"Apprentice" Season Two Checklist

Mark Burnett's checklist for Season Two of "The Apprentice" (yes, I watch that crap, leave me alone):

  • Elevate Donald Trump to the status of demigod through not-so-subtle use of regal music and flattering camera angles. Check.
  • Exploit women for profit while using Carolyn's "strong character" to take the moral high ground. Check.
  • Breaking the stated rules of the game, fire someone who isn't technically allowed to be fired that week. Check.
  • Breaking the stated rules of the game, prematurely fire someone outside of the boardroom session set aside for firing. Check.
  • Breaking the stated rules of the game, fire multiple people at one time. Check.

Still to come (we'll definitely be Jumping the Shark this season folks):

  • Task where teams have 2 days to end poverty, oppression, and war with $25K seed money.
  • Special episode featuring Stacy J. on how to slander people you don't like and ruin their lives on national television. Subtitled: "Diagnosing mental illness for MBAs"
  • Fire Carolyn.
  • As the fired candidate is walking out to the taxi, shoot him or her in the kneecap with a sniper rifle.

Just wait, I'm tellin' ya. We ain't seen nothin' yet.

Business incubation contributes to long-term health of community

This piece was written for submission to the Palladium-Item during my time on the board of Main Street Richmond-Wayne County. It never made its way to the paper, but I thought I'd post it here since it's still relevant.

It still strikes me how little we knew about everything that goes into running a business when we founded the technology company I work for, Summersault, in 1997. We were very confident about the services we wanted to provide and very focused on the clients with whom we wanted to work, but had plenty to learn about accounting, legal matters, hiring employees, and all of the other necessary but complex areas of knowledge one must dive into when doing business.
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