The Partner - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss The Partner Here!

[Evagirl]

For some odd reason the first episode in on "On Demand", when it isn't even scheduled to air until next week.  I watched it.

I won't spoil it by saying what happened.  I will say I think it's going to be an interesting show.  Looks like people will be eliminated each week.  Lemonis does say (even in the previews) "for the next five weeks...".  So it's not going to take a real long time for him to find the partner he's looking for.

[cooksdelight]

Sounds like The Apprentice.

[Amarsir]

Yeah, I figure we'll be finding out if having a respectable host makes that show more watchable or less so.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Amarsir

[Primetimer]

The Profit gets competitive as Marcus Lemonis shows The Apprentice how it's done. Get on board!

View the full article

[pbutler111]

I can't figure out why Buffy is wearing a full-length satin skirt to what is basically a job interview.

[Amarsir]

I just watched on cnbc.com, who lists it as airdate of "3-7" but had the episode available.

For a pilot it could have used a second hour and a little more action. This certainly felt real, like Marcus is doing it to find someone and not simply for television. That's a reality I don't always find on The Profit. But because it is a TV show, I needed more than just 3 rounds of "tell us about yourself".

Right now I'd say Chuck, Erin, and Peilin are the frontrunners with Buffie and Juliana looking a little weaker. But we'll see when they actually start doing something.

[pbutler111]

Sounds like The Apprentice.

I understand the comparison to The Apprentice, but I don't really think it's apt. This show is obviously real, and seems more focused on Lemonis actually finding a real partner to work with him than on working up fake fights or demeaning tasks.

[cooksdelight]

Yes, I see that also. But in the beginning, The Apprentice offered a real job. I know one person who benefited from that.

[cooksdelight]

I'm bad with names, so....

The blonde with curly hair, she is looking like the front-runner so far. Marcus likes her.

Buffy....she'd fit right in with the Atlanta Housewives. Chuck scares me, I'm wondering if he's a little PTSD. Don't like the jokester guy, with the beard. Candy lady has no personality.

People who tear up never get far.

[BusyOctober]

Rapping nursery rhyme mom...ugh.  Make a video while driving football dude irks.  Both of their boardroom pitches made me cringe in second hand embarrassment.  Buffie is someone I'd probably like to have coffee or margaritas with, but not sure I could work with her.  I did like the short haired blonde but she came across very young. Carrie, blonde with longer hair has biz credentials, but meh. Adopted guy who owns salons seems nice, but out of his league for this job.  I liked Peilin (sp?), military guy, Latino guy and guy with a girl's name, Erin.

[Gregg247]

There was that one blonde lady with all the past business experience who came off as humorless and all-business.  Marcus cut her because he just didn't connect with her.  I thought it was hilarious that she described herself as "witty" and Marcus looked surprised and said, "Witty?  You mean, like, funny?" LOL

Later, after crowing about her poker skills and ability to read people, she gave a terrible performance in front of the focus group, all dour, dry, and lifeless, and then she told the camera, "Nothing but net!  Swish!"  I'd love to play her in poker sometime!

The crying guy was an easy cut.  He teared up telling his "story" to Marcus, and then teared up again later when telling that same story to the focus group.  I get the feeling that he loves telling his story to everyone he can, all the time, and he tears up every time.  It's his schtick, and it must get really old quickly.  Fifty years from now, he'll still be telling his story and tearing up.  His story is how he defines his life, and he seems perfectly happy to stick with that.  

I liked the "superfan" guy, but he kept getting too nervous in front of everyone.  Marcus went from flattered to irritated with him fairly quickly.

The former football player seemed to have a lot of unresolved issues with his divorce, his mother's death, his estrangement from his kids, etc.  Maybe going on a high-pressure TV show isn't the best idea for him right now.

I like the military guy and the candy lady (sorry about the lack of actual names).

[toodles]

Ugh.  Group hugs need to go. Maybe that's just me.  Watching the previews and the chick with the Beyonce shirt?  Really?  Maybe I'm taking this out of context, but how would this be appropriate in a business setting?  I'm in though.

