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Four at War
After being called the weakest remaining candidate during a close boardroom
decision,
Felisha returned to the suite "shocked and
devastated".
Alla, her friend and confidant from the
beginning, was waiting with a warm embrace and reassuring words. The
remaining candidates headed out to celebrate their new status as the "Final
Four" over dinner at Grand Central Station. But the reality of fierce
competition between them lingered around the table.
The next morning Excel Corporation and Capital Edge arrived at the NASDAQ
Stock Exchange where
Mr. Trump, with the help of two executives
from Microsoft, revealed the next
task: "Make a sixty second promotional
video about the power of Microsoft LiveMeeting." The corporation with the
most creative and informative video, as judged by the Microsoft executives,
would win.
Felisha, eager to shed her label as "the weakest link",
nominated herself as project manager.
Rebecca admitted that her decision to
become project manager was truly "do
or die." With
Randal maintaining the best record as
project manager, Rebecca would need a strong win in her corner to remain a
venerable opponent.
Show Business
United as one, Excel dove into production mode, employing local actors to
portray harried executives. However, the actors neglected to bring intensity
or passion to the shoot, and
Rebecca faced her first big dilemma. With
Randal's support, Rebecca yanked the actors
and both members of Excel stepped in front of the camera.
As project manager for Capital Edge,
Felisha appointed
Alla as the director of the video, and cast
herself as the lead actress. The decision immediately tied the chain of
command in a Gordian knot: as actress, Felisha was to take orders from
director Alla, yet as project manager, Felisha wanted to have input over
Alla's direction. More problems emerged as the shooting script ran for 2 and
a half minutes - 90 seconds longer than their limit. With a crisis forming
and difficult choices imminent, Felisha nearly disappeared into the
wallpaper of the editing suite, and Alla ruthlessly
grabbed the reins.
Excel's final video was a tragic tale of a
business trip gone horribly wrong, followed by a vision of the future made
brighter by Microsoft's software. The judges responded warmly to Rebecca and
Randal's performances.
Capital Edge's final product was a fast
paced montage of Felisha as a frustrated traveler, combined with swooping
on-screen informational text. The Microsoft executives seemed to be confused
by the adrenaline-fueled mish-mash and were left with
a lot of questions.
Shear Bliss
At the task results, the Microsoft executives told
Mr. Trump that both corporations worked
very hard, and each produced a quality promotion given the amount of time
provided. Nevertheless, they admitted there was
little doubt as to which corporation won.
Excel's video made good use of a story line
approach, with a strong call to action. On the other hand,
Capital Edge's video was hard to follow,
and rather than focusing on a storyline, it relied heavily on text visuals
that were difficult to read.
Mr. Trump then announced that after working so hard for eleven weeks, Excel
Corporation deserved an opportunity to relax. For their reward, they would
admire the New York skyline from the water aboard the Shearwater, an 82-foot
classic schooner built in the 1920's. The
reward became even sweeter as two
additional passengers appeared on the dock the next morning:
Randal's wife Zahara, and
Rebecca's boyfriend Matt.
Unfortunately, it wasn't all smooth-sailing for Capital Edge, as
Alla and
Felisha shared one last dinner together at
Typhoon restaurant, surely contemplating the stormy
boardroom on the horizon.
The Bonds of
Friendship
Despite
Alla and
Felisha's strong friendship, the troubled
Microsoft task drove a wedge between the pair.
Mr. Trump called on project manager Felisha
to explain the loss and then quickly spread his ire evenly between the two
candidates: "But I heard from
Bill that Alla was very difficult for you."
Assertive as always, Alla defended her performance by attacking her project
manager and
claimed that Felisha was less concerned
about winning than she was about outshining Alla. "She would tell me
something to do, but when I was doing it too well, she would tell me to stop
being so good at it."
Felisha was overpowered as Alla continued to relentlessly steamroll over her
friend, placing all the blame on the project manager's shoulders. Trump
asked Alla to let up on the browbeaten candidate and his associates
struggled to locate the source of the failure.
Breaking down into tears, Felisha declared
her desire to remain as a candidate still burned bright. But
her fate was already sealed. "You're not
strong enough for this city. Felisha, you're fired," Donald said. As Alla
made a move for the door, Donald sharply
stopped her and ordered her to sit. "Alla,
the fact is, you are very, very hard to manage," Trump said. "Alla, you're
fired." Stunned, both businesswomen filed out of Trump Tower, leaving behind
a
suite which only the final two candidates
could still call home.
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