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WHAT A TANGLED WEB
THEY WEAVE
The number of
candidates left in the loft had dwindled down to six, and
Jim was depending on strategy to pull him
through the intense final rounds. His goal: eliminate strong candidates
while keeping weak rivals in the loft. If his plan worked, he explained to
Dawna, cruising through the remaining tasks
against meek competition would be a breeze. Dawna, however, had a goal
diametrically opposed to Jim. She wanted to prove herself in a showdown
against the best of the best. In her opinion, Jim's quest to stack the deck
with paper tigers revealed his insecurities.
Martha Stewart challenged her prospective
employees to create a showroom display to celebrate the launch of the Buick
Lucerne, a new luxury automobile. As the corporations kicked into high gear,
two candidates found themselves tangled in an unending cycle of squabbles
and quarrels. While one project manager struggled to put out a series of
fires, her two subordinates schemed to seal her fate in the conference room.
And the competing project manager changed directions mid-project with
disastrous consequences.
The final judgment was overwhelmingly clear: Primarius had triumphed, and
Matchstick had missed the mark entirely. In the conference room the question
became one of concept vs. execution. Where did the corporation fail and who
was responsible? With ruthless grace, Martha made her pronouncements and
sent the culprit candidate homeward bound.
WELCOME TO
PARADISE
An idyllic sunny morning greeted the candidates upon their arrival at Martha
Stewart's lush Turkey Hill estate. Amid a flourishing garden, the doyenne of
domesticity revealed the next task would be to create an innovative showroom
display to launch Buick's newest luxury sedan, the Lucerne. Each corporation
would get an office at legendary marketing firm McCann-Erikson, and a
$65,000 budget to make their concept come to life.
Judging the task would be two marketing executives from GM, Doug Osterhoff
and Margaret Brooks, along with Renee McGuire, co-chair of Buick's Dealer
Marketing Advisory Board. The corporation with the most creative and
effective showroom display, as decided by the judges, would be declared the
winners. The losers would join Martha in the conference room where one of
them would be dismissed.
SHIFTING GEARS
On the ride back to Manhattan, Matchstick brainstormed.
Ryan pitched the idea that the Buick
Lucerne was so extraordinary you'd invite it to dine with you. Project
manager
Leslie was reluctant to accept the idea,
but finally agreed. Ryan was dispatched to produce a short video built
around the concept. Meanwhile Leslie obtained the services of a public
relations firm, who took Ryan's idea in another direction. Confident in her
hired experts, Leslie rerouted the concept despite the fact that the new
idea didn't match the concept for the showroom display. Ryan expressed
doubts that their car next to a dinner table would form a coherent message
without the video to help sell the story.
Eager to be the first candidate to score three wins as project manager,
Dawna took the leadership role for Primarius. The trio jumped into overdrive
and speedily agreed on the concept of "driven by elegance." Although
Jim and
Bethenny bickered throughout the task, they
remained allies. On the morning of the presentation, the crews hired to
build the showroom display were running late, and Dawna scrambled to keep
the schedule together. While their project manager put out the fires, Jim
and Bethenny realized that if Primarius won the task, everyone would be
safe. But if they failed, they would go after Dawna in the conference room.
No matter the outcome, the buddies reasoned, they would come out on top.
Dawna whipped the crews into shape, and Primarius' creation was finished on
time. When the executives arrived, they were greeted with a gleaming display
that embodied the term "elegance." With the car itself as the centerpiece,
the display featured photos and video screens that celebrated the refined
style and outstanding performance of the automobile. Matchstick's display,
however, fell far short. The Lucerne looked uncomfortable next to the large
and clunky dinner table, the video was vague and underwhelming, and a
nervous Leslie stammered and prattled her way through the presentation.
Despite the obviously puzzled and uncomfortable reactions from the
executives, the project manager was still confident Matchstick had pulled
off a win.
SUPER VILLAIN
With the task complete, the judges were ready to render their verdict to the
candidates. Away on business, Martha joined the proceedings via conference
call. Matchstick's display, Doug Osterhoff reported, was "confusing." None
of the executives understood why the car was at a dinner table, and the
overall message was lost amid conflicting signals. Margaret Brooks said that
Primarius' display was quite the opposite. The executives praised the
corporation for placing the Buick Lucerne in such an elegant spotlight. Not
only was Primarius the clear winner, the executives were impressed enough to
use the display in 2,700 Buick dealerships across the country.
Primarius' reward was a posh dinner in a private room at the Four Seasons,
one of Martha's favorite restaurants. Their dining companions were
Charles Koppleman, already well known to
the candidates as Chairman of MSLO, and Susan Lyne, President and CEO of
MSLO. The dinner was a priceless opportunity to impress the two executives
in an intimate setting. Unfortunately, Jim was as uncensored as usual and he
proclaimed himself the "super villain" of the loft, boasting about his
behind the scenes manipulation of the candidates. Both Dawna and Bethenny
distanced themselves from Jim's statements, but the brash candidate insisted
that anyone in the loft who claims they aren't playing a game is liar. His
shocking confession drastically altered the mood of the victory dinner.
CONCEPT VS. EXECUTION
In the conference room, Martha asked Leslie why Matchstick failed again. The
project manager claimed Primarius had a stronger concept that connected with
the judges. However, when Ryan explained his original idea for Matchstick's
display, Martha and her trusted associates warmed to the notion of "taking
your car to dinner." Leslie countered that the concept was weak, but Charles
proclaimed that execution of the concept was the problem. Ryan alleged that
the video could have driven their message home, were it not for Leslie's
last minute change of direction. The project manager defended her decisive
changes, stating that they stemmed from the advice of her hired experts.
Martha reviewed the records of each candidate. As project managers, Leslie
and Marcela each had two losses and Ryan had two wins. Befuddled, Martha
wanted to know why a winner like Ryan couldn't convince a group of losers to
go with his superior ideas. Ryan and Marcela both blamed Leslie's haphazard
decisions as the root of the problem. In turn, Leslie blamed Marcela for the
loss, which ignited a petty feud between the two candidates. Cutting through
the crossfire, Martha sent all three candidates to the lobby while she
consulted with her trusted associates.
Back in the conference room, each candidate was forced to take their
medicine in turn. Martha was upset with Ryan for meekly capitulating to his
lesser colleagues. Marcela, she said, needed to display more backbone and
sit up straight. As for the project manager, Martha condemned Leslie for
speaking too much without saying anything of substance. She also scolded the
project manager for paying too much attention to research, focus groups, and
outside experts. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, after all, is a company
that has made its mark by being experts, not relying on them - setting
trends instead of following them. Charles declared that Leslie was
responsible for letting the final product look so terrible. Martha concurred
that the task was a failure of execution. "Leslie," Martha said, "Thank you,
but we just don't need you."
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