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The Apprentice

Okay, I admit it, I watch reality TV and a couple of weeks ago, I tuned in to The Apprentice. The winner in this show will get a high level and well paying job in Donald Trump's organization.

In this episode, the men and women were competing as separate teams. And, the women won. And, I was struck by what contributed to the women winning in this episode -- the women took the time to speak with the client.

The challenge in this episode was to create an entire advertising campaign in some ridiculously short time frame. The men were so pressed for time, they made the decision to not speak with the client before designing the ad campaign. The women, on the other hand, included a client meeting in their planning sessions.

And, that simple conversation helped them create the edgy campaign the client was looking for. Without that conversation, the women's campaign would have been too over-the-top. With the client's initial input they were able to design the campaign the client wanted and that won the challenge. The men did create a tasteful and sophisticated campaign which was a match for the product. The only drawback in this case and what cost them the challenge was that the client in this episode wanted an edgier approach to selling the product and their image.

The morale of this story: remember to communicate with your client, get their input and you'll design a product or deliver services that helps you both succeed!

Jan 29, 2004    5:59 pm

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