The Apprentice 6 Lessons

Success Lesson

Keep it positive. Abrasive power plays might put you in the lead for a time - but in the end, they will bring you down.

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Success Lesson

If you have an unusual sense of humor, keep it under wraps. In serious business settings, it will only hurt you.

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Success Lesson

Delegate. Being a leader means making the right calls about which tasks require your presence - and which you must delegate away to members of your team.

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Success Lesson

Think before you speak. Thoughtless statements can get you fired - or sued - in the professional world.

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Success Lesson

Stick to the issues. Fighting dirty sets up a team dynamic in which nobody wins.

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Success Lesson

Don't hesitate to test the people you supervise. If they never face high-stakes challenges, how can you gauge their potential?

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Success Lesson

Resist groupthink. Someone has to speak up and take the lead in fighting bad decisions. Why not you?

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Success Lesson

Keep your ego out of it. To win in your career, make sound business decisions, not emotional ones. Managing projects capably and calmly will reflect better on you than all the self-promotion in the world.

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Success Lesson

Be consistent. You can't be a negative backbiter one minute and a gentle lamb the next. If you want to be a leader, stay positive.

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Success Lesson

If you are an entrepreneur, know who your customers are and develop products that will generate the most profit from them. Developing products that suit only your own taste might gratify your ego - but it is a recipe for marketplace failure.

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Success Lesson

Be inspired and inspiring. When you have a compelling idea that your gut tells you is right, have the courage to sell it.

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Success Lesson

Talk to your customers! They will tell you what they want. But first, you have to ask.

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Success Lesson

Find your calm center in times of stress. Sure, James and Tim needed sleep. Sure, they were hyper and scared of losing. But professional people - like you - know that high-stress situations demand inner calm and thoughtfulness.

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Success Lesson

Stay in the game. If you have a boss like Michelle, there will be times when you just won't be able to stand her any more. But ducking out of work will only hurt you, not the supervisor who is causing you all the misery.

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Success Lesson

Stay in the game. That's what Mr. Trump was telling her when he said, "You will not be proud . . . never, ever quit." How can you ever succeed in your career if you walk away when things get tough?

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Success Lesson

Rise to tough challenges. The ability to roll up your sleeves and take on difficult assignments can single you out for advancement and success.

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Success Lesson

Being a leader means listening too. When you arrive on a new team, ask questions before deciding the role you should assume.

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Success Lesson

Take smart risks. If you have to make a decision ASAP, the more conventional path is almost always the best.

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Success Lesson

Once you know what your judges are looking for, find a way to provide it. If you will be judged on dollars, for example, put selling at the center of your efforts.

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Success Lesson

Know when to yield to your group. It is hard to knuckle under when one of your ideas gets overruled - but pushing too hard will ultimately make you an outcast.

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Success Lesson

Confront your fears. They often indicate the areas where you can experience the greatest growth in your life and career.

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Success Lesson

Knowledge has to serve a real-world purpose. When it is knowledge for its own sake, it can't help you advance your team's cause - or your career. Why say "revenue maximization" when you can just say "profits" instead?

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Success Lesson

Kill your own mistakes fast. It makes you look stronger, not weaker.

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Success Lesson

Apply desperate measures in desperate times. When your current strategies are not working, substitute something different.

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Success Lesson

Fight back fast. If your reputation suffers damage, don't wait for people to notice that you have what it takes to succeed. Strike back fast and prove your value.

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Success Lesson

You can't be both a friend and an adversary. Sending mixed messages that way puts you at a competitive disadvantage and makes you look weak.

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Success Lesson

Book knowledge doesn't cut it in the real world. In a do-or-die business situation, you have to produce results, not ideas.

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Success Lesson

Your success begins and ends with how well you know your customer. In the end, all other concerns are secondary.

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Success Lesson

Don’t play negative politics. Your failure to try to save the day will only reflect badly on you.

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Success Lesson

You can do strong things, even under a weak leader. If you can move your team toward its goals, you will end up looking very good in the process.

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Success Lesson

A leader has to make decisions. Democracy is great, but when a team is heading down the wrong road, the person at the top needs to take charge and change direction.

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Success Lesson

Double-check the technical aids you will use in any talk or presentation. Go in early and be a fanatic about it. Doing anything less is an invitation to disaster.

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Success Lesson

Don’t say negative things about yourself in business settings – ever. Whatever you say, people will believe. Just say nothing and let your great performance do the talking for you.