The Apprentice: Martha Stewart...

The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
I really enjoyed tonight's show. Martha has a good bunch of people left from which to choose her apprentice. This week, teams were to sell an item of their choice on a live QVC broadcast. Last week's double ouster left the teams uneven, so Dawna moved over to Primarius, led this week by Bethenny. Both she and Ryan, PM for Matchstick, took the leadership role to heart and acted accordingly. They tackled problems and personalities head-on, made executive decisions, adjusted course when needed and on the whole, kicked butt. I've been waiting to see project management like this for a long time.

Bethenny surprised me. She effectively handled the disparate personalities on her team, which included Dawna, a woman who works well only with a certain type of personality, and Jim, who is all over the place. The fact that Bethenny could control Jim spoke volumes. For once on this show, I saw Jim restrain himself. Bethenny's bumping Howie as an on-screen talent was a wise and risky move because it put Jim on TV, but no FCC fines were handed down as a result. So kudos to Bethenny! Im sorry her team lost.

Matchstick worked well under Ryan, who has thus far managed to not impress me. He's just not memorable. But I tell you the two quietest players, Marcela and Leslie, do stand out to me. Leslie is very capable, well spoken and can work with all types of people. Marcela may be less versatile than the others, but there's something about her I like and I can see her fitting in as an employee at MSLO.

The conference room was uneventful. Howie was sent home. I'm sad but okay with it because Bethenny, Howie and Jim behaved professionally when it was all over, putting aside the business and respecting the personal bonds they had forged over the weeks. Martha really does have a good bunch. Truly, they are the pick of the crop. I can't wait to see who wins.