Know When To Keep Your Mouth Shut

            Everyone has experienced times when they should have shut up and listened, rather than putting both feet into their mouth.  Sometimes these momentary lapses in judgment prove quite costly.  For some of the candidates on The Apprentice, failing to keep their mouths shut resulted in being told, “You’re fired.”  Others, that heeded Trump’s suggestion to keep quiet, avoided those two fateful words and lived to compete in another task.  The actual boardroom discussions illustrate this point quite well, so the remainder of the chapter will focus on those actual conversations.

            One of the biggest blunders regarding opening your mouth when you shouldn’t was committed by Bradford in the second episode of season two.  Bradford had led the women of Apex to victory during the first task, and therefore had immunity from being fired when Apex lost the second task of selling ice cream.  In the boardroom, Bradford uttered the words he would learn to regret, “I’ll be honest with you, I think that I performed up to my abilities on this task.  I’d be willing to waive my exemption.”

            While Bradford may have believed that his performance was better than others on the team, and he may have felt that by giving up his immunity he could create a greater bond with his team, Trump thought otherwise.  “I’m going to accept that,” Trump told Bradford , and continued, “One of the benefits as leader, Project Manager, is exemption.  You shouldn’t just give that up so willy-nilly.”  Bradford remained confident and Trump told him, “Don’t feel so confident.  I think it’s stupid what you said.”

            Trump called Bradford stupid several more times during the boardroom sequence and also told Jennifer to shut up once.  He told Bradford , “If you would have kept your mouth shut, you would have been fine.”  At the end, Trump told Bradford he should not be there.  He called him “terrific” and “the best one in the room.”  But he also said that Bradford made a stupid, impulsive and life-altering decision by giving up his exemption.  Trump continued that that kind of single, impulsive decision can destroy a company.  For opening his mouth at the wrong time, Bradford was fired.

            Raj should have remembered Bradford ’s mistake during episode nine of the second season.  During the boardroom, Chris stated that the team was horrible and would probably lose again.  Carolyn commented that he was disloyal and Trump asked Raj if he wanted to bring Chris back into the boardroom.  While tearing out the wall was Raj’s big real estate mistake, not bringing Chris back may have been an even bigger one.  Trump gave him the opportunity, and knowing how Trump hates people opening their mouth when they should keep it shut, Raj could have watched Chris be fired if he would have only brought him back.  Trump almost said as much when he told Raj just before firing him, “When Chris opened up his stupid mouth and started telling me all sorts of things after he was out, you didn’t want to bring him back into the boardroom.”  Raj’s failure to bring Chris back into the boardroom enabled Chris to stay in the running a little longer, but it was obvious with Trump’s comments that he most likely would not be around much longer.

            During the fifth episode of season three, it looked certain that Stephanie would be fired.  Bren was the Project manager, and after losing the task with the portable trailer businesses, he brought Stephanie and Michael into the boardroom to face The Donald where one of the three would be fired.  Trump asked Bren witch of the two others should be fired, and Bren, without hesitating said Stephanie.  He told Trump that she worked a lot harder than Michael, but because she had such a negative attitude, she should be fired.  Rather than sit there and let Bren explain why Stephanie should be the one to go, Michael started to interrupt regarding Bren’s comments, shooting himself in the foot.

Trump could not believe that Michael interrupted Bren as he was making a case for firing Stephanie, and for this, Trump taught Michael a lesson, and one that we should all heed at times – sometimes it is best to keep your mouth shut.  Trump told Michael, “He’s knocking the hell out of Stephanie.  He’s telling me how bad Stephanie is, and you’re interrupting him with nonsense, over nothing.  Why don’t you let him knock Stephanie, he’s not knocking you for a change.  How stupid can you be?  Let me ask you this, he’s knocking Stephanie and you want him to stop knocking Stephanie.  I’m starting to think that maybe you should be fired.  What do you think about that?  He’s killing her, he’s going after her, she should be fired according to him, and you’re trying to stop him from talking.”

When Michael started to explain his comments, Trump cut him off, “You claim to be like me.  The difference is I work hard.  You’ve been lazy.  You’ve been nothing but trouble, and now you cut them off as they’re fighting each other for who should be fired.  Michael, you’re fired.”

