man, contemplating jersey

man, contemplating jersey
Originally uploaded by lia.

Focusing on the Losing?

What is wrong with the Apprentice is this: there is too much focus on the loser. I realize it is a show, so it needs an arc and an emotion for us to hang our attention spans on to. BUT, what is wrong with The Apprentice and this crop of Aspiring Corporate Weasels is the focus of the show.

We are supposed to be watching a show about finding the right apprentice for the job. Instead we are watching a show about finding the wrong person for the day.

I have worked in a sour workplace where the name of the game was Find This Season's Scapegoat. I have worked in a sour workplace where the name of the game was We Fickley Like You Now, But Do One Wrong Thing and We Will Spin All Those Other Good Things Into A Pile of Incompetence. I have worked in a a sour workplace that was managed by "Who's In and Who's Out." I have worked in a sour work place that was hungry for blood, blind to anything beyond their vision, and lacking the maturity of seeing Strength in Diversity.

And while I might still feel pangs of pissed-off-itude once in awhile when I think about that time, I can still see it as a positive because I have empathy for when I see others mired in that same muck.

If you are doing a task and the whole objective is about "Not Losing" -- when it should be about "Let's win this" -- you are setting yourself up for not doing your best work. You are setting yourself up for wolf-pack mentality. You are setting yourself up for Covering Your Ass instead of really doing something extraordinary.

The Apprentice is a hard show to watch anymore. It feeds our American bloodlust for finding the weak and then ripping them to shreds, digging into their flesh and ripping out their hearts all in the name of being right, being smarter, being snarky, being "not them." All with the talent of seasoned armchair quarterbacking.

Yet what we see in The Apprentice -- the Set up for Failure, the Maliciousness of Group Think, the Covering of the Asses, the Let's Point the Finger at You, or even the most base of "We don't like you because you aren't the best" -- this is what is wrong with America. This is what is wrong with Corporations. This is humanity in a very unattractive light.

And I guess being on a soapbox isn't that attractive either. But my point was, imagine how much more interesting this show would be if it focused on the winning team. If it focused on how to be a better leader, a better team player, a more creative thinker, a more courageous risk taker, a supportive boss.... It is missing so many opportunties. But that is the show that I wish it was.