “aah” over in way that reminds me of “The Price is Right”. It’s a measure of success that fits neatly with the show’s cross-marketing objectives.
Their willingness to limit their professional goals to the “prize” of hobnobbing with Donald Trump shows just how invasive the “Money, Money, Money” message has become. It astonishes me that it doesn’t seem to matter to them whether an open door leads to work that is personally fulfilling, only that it brings fame and fortune.
I have been a career professional long enough to know that big money doesn’t guarantee professional satisfaction; and frequently sabotages it.
I know, it’s only a TV show, but there are real consequences of this way of thinking, both for individuals and the world. Craving money for its own leads people to do things like defrauding employees and investors to buy $6000 shower curtains.
Dysfunction Sells
In this world of instant and ceaseless communications, the creation of “buzz”, i.e., getting people talking about something, is a powerful marketing tool.
“The Apprentice” has managed to create a buzz strong enough to pull in even someone like me, who rarely watches anything but PBS.
As the client who “buzzed” me about it in the beginning commented, “It's a water cooler show”.
What she meant by that is that it gives people something—in this case, someone—to talk about at work the next day:
- “Angie should have been the one to be fired—she's such a bitch.”
- “She's not half as bad as that jackass know-it-all, Michael.”
- “Doesn't Tara remind you of someone you know, someone who works here?”
Whoever we’re having trouble with at the office is right there on the screen, doing all the things that drive us crazy. And the best part is that on the show there’s someone who will say to them all the things we wish we could say, that they're stupid, incompetent, selfish, obnoxious, a bleeping this or that. And then, with any luck, they’ll be fired, with a dramatic flourish.
We don’t think about the fact that the person we’re having trouble with is probably sitting in front of the television trashing us, just as the team members on ”The Apprentice“ trash each other.
“The Apprentice” feeds our addictive craving for negativity, the sugar and carbs of professional dysfunction. Indulging in such “treats” makes us feel superior and gives us a false sense of well-being.
Watching this show without being drawn into self-righteous judgments about the contestants is about as easy as saying no to a hand-dipped mocha truffle when you love chocolate. The business acumen that is supposedly being evaluated is really a wrapper around the thing that we really want to sink our teeth into—vicarious blame.
Illusion and Avoidance
“The Apprentice” is based on the illusion that success comes from the outside—from hobnobbing with the Trumps, the Forbes, and others like them—rather than finding your true place in the business world.
It also promotes avoidance, the habit of focusing on what we think is wrong with others rather than doing the real work of improving our professional relationships by looking at our part in making them what they are.
Until we move beyond the fantasy of the big prize behind a door with someone else’s name on it, and do the work of communicating directly, openly and honestly with our real life co-workers, we will continue to risk turning this one hour a week caricature into a forty hour a week realty.
Readers Write: Feedback on Last Month's Column
“Thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful piece. I have been struggling to decide what to do with the second half of [my life] and it made all the struggle seem so much more normal to me. You’re a genius.”
“I too just celebrated a ‘milestone’ birthday .... I have marked the occasion by deciding to retire in late July, at which time I will drive cross-country (visiting along the way) to end up in Sitka, Alaska, where I will volunteer at a small college for a year. Note: I certainly hope I will not feel I must control any situation, the only thing I can control is myself, and I will enjoy, experience, and hopefully, help someone else do the same.”
“What a lift I got from reading ‘Happy Second Half of Life’... I loved it all and the quotes too.”
“Thanks so much for this beautifully written essay and your beautiful thoughts.”
“I just had to write to tell you how much I loved this article! I am participating in a ‘trial run’ of a group via teleconference about ‘midlife wisdom’, and the reason I volunteered to do this (with my so limited time) is because I am swimming in this midlife, afternoon-of-life stuff, loving every second I allow myself to pause and live it. Thanks again!”
—Exton, PA
- On Friday, March 25, 2005 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, Beverly Ryle will present a seminar, “Negotiating Training for Career Counselors”, at Northeastern University, Egan Center, Room 440, Boston, MA. The seminar is sponsored by the Career Counselors' Consortium of New England. For more information, visit the CCCNE website, or call 508.533.7789.
- On March 29, 2005, Beverly will present a program entitled, “Transforming the Second Half of Life” at the Barnstable (MA) Senior Center (508.862.4750). Our youth-oriented culture offers little guidance, or encouragement, to help us live the second half of our lives in new and meaningful ways. This program looks beyond the social norms surrounding retirement, golf, gardening and grandchildren, to explore finding a deeper sense of purpose in our later years.
In this issue ...
Apprenticed to What?
Center News
About Us
Privacy Policy
As we move forward into the 21st century it’s pretty obvious to just about everyone that work isn’t what it used to be. Whether we work for ourselves, or for someone else, or are in transition, things are changing rapidly and we’re caught in a shift of seismic proportions. Many things are being demanded of us, and it’s going to require more than just new skills to survive and thrive. We’re going to need to learn how to get serious about taking care of the business of our professional lives.
Taking Care of Business was created to focus on issues related to this re-education process. If you find it helpful, please pass it on to others you know who are trying to find their way through the new realities of the world of work.
We invite you to share your thoughts by emailing us at:
Leaders have no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing themselves. The difference is crucial, for it is the difference between being driven, as too many people are today, and leading, as too few are.
The process of becoming a leader is much the same as the process of becoming an integrated human being. For the leader, as for any integrated person, life itself is the career. Leadership is a metaphor for centereness, congruity, and balance in one's life.
Leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully. By this we mean that they know who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how fully to deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others to gain their cooperation and support.
Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader
Warren Bennis &
Joan Goldsmith
40 Oak Leaf Rd
PO Box 156
North Eastham, Cape Cod, MA 02651-0156
508.240.3532
www.successonyourownterms.com
About Us
The Center for Career and Business Development specializes in teaching people how to manage their professional lives by providing customized counseling and educational programs which integrate conceptual thinking with practical training.
Our long-term relationships with clients, recognition by peers, and growing reputation as a community resource speak to the excellence of the services we provide and our commitment to making the world of work a better place for all.
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The stick illustrations in this issue are by Eloise Morley.
Her email address is eloisemorley@earthlink.net
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