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EARNING GREEN WITH
GARDEN GREENS
After four losses from Matchstick, Martha Stewart decided a corporate
reshuffling was in order. Primarius was now Jennifer, Howie, Sarah, Carrie,
Bethenny, and Jim. Matchstick's lineup was Ryan, Dawna, Amanda, Leslie,
David, and Marcela. By way of video conference, Martha spoke to the
candidates from the kitchen of her Bedford farm, where she was busy creating
new recipes with fresh greens harvested from her garden. The candidate's
next task was to create a new salad dressing recipe - a limited edition
flavor for Wish-Bone.
After crafting the original dressing, the corporations would design
packaging and sell their product for one day at Stew Leonard's, the
distinguished grocery store. At the end of the day, harvesting a different
kind of green would decide the contest, as the corporation with the most
revenue would be declared the winners. The losers would meet Martha in the
conference room, where one of them would be sent home.
MIXED GREENS AND MIXED RESULTS
Ryan, Matchstick's project manager, immediately put the creation of the
dressing in the hands of Marcela, who welcomed the mission-critical
responsibility. As the last candidate chosen for Matchstick, the cooking
guru was eager to prove her worth. After a series of taste tests, the
corporation agreed to bet the farm on Marcela's Rosemary Lime Vinaigrette
creation.
Primarius trusted their dressing to their own culinary expert Bethenny. As
she perfected her recipe for Asian Vinaigrette, graphic designer Jim
concentrated on packaging. Jim was Primarius' final draft pick, and the
excitable candidate made no secret of his desire to establish himself as the
most valuable candidate in the loft.
At Stew Leonard's, the corporations shifted into sales mode in a race to
move as many bottles of their limited edition dressing as possible.
Customers bestowed rave reviews on Marcela's Rosemary Lime Vinaigrette and
bottles began to fly off the shelves. However, when Leslie was too
aggressive in pushing multiple bottles, reluctant consumers began to leave
them behind in the check-out line, forcing Matchstick to sell them all over
again. Over at Primarius, Jim's sales efforts were over the top to say the
least - not to mention crude, irritating, and nonsensical. The tipping point
arrived when a customer complained about Jim's profane language, and the
manager of Stew Leonard's threatened to kick Primarius out of the store.
Although Jim put the entire task in jeopardy, Jennifer was too wary of his
volatile nature to remove him from the sales floor.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
A DAY MAKES
With a day as salad dressing salespeople under their belts, the corporations
met with Martha Stewart and her trusted associates in the conference room.
Martha sampled the dressings herself and declared both to be delectable.
However, in this task, as in business, revenue would be the final judge.
Alexis reported that Primarius sold 391 bottles at $3.99, for a total take
of $1560.09. Charles read Matchstick's results: 453 bottles sold, $3.49
each, for a total of $1580.97 - a twenty dollar difference. The victors
celebrated the first win for Matchstick, while Primarius grimly contemplated
an unwelcome trip to the conference room.
Matchstick's reward was a cruise around Manhattan on an antique schooner,
the Lettie G. Howard. When they arrived at Chelsea Piers to begin their
trip, they were surprised to see Martha herself. The mogul regretted she
couldn't join them on their journey, but she stopped by to insure everything
on the ship was perfect and to make sure the candidates had enough warm
clothes for the blustery day. On board the vintage ship, the crew set the
candidates to work, hauling riggings and steering the course. David and
Marcela, as veterans of Matchstick's problematic past, beamed through every
minute of their first reward experience. As the sun set, a spectacular view
of Manhattan was unveiled before their eyes, and the corporation savored a
sweet benefit of their smooth teamwork.
PRIMARIUS' SALAD
DAYS ARE OVER
Martha Stewart found herself across the conference room table from a
demoralized Primarius. Their failure, she reasoned, did not stem from a bad
product, or an ill-conceived price point. Rather, the key to the
corporation's loss was in sales. Charles brought up Jim's tactless sales
tactics, a point that Jennifer and Sarah were eager to reinforce. Jim
defended himself by claiming the tale was exaggerated. Martha wanted to know
why Jennifer did not pull Jim from the sales floor, especially considering
the candidate's manic history. Jennifer reported she was afraid that Jim
would explode upon being reassigned, which led Jim to characterize Jennifer
as a "scared, timid little rabbit."
Martha felt confident that Jim and Jennifer were the only two candidates she
needed to see back in the conference room. The other candidates were
released to the loft, while Jim and Jennifer were told to wait in the
reception area. Speaking amongst themselves, the executives bemoaned the
performance of the bickering twosome. While Jim was certainly unpredictable,
he demonstrated a rare originality. Jennifer seemed to be an ineffective
manager and couldn't take advantage of the talent at her disposal. On the
other hand, Jim's aggressive enthusiasm was clearly improper and possibly
undermined Primarius' efforts.
Back in the conference room, the two imperiled candidates traded more barbs
about performance and integrity. But Martha, of course, would have the final
word. Her company, she proclaimed, incorporates many different kinds of
people, but even the purely creative people can get along with their
coworkers. Jennifer, she said, mismanaged a talented group. Jim's behavior,
on the other hand, was inappropriate. However, the final straw to Martha was
that Jennifer was reluctant to remove Jim from the sales floor. A manager
cannot work in fear of her subordinates. "Jennifer, you're just not working
for me," Martha condemned. Without any further debate, the defeated project
manager was sent home.
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