As I CEO, I will admit that I’m addicted to Celebrity Apprentice. Every time there is a new season one can find me at home and glued to my TV.  I love watching shows about business and learning about different management styles- especially given the nature of my company. But, how realistic are the methods used in Celebrity Apprentice? Well, about 50/50 in my opinion.

Here’s what I learned this past season from Celebrity Apprentice;

1. Goals are important. No matter what the task, Donald Trump always defined how the winner would be selected at the start of each challenge. Winners usually set their goals and worked at them, while the losers didn’t really focus on the goal as much as they did embracing the task at hand- yes, there is a difference.

2. Know how to delegate responsibility.  Project Managers who won always were great at delegating. Those celebrities who flopped on their faces were not good at delegating tasks. Not a single person alive can do everything. We have to trust our support staff in order to be successful.

3. Aim to please your clients and stakeholders. Maybe you don’t have stakeholders…well, that’s partially true. Customers are always going to be your number one stakeholders.  On Celebrity Apprentice the Project Managers who didn’t listen to what their stakeholders wanted usually didn’t win the challenge.  Listen to what is being requested by your customers, stakeholders or within your industry. Tailor your business accordingly and you’ll be just fine.

I learned a lot this past season by watching Celebrity Apprentice.  Great managers set goals. Great managers delegate. Great managers listen. I plan to pay attention to these three items moving forward in business. I hope you do the same.

Britanie Olvera