[sarthaz]

I guess it's too late now, but this show needs a new editor.  Because these shows are 100% editing.  All of these candidates probably said amazing things and stupid things, but they present it to us the way they want us to see it.  And that's fine.  But the show was edited in such a way that no one would ever suspect that nervous fanboy Billy was going to move on, so trying to create drama before a commercial break between him and Julianna (who knocked everything out of the park) was just bad television.

[PBSLover]

I won’t be watching this series.  To me, hosting a reality show to find a partner is stupid.  I am sure Marcus has qualified people within his organization already.

The show last night was a big disappointment.  And of all the thousand of applicants, these folks were the best of the bunch?  I find that sad.

Peace and Love.

[Kiss my mutt]

I can't believe out of 20,000 applicants this group is what they came up with.  

The three Ps guy iseems like he's used to getting praise for taking a dump. Everything that came out of his mouth was garabage and he thought it was so profound. Probably a factor of having played pro ball and working primarily with family. He probably has no clue why his wife left him to this day. 

That blonde "witty" candidate appears to be on the spectrum. She's really socially tone deaf. 

Marine guy looks like Howdy Doody and is very wooden, can't imagine his management style would mesh with Marcus. And he just seems like the guy no one wants to get stuck talking to at a party. 

The adopted guy was sure to get that point across but he appeared insincere and a brown noser. Plus I got sick of him asking everyone where they were from and him responding "very cool, very cool."  I thought he'd make it to the next round though. 

I'm on the fence about the rest but I did like the woman who opened a non-profit after her experience with domestic violence. 

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

And he just seems like the guy no one wants to get stuck talking to at a party

You nailed it, poor Chuck.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Quote

A series of character tests helps Marcus get to know the five remaining candidates when they create a marketing campaign to brand themselves and, later, during a complex investment assessment.

[shksabelle]

screeching, hugging, rapping, a$$ kissing.  ugh, seriously???

well, they made sure to hit the diversity note.

let's see how all the types fit into their roles.

[Primetimer]

The potential Partners are asked to brand themselves, and one is branded an unimaginative also-ran.

View the full article

[cooksdelight]

Chuck just wasn't cut out for this type of job, too quiet and too unsure when it comes to presenting anything.

Erin is a jerk so we're probably stuck with him for a while. Of all the posters, I liked Buffie's best. I liked it because I would stop, look, and want to know more about her. Good choice to change the focus and do the photo the way she did. 

Peilin (sp?) rubs me the wrong way for some reason. She complains too much or something. The blonde woman is going to cry at everything when the going gets tough. Marcus seems to favor her (he is single, after all) but you can't make someone into something if they are too timid to be themselves.

[Florida Mike]

After seeing the first 2 episodes I am convinced that Marcus actually did not find one single candidate worthy of his venture. These seem more like personalities for a show rather than what he is ultimately trying to achieve. None of them have that "IT" factor in my opinion. They are all highly qualified on paper but really lack that Mark Cuban or Mr. Wonderful personality that is really what Marcus is looking for.

[Gregg247]

I would have failed utterly at that first challenge, where they had to come up with a single image that represents themselves as a business partner.  12 hours later, and I still have nothing!  The second challenge, though, would have been a home-run.  It was too easy to hate both companies, and to tell Marcus that.  I was surprised that Buffy was the only one brave enough to tell Marcus what she really thought.  These were two really good challenges, and I appreciated that they actually gave insight into the contestants' personalities that could help Marcus in making his selection.

I can't stand Juli. She can call herself "strong and confident" a million times, but it doesn't make it true.  She had no idea how she comes across in public, and when Marcus told her that it was her demeanor rather than her looks, she was completely caught off-guard.  Her poster, which she designed to show off her "strong and confident" image, was a picture of herself in a little girl jumper outfit, holding flowers. hmmmm.  When Marcus told her it was bad, she immediately switched to her "words of affirmation" that she "does at work every day" (!!!).  Once again, she's telling us something, rather than showing us --  because she doesn't know how to show us.  Someone up-thread mentioned that she's a business owner.  If so, I certainly didn't remember that.  She's much better off concentrating on THAT fact rather than all the nonsense "power words" and things like that.