            After the results were announced that Net Worth lost again during episode nine of season three, we saw an interview with Erin regarding the boardroom.  She stated, “I have fun in the boardroom, because every time I speak, it’s poignant and it’s accurate.  Whereas my teammates talk themselves into their grave.”  During episode eight, Trump had been impressed with her presentation skills, and told her she was probably not going to be fired.  When she started to say something, Trump told her, “ Erin , if you keep talking you might get fired, but at this moment you’re probably not going to get fired.”  He looked sternly at her and said, “Go ahead, keep talking.”  Erin listened and shut up.  Unfortunately for her, during the boardroom of episode nine, she opened her mouth when she should not have, and probably wished afterward that she would have kept it shut that week as well.

            Up until this point, Trump thought Erin was a star, and during the initial boardroom sequence, things were not looking good for Angie.  Nor was Trump too impressed with Chris when his tobacco chewing became an issue again.  Trump, in a matter of fact tone, stated that he did not want to have anyone working for him who chews tobacco.  However, after Angie chose Chris and Erin to return to the boardroom with her, Trump spoke privately with Carolyn and George.  Carolyn stated that Angie was the only one on the team who made decisions and carried them, while George commented that Angie was good as a leader, even though she made some bad decisions, she was a good leader.

            When the three returned, Trump told Angie, “I think you did sort of a bad job, but George and Carolyn, they feel strongly that you should not be fired, and I listen to my good people, so you’re not going to be fired, unless you say something very stupid, and George and Carolyn might even change their minds with me.”  Very wisely, Angie sat there quietly as Erin and Chris began to battle it out.  And battle it out they did.  The discussion became heated, and Trump seemed to favor Erin , indicating to Chris that Erin was better than him on several fronts, all of which Chris vehemently denied as he battled to stay in the running.  When tobacco came up again, Chris committed to quitting right then and there.  Erin was pulling everything she could out on Chris and brought up his cursing.  Trump replied that that was okay, since he uses bad language sometimes too.

            However, Trump then brought Angie back into the fray.  He called Erin a good presenter, and asked why Angie did not have her give the presentation.  Not satisfied with Angie’s answer, he told her that even with a poor attitude, Erin was the best presenter on the team.  He then told her that he was not happy with Angie, but stated, “George and Carolyn are saying, ‘I think Angie’s wonderful’ and I’ve got to listen to them.”

            Erin then chimed in with, “Do you have to?” with a smile and wink in Trump’s direction.  This comment that was not very poignant or accurate sealed her fate.

Trump looked at her and declared, “No, I really don’t, but I’m going to.  You’re a real wise guy, you know that?”

Erin replied, “I was just asking…”

Carolyn cut her off saying, “That was a dumb statement.”

Trump then continued, “You are a wise guy, there’s no question about it.  You know what Erin , you’re fired.”  After the three had left the boardroom, Trump asked George and Carolyn their opinions.  George replied that he thought Trump made the right decision, and Carolyn stated, “After that comment, I think you made the right decision.”  Especially as an attorney, Erin really should have known when to keep her mouth shut, but with the one smart comment, she was gone.

Those were some of the most poignant examples of when candidates opened their mouths when they should not have.  But does shutting up and listening really pay off?  If you asked season two winner, Kelly, he would tell you it does.

            Kelly, Kevin, Sandy, and Jennifer M. made the final four during season two.  We addressed the interviews in an earlier chapter.  One of the reasons Kelly went on to win the second season was he knew when to shut up.  After the executives completed their interviews, Trump interviewed the four in the boardroom.  All four of the executives gave positive reports regarding Kelly, so in the boardroom Trump told the group that unless Kelly said something very, very stupid, he was going to make it.  Kelly did stay quiet except when spoken to.  Knowing when to keep his mouth shut kept Kelly in the running as Kevin and Sandy were fired. 

Trump Time Out – Shut Up and Listen

            “I’ll always want to hear what people have to say.  It doesn’t mean you have to do what they’re saying, but always listen.  If you do all the talking, you’re not going to learn a lot.” - Donald Trump from The Apprentice, season three, episode six.

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