NMA LeaderLab
APPRENTICE AUDITION
DEFINE YOUR PRODUCT
AND CUSTOMERS
DEVELOP YOUR APPLICATIONS
Try out your visionary, organizational,
teamwork and communications skills
in a new business environment, and
compete against other groups for a
simulated slot on the APPRENTICE
TEAM TV Show…
LeaderLab CEU Code 05002LL
SELECT YOUR PRODUCTION
AND SALES APPROACH
.1 CEU
NMA…
THE Leadership Development Organization
2210 Arbor Blvd.
Dayton, OH 45439
937-294-0421
Web Site: http://www.nma1.org
May the best team win!
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NMA LeaderLabs
Credits:
Developed by Pete Kurzhals, and field-tested by the Boeing Anaheim Leadership Association,
Boeing Aerospace Leadership Chapter, and San Luis Obispo City Employees Chapter.
NMA provides the following presentation solely for the use of NMA chapters. It is copyrighted and
only active NMA chapters have permission to present the following materials.
Copyright © 2006, by National Management Association, Dayton, OH
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Scenario
LL #2
Scenario:
Challenge:
APPRENTICE AUDITION
Theme
“Selling with Substance”
After extensive reviews and background checks, your team has been selected as a candidate participant
in Donald Trump’s new TV show APPRENTICE TEAM. This show pits competing teams against each
other in a series of increasingly difficult tasks, with losing teams dismissed with the now famous Trump
quote “You’re fired.” The last team to survive this grueling experience will be hired by one of Trump’s
companies at an annual salary of $150,000 per team member, and will be given the opportunity to start its
own business.
To qualify as a participant on APPRENTICE TEAM, your team must first successfully demonstrate its
ability to implement and sell its product. Each of the competing teams will be assigned a product, and you
have the next 20 minutes to put together a implementation plan for your product. You will also need to
select a LEADER who will then brief your plan and an OBSERVER who will take notes on and summarize
the team planning process.
Operations:
Before beginning, the team must unanimously select its LEADER and OBSERVER. The team must then
assign tasks to define its anticipated applications and market including expected customer types; to select
an appropriate advertising slogan and campaign for its product, and to decide where and how its product
should be manufactured and sold. Teams will be judged on the originality of their ideas, and on their
potential effectiveness in a real-world market.
Reports:
Each team LEADER will be allocated 3 minutes to brief the team’s implementation plan with answers for
all above tasks; and each team OBSERVER will have 2 minutes to summarize the process the team used
to develop its recommendations. There will be a hard cutoff at the end of 5 minutes.
Evaluation:
The facilitator will take the last 5 minutes to comment on each team’s plan and and process. Teams who
fail to make the grade will hear the dreaded “You’re fired”; and teams which meet all of Trump’s exacting
criteria will be hired to go on to the actual TV competition. So good luck to all of you…you’ll need that and
a lot more to make it to the show!
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NMA LeaderLab
Product Description
To keep the competition fair, all teams will be assigned
the same product which is being planned through a joint
venture of Trump Enterprises, Microsoft, Dell Computers
and Google Earth. This product – expected to sell for
$499 – will integrate a 3” x 5” Pocket Personal Computer
from Dell, specifically tailored mapping software from
Microsoft, and a wireless link to Google Earth to enable
focused display of satellite imagery. Associated 3-D
pictures for this TRUMP WORLD device can be called up
by typing in an associated street address (or latitude and
longitude); and a zooming button allows the user of this
shirt-pocket-size gadget to go from an initial view of 3x5
miles to a high resolution picture of 300 x 500 feet which
shows objects as small as 3 feet. By linking the device to
a laptop, the device view can be directed to a point on the
laptop screen map, using the included mapping software
and the laptop touchpad cursor, to enable scanning of
any area of interest. The associated capability provides a
user the ability to “see” any place anywhere in the world,
and potentially could usher in a host of associated
applications. Your job is to come up with an
implementation plan for this device which addresses all
the specified challenge tasks…so START NOW!
Check out http://earth.google.com for a product tour of the satellite imagery.
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Example Images
City View
Residential View
Industrial View
Scenic View
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Prizes
Top Team
Runner-up Teams
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Apprentice Secrets
• THINK BIG in selecting applications and customers
“Evolve unique products and target a continuously
increasing market base to enable business success….”
• ESTABLISH PROJECT TEAM to guide solutions
“Assign and track task responsibilities, consult/involve
diverse views and stress both team and personal progress….”
• TAKE RISKS to achieve maximum gains
“Pursue innovative ideas, adopt novel approaches and go
for the big wins….”
• COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY to sell your project
“Involve top management, use simple concepts and
messages, and answer all attacks….”
