Competitive Intelligence

Donald Trump, NBC and the Race to Be "The Apprentice"

Is it necessary for a woman to be a flirt to get ahead in business? Act a little trampy? Many of us know (from experience) how dangerous an underestimation that can be, yet to watch the hit NBC reality show, "The Apprentice", one would think men are all bumbling idiots compared to the bombshell-sexualized tactics the women have used to lead the men in four straight victories of boys-against-the-girls competition to become Donald Trump’s next protégé.

It got so bad last week that Trump precipitated a "corporate reshuffle" to give the guys a fighting chance at staying alive, mixing the teams up and finally kicking one of the women to the street instead of the suite. Slate had a nice critique of the bump-&-grind tactics employed by the girls to beat the boys at every turn:

No one disputes that the women's conduct is effective: The show mostly just proves that prostitution really is the world's oldest and most lucrative profession. But debate rages over whether it's appropriate in today's business world. A Nexis search including the terms "Trump, Apprentice, and sex" reveals that 206 articles on the subject have been written. The breakdown generally goes like this: Male reviewers find the whorish conduct sad but entertaining, older women find it shameful and degrading, and younger women, particularly the cute ones, find it liberating and thrilling. One letter to the New York Times crows: "Sex is power!" Which echoes the sentiments of the show's female contestants who say things like: "If being attractive is wrong, then what we do is wrong."

All this discussion, interesting as it may be, misses the real point of The Apprentice. The gender conflict is a side issue, a distraction. The truly interesting anxiety at work in this show is generational: These women and men are revealing the massive gap between the way young men and women, and older men and older women, think about sex.

Who is having a great time on the set of The Apprentice? The Donald, for one. Trump is having the time of his life because these hot young foxes are falling all over themselves to please him—and doing so in the wee-est of garments. Now, that is good business for him and for his powerful associates—a generation of moguls who can mouth platitudes about equality but still date only preteen models. In one episode Donny Deutsch—the head of an advertising agency—lauds the women's team's efforts to launch an ad campaign—the ads they come up with are so phallic they get named "the testicle ad." As Deutsch hands them the win he cackles delightedly that their presentation (in stewardess costumes) had "set the women's movement back 70 years." This week sees Trump stepping into an elevator with one co-ed team and leering at one of the men: "Nice to have these girls with ya, huh?" Moments later, as the group crowds into George Steinbrenner's office, Steinbrenner greets Trump with a hug and crows lechily, "I knew there would be pretty girls!"

Who else is having a blast on The Apprentice? The girls! They are kicking the men's butts by celebrating their own. They've stolen Ally McBeal's résumé but lost the self-doubt. Their de rigueur business uniform: tight low-rise jeans, belly-button shirts, and stiletto boots. Their giggly delight is about their power, and one hesitates to begrudge them. Sure, they have a moment's misgiving when they meet trump's Italian supermodel girlfriend. You can see it in their eyes: Why fight to work for Trump, when you can get him to work for you? But overall, the sex for power bargain is working for them. They are on their way up. There is a perfect synergy between what the young women want and what the old men have, and all the show's sparks comes from that truth.

I like to wonder what Martha Stewart thinks of this show - if she would approve of using physicality as a short-cut to power-brokering or she's "above all that"...?

Something tells me Martha used every advantage she had at her disposal, just like the girls on the show. But, Martha had real moxie - not just a nice walk. I like it if only for the class conflict - let's hope that, when success comes so easily, the girls on the show won't try to cut corners to get ahead in other ways.

Until then, I like the show - not for any serious lessons about business success really - although it does instruct that it's best to seize every opportunity... each day and with each new challenge, the group gets better at making hay while the sun shines. Let's hope the guys can use some of their assets sooner rather than later and turn tables on the girls - or at least, maybe the girls will learn to use their assets a little more creatively.

- Arik