Chuck was my favorite from last week, but he definitely had to go this time.  He had a fundamental misunderstanding for what Marcus was looking for, despite how many times Marcus tried to tell him.  What was Chuck's position in the military?  He definitely would be great at following orders, but not much else.  Also, like Juli, he was fixated on telling a story that may or may not be true about himself.  "Leading From the Heart"?  I don't think so.  I'll bet he was one tough mofo in Iraq; Marcus wanted a little of that version of Chuck instead of the cuddly version he got.

[sarthaz]

18 minutes ago, Gregg247 said:

I can't stand Juli. She can call herself "strong and confident" a million times, but it doesn't make it true.  She had no idea how she comes across in public, and when Marcus told her that it was her demeanor rather than her looks, she was completely caught off-guard.  Her poster, which she designed to show off her "strong and confident" image, was a picture of herself in a little girl jumper outfit, holding flowers. hmmmm.  When Marcus told her it was bad, she immediately switched to her "words of affirmation" that she "does at work every day" (!!!).  Once again, she's telling us something, rather than showing us --  because she doesn't know how to show us.  Someone up-thread mentioned that she's a business owner.  If so, I certainly didn't remember that.  She's much better off concentrating on THAT fact rather than all the nonsense "power words" and things like that.

Ditto.  I was Team Juli last week, but she's not the person she thinks she is.  The way she talks over Marcus to affirm her own greatness is totally annoying.  He's trying to say, "Your poster connected with the audience, but it didn't connect with me." And she's totally interrupting him with, "I know, right? Let me tell you about how I overcame adversity to bring you this vision." before he can get to his point.  I was worried she'd lose me when she showed up to Target in that hideous outfit.  Marcus has already told her repeatedly that she comes across cutesy and emotional, and then she shows up the next day dressed like a child and takes pictures of herself holding flowers in the ad campaign.  Come on, kid.  At least try to prove him wrong.

[cooksdelight]

I've worked in advertising my whole life, so I'd have no problem with that first task. I'd have a photo of myself in a plain t-shirt, jeans with the frayed hems (like I wear all the time), with words "Success isn't what's on the outside".... or something about not judging what you see, it's what you know... with a brief blurb about my upbringing in Appalachia and how I moved away and had a successful career. I have my own business, it's thriving, and I'd never have done that unless I left home. I have a part-time job I do for fun, but the full-time business is my passion. I don't see any passion in these people so far. Buffie, maybe. 

[BusyOctober]

I'm not impressed with any of these people.  And since they aired at least one appeal for more applicants for I assume another season, I'm guessing Marcus wasn't either.

Juli keeps trying to talk herself into a personality.  I'm sure she does good work with her non-profit, and good for her for rising above and succeeding after dealing with an abusive relationship.  But all I heard her say over and over was that she wanted to be seen as strong, but then she wanted her poster to convey her softness and approach-ability.  Not saying a person can't be both, but she (like all of them in this challenge) had trouble pin pointing a "branding message".

Erin is almost as one dimensional and boring as Chuck.  They are both brown nosing suck ups, but do it in different ways.  Erin is less of a sycophant than Chuck though.

Peilin needs to drop the Harvard Law name dropping.  It doesn't broaden her appeal or credibility to begin every damn introduction sentence with "As a Harvard Law grad, I blah blah blah-ed"  In fact it pigeon holes her into a one dimensional person; "oh, that's the woman who went to Harvard" and the rest of her resume or accomplishments aren't in the forefront of how people remember her.

Buffie appears to be on the verge of crying every time she speaks.  As if she either just finished crying, or she's about to break into sobs.  And it isn't only when she is discussing anything remotely emotional (the stress of the process, her past failures/successes, etc). Her voice has that tremulous quaver. Is this manner of speaking some horrible spin off of "vocal fry"? Vocal cry?

I like "The Profit", and I like Marcus a lot.  But after 2 episodes, this show comes across as filler until Marcus can find more businesses to film for a new season of "The Profit".

[toodles]

Really on the fence for this show.  I didn't get why they were at Target, other than product placement.  These "partner" wannabes all seem to lack the poise and confidence to do this job.  Badass girl?  Just no.  Harvard girl?  Just no.  And why was Buffey clothes shopping at Target?  So far, one seems as bad as the next to me.

I love the Profit, but if these people are the best Marcus can do, I really doubt I'm going to hang around for the rest of the run.