Use these lessons in your work to ensure success…
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Facilitator Hints
Project the LeaderLab (LeaderLab) cover page while you check in the participants, who should be asked to arrive 10 minutes early.
Assign each team a number (Team 1-5) by location, then go through the LL instructions and make sure all teams (and you) adhere to the
designated time allocation for each LL section. Begin by passing out hard copies of the Scenario, Product Images, and Prizes charts to
all participants before you go over these charts on the screen. After taking reports from each of the teams, use the following approach to
provide feedback.
There obviously is no way that all the challenge questions can be adequately addressed by the groups as a whole. Accordingly, the key
to this challenge is the delegation of each of the three major questions, i.e.
1.
Define the anticipated applications and market, including expected customers;
2.
Select an appropriate slogan and advertising approach for the product; and
3.
Decide how and where the product should be manufactured and sold.
After assigning each question to one (or more) team members, the LEADER must continuously communicate with each of the question
assignees to keep them on the common track and within their 20 minute time limit. Concurrently, the LEADER must extract the
information he will need for his or her report, and make sure that there is an answer for each element of each question.
You should assess the performance of each team by using the following criteria and the enclosed score sheet:
1.
Does the team have an answer for each element of each question?
2.
Are the answers reasonably consistent and do they make sense?
3.
Were the team results effectively presented?
4.
Did the team follow an effective process in developing its answers?
Teams which score a NO on any of these questions will be FIRED. Teams which score a YES on all four questions will be HIRED as
participants to complete on the APPRENTICE TEAM show, and will have a chance to be hired by Trump Enterprises. Before you provide
your feedback, pass out the LeaderLab evaluation forms and make sure you collect the completed forms at the end of the session.
Conclude the session by reviewing the associated top-level and local business LeaderLab lessons. After these have been covered,
announce the outcome for each team using the results and observations from the Score Notes and Sheet. Finally, pick an overall
chapter-team winner to receive the Don Trump doll, and suggest that each member of that team keep the doll for one month before
passing it on to another team member. The top team for all other participating chapters will receive a copy of “10 Secrets I Learned from
the APPRENTICE.” Once again, each runner-up team member should pass this book on to another team member once he or she has
absorbed these secrets.
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Score Notes
TEAM NUMBER
(POINTS)
1
APPLICATIONS
(5 EACH)
MARKET/
CUSTOMERS
(5 EACH)
SLOGAN
(5)
ADVERTISING
APPROACH
(5)
PRODUCTION
(5)
SALES
(5 EACH)
View, Search,
Track, Focus
Personal and
Business Use,
Local Government,
DOD
See Anywhere!
Be There!
China
Internet, Stores,
Contracts
20
20
5
5
5
15
LIST
SCORE
2
LIST
SCORE
3
LIST
SCORE
4
LIST
SCORE
5
LIST
SCORE
REF
LIST
SCORE
REF: These rows provide one example of the possible elements of a successfully-completed business plan.
NMA…THE Leadership Development Organization, Dayton, Ohio
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NMA LeaderLab
Score Sheet
TEAM NUMBER
(POINTS)
1
ANSWERS
(5 EACH)
CONSISTENCY
(5)
PRESENTATION
(5)
PROCESS
(5)
OUTCOME
(TOTAL POINTS)
All Addressed?
Matching
Answers?
Believable?
Focused or
Random?
Hired or Fired?
15
5
5
5
100
LIST
SCORE
2
LIST
SCORE
3
LIST
SCORE
4
LIST
SCORE
5
LIST
SCORE
REF
LIST
SCORE
REF: These rows provide one example of the possible elements of a successfully-completed business plan.
Any team with a score of 90 or higher is HIRED.
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LeaderLab Evaluation Form
Your comments and suggestions are very important to us. Please take a few moments to reflect on your
experiences at the LeaderLab. Your input will help us to continue to provide professional quality services
and maximize learning during the future LeaderLabs.
PLEASE CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX
1.
The overall LeaderLab program
2.
Appropriate use of the materials that made learning easy and enjoyable
3.
Opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with others
4.
Length of LeaderLab relative to its objectives and meeting your needs
5.
Applicability to your responsibilities, needs, and roles at home, work, and
elsewhere
6.
What is the most important thing you learned during the LeaderLab?
7.
Which part of the LeaderLab was of MOST VALUE to you? Why?
8.
Which part of the LeaderLab was of LEAST VALUE to you? Why?
9.
What suggestions for improvement do you have for future LeaderLabs?
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Check one ─
Yes
No
Did the facilitator(s)…
Keep the sessions “moving and interesting”?
Speak at a level that could be easily heard and understood by everyone?
Keep the discussions constructive, crisp, and well controlled?
Practice “good facilitation skills”?
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