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Business Rule #14:
Perception Counts
December 17, 2004
Donald Trump is used to being in high rise buildings looking down on the rest of the world. During the live finale though, he was somewhere else he wasn’t used to being: on the fence. The Trumpster was faced with a difficult decision between two great candidates—and it showed.
But it’s all over; The Apprentice, Season 2 has come to a close, and there’s a new Apprentice in town—whether he deserved it or not. But before we get into that, let’s take a look back at last week’s round of interviews that had the final four candidates vying for Trump’s affection.
Donald Trump taught Kevin Allen and Sandy Ferreira a valuable lesson: go to school, but don’t stay too long.
Trump was looking for specific qualities when it came down to the final four. The choice wasn’t an easy one in the final-four boardroom or at the live finale. The penultimate boardroom might have raced by on screen, but it took over four hours to complete in reality. The candidates were asked to leave three times before Trump could make a decision. Trump was impressed by the final four, but ultimately it came down to just two: Jennifer Massey and Kelly Perdew.
So why did Trump fire Kevin and Sandy? Good question! It’s simply a matter of perception. The power of perception can’t be overstated.
Jennifer Massey did her homework on Trump and The Trump Organization and so did Kelly Perdew. They both knew that Trump likes fighters. Once Trump told Kelly that he was safe from firing, Jennifer turned up the heat on Sandy and fought like hell against her. Jennifer pretty much pummeled her into the ground and was mostly right on point in the way she took her down. You require the mental prowess to get ahead in business, and Jennifer had that; Sandy didn’t. Sandy’s mistake was in allowing Jennifer to make her look like a fool in front of Trump. Sandy never took the offensive and got killed when Jennifer spouted off facts about The Trump Organization that Sandy couldn’t. Jennifer advanced the perception that she was ready to be indoctrinated into The Trump Organization with minimal transitional effort, because she already knew how the company operated and how it was organized, whereas Sandy did not.
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Ultimately, what Sandy brought to the table was a fantastic entrepreneurial spirit. What she didn’t have though was the degree to support it within The Trump Organization. But then again, Bill Rancic didn’t stack up against his Ivy League compatriots in this regard either—and he went on to win it all.
By contrast, Trump called business-school-graduate-and-law-student Kevin Allen overeducated and fired him for his relative lack of experience…even though Kelly Perdew, Trump’s new Apprentice, has just as many degrees, while Jennifer Massey has about the same amount of experience.
The CEO’s hammered Kevin for his drawn-out education and lack of real world achievements. They perceived Kelly, on the other hand, as accomplished: West Point grad, military officer, and successful entrepreneur. He spearheaded several start-up companies that he took as far as he could before moving on and undertaking the next venture. While Kelly has shown he has the tried-and-true formula for success, Kevin has yet to achieve any brick-and-mortar accomplishments. Kevin explained that he wanted to be as educated as possible to better position himself in the fierce corporate market. While that’s a good vantage point to take, Kelly stood fast and explained how his leadership in the military could take him further in The Trump Organization than any classroom theory that Kevin learned but had yet to apply in the real world, ever could.
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Donald Trump taught Kevin Allen and Sandy Ferreira a valuable lesson: go to school, but don’t stay too long.