[Amarsir]

I'm fine with the caliber of the contestants. There's a ceiling on applicants as no one who's uber-successful is going to drop their life to work for Marcus. Also the nature of this show wants to expose flaws (something Marcus himself isn't subject to). And they are applicants trying to pitch themselves, which is anything but an authority position. Yet authority is exactly what we would want from The Partner.

So I did like second challenge. That should have been their opportunity to come out with strong, reasoned opinions and they really didn't.  Too much "I want to ask follow-up questions." Which is not unreasonable but clearly not what Marcus wants.  For having a stance (and for having the poster closest to what I'd have done), Buffie jumped up in rankings to me.

What I need to see is each of them with authority and vaguer rules. Erin is (IMHO) really good at figuring out the objective and delivering it. That's why he had the best poster and was the first to figure out that Marcus wanted to hear "terrible concept".  He's also good at giving pluses and minuses when asked for group feedback (the latter of which make for good show clips). That doesn't make me confident that he could walk into a struggling retail store and say "get rid of X and start doing more Y" unless Marcus was standing across from him hinting it's the right answer.

[clod]

was "leader" mentioned a lot in the first episode?

was "law school"  mentioned a lot in the first episode?

[pbutler111]

The funny thing is, that second fake product pitch, for the app? It already exists. The creators pitched it (unsuccessfully, as I recall) on Shark Tank quite a while ago.

[qtpye]

I am with the rest of you, in that I am not impressed with anyone.  I do not think any of these people are the right fit to partner with Marcus in the capacity that he needs.

The first exercise should be simple for any manager.  "What do you bring to the table that makes you stand apart from the rest of the crowd".  I do not like Erin, but his poster most fit the brief.  There is something insincere about Erin, that I can not put my finger on, just yet.

The Blonde girl should have been out the moment she started crying.  Hell, Joan fired a secretary on Mad Men, because there is no crying in work.

The Harvard Law Candy mogul is not really emphasizing her good points.  Just saying Harvard a million times starts to come off a little pathetic.

Buffie has the drive, but she is not really in line with Marcus's business philosophy.  The fact she thought the 6000 calorie restaurant was a good idea really showed that.  I think she might get a job somewhere in Marcus's empire, but she is not the right person to be  "The Partner".

[seacliffsal]

Geesch, none of these 'candidates' seem appropriate for such a high level position with Marcus.  I don't see how Marcus would tolerate them for one moment.  Juli, the blonde, is a special snowflake as in her confessionals she really criticizes every critique that she received and blamed the person for not understanding how special she is.  She may work for a nonprofit organization, but that does not indicate how successful she or the organization was while she worked there.  Pelion-she really defines herself by her Harvard Law Degree.  However, she is not working as a lawyer so there is a real disconnect.  Also, while a wonderful accomplishment, the real question is what have you done since then?

Buffie seems to want to do what she wants to do, not necessarily what the challenge is or what Marcus wants.  Chuck may be a good middle manager in that he will do whatever his supervisors want, but not necessarily a leader in his own right.  Yes, he may have been in Iraq/Afghanistan, but not every Marine serves in combat-there are a LOT of support positions.

I will give it another week, but I may be out after the next episode.  If Marcus chooses any of these people, I will lose a bit of respect for him.  Even when The Apprentice was about real people (before the celebrity versions), the winner was only promised a good position within the Trump organization-never anything so much as a partnership.  Maybe the promise of 'the partner' is just too much for a reality show.

[Amarsir]

BTW I like how involved Marcus is in this process. He didn't just tell them to make a poster and then disappear to judge the final product. He walked around and interviewed them at Target, observed the photoshoot from the background, etc. He's definitely making the most of the opportunity to figure each of them out.

[Kai R.]

They need to make a rule that you're allowed to mention that you went to law school only ONCE per episode and see how mute Peilin becomes. Juli's poster sucked ass - if that poster has been anyone else's, I doubt they would've gotten more than a dozen votes. Erin seems like he'd be annoying to spend significant time with, but I gotta admit I loved his poster. He nailed it. If he doesn't end up as a business partner, he should go into advertising - that, or he just lucked out and had the best helper at the marketing group. I'm glad Chuck is gone. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but hard to see him as a leader, ironic, given his self-proclaimed level of experience in leadership roles. I would like to see Buffie turn down the quirkiness and dial up some real business acumen. I'm not blown away by any of these candidates, but it's still early days. I had really high hopes for this show. I hope it improves. :/

[Kai R.]

