More than a pretty face

It's official - people are going nuts over The Apprentice.

I've caught a couple episodes, and I'll be the first to admit that it's entertaining. But what I'm really looking forward to is the wake that the show will leave on the future businessmen and women.

I remember sitting in my college business classes during group presentation after group presentation. The kids would all show up in their suits, stand very rigid, and give their presentations in their best "business-speak." They'd all use the same vocabulary, the same inflection in their voice, and all would pretend to be as poised and confident as possible.

And the actual work? The work was done to fulfill the syllabus requirements, nothing more. Projects were completed at the last second. Deliverables were watered down so as to please everybody. In short, the work sucked.

There was a notion in the business school that the key to success rested in the presentation. Content was as important as style - results weren't as important as a big smile.

The folks on 'The Apprentice' seem to think the same thing. They seem to think that business is all about negotiation skills, power suits and intimidation tactics. They think it's about never being flustered.

Do I think negotiation skills are important? Absolutely - Zosima is big about selling and presentation, and we always insist on looking good for presentations or client meetings.

But accoutrements don't replace results. We know that if we don't produce, we're dead. That was one of our first and hardest lessons when we first got started.

It'd be really refreshing to see someone on that show who advanced not because of their ability to stare down Trump but because of their ability to do astonishingly great work.