Let me start out by saying that I hate reality shows.  First of all, picking 36 minutes of tape out of hours of taping is not reality; it's contrived perception.  Second, it is cheap and lazy television where you generally have unpaid and untalented people acting out.  That said, I usually watch the first few minutes of the Apprentice before I switch to a cable rerun of something that qualifies as actual entertainment.  What kept me there last night is this: nothing has really changed in the mindset of corporate.  And it's too bad, especially as I watch the stock market tumble downward.  What happened to reinforce what I already knew to be true?  The two losers from last week had the chance to select one person from the winning team to join their team, making for an even split.  They did what white males generally do: choose someone who looks like them.  That's expected.  What I stuck around for was because of the ignorant, arrogant statements made as they hopped into a taxi.  What'd they say?  In essence, that the win was in the bag; look at us three young,white males against "them" one black male and two women, with the assignment of designing a brochure for Pontiac's new sports car.  Piece of cake, we got it in the bag. Actually reiterated this later in the show. They lost.  What they designed was ho-hum and boring, while the other team brought a piece so sharp and innovative to the table, Pontiac is  actually using it in their ad campaign.  But wait, there's more...not only did they whine about how shocked they were at the great results from the other team, they just couldn't understand how they lost because of their poor design.  But here's what clinched it for me: in the boardroom before the firing, even the old guy chided them, saying in essence they had what "looked like" should have been the winning team and they blew it. Here is a lesson for all corporations who are still using the same formula for what you percieve as winners: as I look at the ridiculous commercials that parade by on TV (do you know how much is spent on commercials? -- billions annually -- and ninety percent of them are not effective), the poor quality of prime time television entertainment, et al,  it occurs to me that the decision makers are still choosing white, male, 20 - 30 something year olds to create and make decisions.  Even when it has been consistently and well-proven that African-Americans and women are key to innovation, thinking outside of the box and creativity when they are allowed into the boardrooms and on the teams that make a product or service successful. Proven.  Yet most corporations still refuse to buy into the fact that it's time to change the paradigm.  It doesn't take rocket science to understand that you would want someone on your major team who had to hone their innovative  and strategic skils in the struggle of just getting in the door and are hungry for the challenge to demonstrate what they can contribute, instead of selecting those who arrogantly believie they already have the privilege of walking into the boardroom.  And for those who head corporations, a word to the wise: those you delegate make decisions define what you stand for.  So if you believe in an open and diverse workforce, then you better make sure that those who do the hiring and delegation of responsiblity hold your same views.  Those at the top -- be it Trump or Oprah -- often forget that they and their company are defined by the actions of those with whom they surround themselves. 

Whew!  Corporate experiences flashback...time for a cup of coffee.