I am with the rest of you, in that I am not impressed with anyone.  I do not think any of these people are the right fit to partner with Marcus in the capacity that he needs.

The first exercise should be simple for any manager.  "What do you bring to the table that makes you stand apart from the rest of the crowd".  I do not like Erin, but his poster most fit the brief.  There is something insincere about Erin, that I can not put my finger on, just yet.

The Blonde girl should have been out the moment she started crying.  Hell, Joan fired a secretary on Mad Men, because there is no crying in work.

The Harvard Law Candy mogul is not really emphasizing her good points.  Just saying Harvard a million times starts to come off a little pathetic.

Buffie has the drive, but she is not really in line with Marcus's business philosophy.  The fact she thought the 6000 calorie restaurant was a good idea really showed that.  I think she might get a job somewhere in Marcus's empire, but she is not the right person to be  "The Partner".

Perfect assessment!

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, Kai R. said:

that, or he just lucked out and had the best helper at the marketing group.

I got that also. In any creative group, there's that one person who stands out above the rest and wins all the awards. I'm betting Erin's helper was that person.

[Amarsir]

9 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I got that also. In any creative group, there's that one person who stands out above the rest and wins all the awards. I'm betting Erin's helper was that person.

Maybe, but the whole premise of the ad was Erin's idea. He conceived the "lead by experience on a mountain" back at Target when he bought the mountaineering supplies and we heard him present it to the helper. I'm sure the quality of the shot, layout, and copy were the assistant's doing. But we know the source of the main idea.

[ae2]

Did the one guy (Michael?) actually say in his talking head, "There's going to be 70 bitches up in there"???

There was far less drama than I expected. But cutting it from 10 to 5 in one episode was dumb.

Completely agree with the person above who said the editing is awful.

The curly haired blonde woman (Juli?) was okay and probably a front runner, but I can't get past her exclaiming, "I don't think I've had any epic fails. Maybe this is my first one?" 

[qtpye]

I think one of the main problems is that anyone who is truly qualified for this role would never submit to this type of on television job interview.  I think Marcus is sincere and this show is much better then the bullshit the Apprentice has become, but it still reeks of reality television.

Some of these challenges seem very undignified.  Shopping at Target for your call out poster?  It seems silly and juvenile.  None of the contestants are rising to the challenge thus far...maybe it gets better in future episodes.

[Evagirl]

If I could have I would have recommended to Chuck that on one side of his poster I'd show him in military camouflage, with weapons and a diverse team of serious looking soldiers behind him.   On the other side I'd show him in a sharp business suit, iPad or tablet with a diverse team of corporates behind him.  In between I'd say something like, "I've led on the battlefield and now I'm leading in the boardroom.  That's how I roll."  Too corny?  Don't beat me up too bad.
 

[cooksdelight]

Noooo!! Not corny at all!! That would have been a brilliant poster but he has no creative thinking in his brain.

[Gregg247]

I didn't like anyone this week, including Marcus!  Last week, he dinged the contestants for all agreeing with him rather than challenge his ideas, like a real partner should.  This week, he dinged them because no one agreed that watches would be a good product to sell at a mall kiosk.  Make up your mind, Marcus!  Plus, he got mad that no one "researched" the products that were on sale at the kiosks.  They were selling t-shirts and candy!  How much research does that require? 

Juli impressed me (minimally) by slapping Erin down at the basketball game.  She really shut him up without being mean or overdoing it.  

My favorite line was from Pielen, to Buffy: "Why do you 'deserve' this more than the rest of us?"  We almost had an interesting argument.  Then Pielen ruined it by crying at the mall because she missed her family, and the show wasn't what she was expecting.  Has she ever watched a reality TV show?  This is exactly what she should have been expecting (sad but true).  If you're going to cry about missing all your family activities, maybe you should stick with your job at the family candy business, Miss Harvard Law.

I think Marcus wants to hire Erin, but realized that he couldn't fire someone else when Erin stunk that badly this week, so he gave them all a pass.  I wish he'd fire them all and hire that lady who sold the watches for him.  She was a random person, so definitely better than all 4 existing contestants put together.

Edited March 22, 2017 by Gregg247

[cooksdelight]

One thing that contestants on The Apprentice do that this bunch hasn't yet figured out is getting online with those Mac laptops and finding out more about the history of each of the products. They were clueless that the watches were for various charities. I'd have jumped on that in a heartbeat. There's a story for each item, but none of them bothered to find out what it was.

I am waiting for Buffie to put up or shut up. I think she could win this since she isn't the crying, whiney type. The other three are. Erin complains and checks out...Juli and Pielen cry at the drop of a hat. Erin said "But I had a fire...." and Buffie very quickly said "You don't know what I'm going through." Which is true. She doesn't complain or cry.

[kacesq]

I was already to enjoy this show and the first two episodes seemed to be slightly better than your average competition reality show.  But last night's episode with the "who should go?" crap.  I hate that.  I also started the season liking all the contestants but now I wouldn't hire any of them.  Miss Harvard Law doesn't seem to do well under pressure, Erin is just arrogant, Juli is meh and Buffie talks a good game but hasn't done anything to back it up other than insist she should be the Partner. 

[toodles]

Wow, Marcus, this group of delicate doilies is the best you could do?  This whole episode was an epic fail.   I couldn't believe this stupid jet shirts were back again and aren't there a bunch of candle and candy shops in every mall in the country?  The only product with a marginally interesting back story were the watches.   If you ask me, they should have researched the mall and its stores instead of the products.  I may give someone 30 seconds at a mall kiosk, so save the story.  I don't care.

Miss Harvard law and Mr. "I'm too good for this shit" Erin are not long for this show.

[Amarsir]

Erin sure dropped the ball, even giving him some leeway for the fire. I think he's probably the sharpest in terms of figuring out the objective and changing to match it, but he also has a commitment problem. In the first week he said his history was bailing on Goldman Sachs a week from his start date to go vacation in Pamplona. That doesn't describe a guy I'd want representing me; I couldn't trust him to follow through. Marcus seemed to take it as a positive, but I'm watching for it because otherwise I think Erin would be the guy to beat.

Overall this week though, thumbs down to Marcus for giving them an hour and expecting it to be a branding exercise. An hour to pick items and then overnight to create a strategy, great. But he specifically said they only had an hour for strategy. And if they don't realize that no one gives a shit about kiosks, of course they're going to focus on the accounting more than the marketing.  It was set up for disappointment.

Also is this the first time we've heard that the half million is over 3 years? It makes me wonder what catches are on the equity part as well?

[AyeshaTheGreat]

I feel like I heard the "half million over 3 years" line for the first time as well.  It actually stuck out to me when he said it.  

As for this episode, I would have gone with one product for a kiosk but it might have been the candy or candles.  The watches on that kiosk did tell the story quickly and seemed to catch people's attention.  

When Marcus kept saying "I want to send someone home" or something like that, I knew he wasn't sending anyone home.  I thought Peilin was going to be sent home because I think Marcus really likes Erin.  But as mentioned above, maybe because Erin was so bad, Marcus couldn't really justify sending anyone else, even though others were only marginally better.  I was really surprised when they tried to make it seem like Buffie should go.  While she isn't as great as she thinks she is, I think between the two tasks, she performed better than Erin.

Overall, I don't really care for this show but I do enjoy CNBC shows so I will continue to watch.  If it was canceled, I wouldn't be upset.  However, if there was a season 2, I'd probably watch to see if it has gotten any better.

[Amarsir]

Comparing it to The Apprentice, it's very visible how low-budget the tasks are. Which I guess makes it more real and less showbiz. But if you're going to sully yourself with Target plugs anyway, how about something bigger than 15 minutes coaching basketball and playing minimal-prep street vendor?

I too would have gone with single-item candy, @AyeshaTheGreat. But that had me wondering how much branding and variety was actually available to them. Can you get a colorful cart filled with 8 kinds of candy and a giant "Sweet Pete's" sign? Or would it have just been a stack of jars looking like a clearance sale?

Speaking of which, as amateur as the chalkboard and zero signage looked, that was a Marcus Lemonis technique. How many shows have we seen where he takes in thousands on leftover inventory with an "everything must go" approach? It wasn't dumb of Erin to make that an angle, but incredibly weak that it's all they had.

[RealReality]

new drinking game -- take a swig everytime Pelin mentions she went to "Harvard Law."  

You'll be drunk 10 minutes in.

*insert eyeroll emoji here*

On 3/15/2017 at 4:23 AM, cooksdelight said:

Chuck just wasn't cut out for this type of job, too quiet and too unsure when it comes to presenting anything.

Erin is a jerk so we're probably stuck with him for a while. Of all the posters, I liked Buffie's best. I liked it because I would stop, look, and want to know more about her. Good choice to change the focus and do the photo the way she did. 

Peilin (sp?) rubs me the wrong way for some reason. She complains too much or something. The blonde woman is going to cry at everything when the going gets tough. Marcus seems to favor her (he is single, after all) but you can't make someone into something if they are too timid to be themselves.

Is he?  I got a vibe between them, and he takes it WAY too easy on her, and constantly seems to fall for her "I'm tough, but here I am crying" thing.   He keeps saying he is proud of her, but I'm never quite sure for what.

I actually like her, but I dislike favoritism.

[RealReality]

On 3/15/2017 at 6:52 AM, Gregg247 said:

I would have failed utterly at that first challenge, where they had to come up with a single image that represents themselves as a business partner.  12 hours later, and I still have nothing!  The second challenge, though, would have been a home-run.  It was too easy to hate both companies, and to tell Marcus that.  I was surprised that Buffy was the only one brave enough to tell Marcus what she really thought.  These were two really good challenges, and I appreciated that they actually gave insight into the contestants' personalities that could help Marcus in making his selection.

I can't stand Juli. She can call herself "strong and confident" a million times, but it doesn't make it true.  She had no idea how she comes across in public, and when Marcus told her that it was her demeanor rather than her looks, she was completely caught off-guard.  Her poster, which she designed to show off her "strong and confident" image, was a picture of herself in a little girl jumper outfit, holding flowers. hmmmm.  When Marcus told her it was bad, she immediately switched to her "words of affirmation" that she "does at work every day" (!!!).  Once again, she's telling us something, rather than showing us --  because she doesn't know how to show us.  Someone up-thread mentioned that she's a business owner.  If so, I certainly didn't remember that.  She's much better off concentrating on THAT fact rather than all the nonsense "power words" and things like that.

Chuck was my favorite from last week, but he definitely had to go this time.  He had a fundamental misunderstanding for what Marcus was looking for, despite how many times Marcus tried to tell him.  What was Chuck's position in the military?  He definitely would be great at following orders, but not much else.  Also, like Juli, he was fixated on telling a story that may or may not be true about himself.  "Leading From the Heart"?  I don't think so.  I'll bet he was one tough mofo in Iraq; Marcus wanted a little of that version of Chuck instead of the cuddly version he got.

Chuck is just one of those guys that needs directions.  He needs a boss, he needs a directive.  I think this works great in the armed services, because there is almost always someone above you giving you a task, or a directive, or something to do.  You are rarely asked for your opinion, you are just asked to perform.  It is likely why he worked well as a chief of staff for an executive at Sears.

I like Juli, but I can see your point.

Right now, my favorite is Buffie.  I ultimately think that Erin would end up always going against whatever Marcus wanted, and Juli would end up going with whatever he wanted.  And I think Peilin, as an attorney, would ALWAYS want more information before making a decision.  I think Buffie would be honest and decisive.

On 3/15/2017 at 5:30 PM, Amarsir said:

What I need to see is each of them with authority and vaguer rules. Erin is (IMHO) really good at figuring out the objective and delivering it. That's why he had the best poster and was the first to figure out that Marcus wanted to hear "terrible concept".  He's also good at giving pluses and minuses when asked for group feedback (the latter of which make for good show clips). That doesn't make me confident that he could walk into a struggling retail store and say "get rid of X and start doing more Y" unless Marcus was standing across from him hinting it's the right answer.

I felt like Marcus had to literally say "I wouldn't invest in either of these" before anyone really said anything committal (besides Buffie).  But I may be misremembering.

Is it just me, or does Erin have the jaw of a gorilla?  You all probably think I'm crazy, but go back and check it out.  It bugs me everytime they do a profile shot of his face.