Theoretical Tea and Company

Will it Happen this Season?

OK…so it has started. I’ll get right to the point. In the Board Room. Trump, Trump and Morgan, the contestants, almost everyone that spoke said that the main thing to remember about a fundraiser is that it is about a FUND raiser! Who can raise the most money. The bottom line is the bottom dollar. It doesn’t matter about how good or bad the product tastes…if your team did not raise the most amount of money, your team will lose. The Heads of the Board all stated this fact, implicitly. Geraldo was asked, if he had someone to fire, who would it be? He chose the two people who brought in the least amount of money. They all agreed to his assessment. Especially because Lorenzo Lamas brought in only between 100-150 dollars. BUT! Geraldo’s team won because THEY brought in the most amount of money. Period. The theme remains the same. Follow the money.

Head over to the other team. The discussion moves from Fund Raising and who brought in the most amount of money to the question of why “Little Rudy” didn’t ask Mr. Cosby for a donation. She explained that she had not spoken to Cosby in over 5 years so the LAST thing she was going to do, on an ethical level, is call him and ask him for money. This was her personal choice. No one knows why they had not spoken, but it was her decision.

STILL! She brought in 7000 dollars. EVERYONE brought in at least a penny EXCEPT for Kate! Not one penny! She was waiting on a 10 thousand dollar check…ONE! and THAT ONE CHECK did not come in…so she raised ZERO! She cried in the shop because she, herself, said that she felt that she let the team down because it was a fund raiser and she raised NO FUNDS!

So…it would appear that she agreed with Trump, Morgan, Trump, Geraldo, Lamas, the list goes on and on and on….Some would assert that if the team lost, the project manager had to go. BUT! The project manager, as told by everyone, did an awesome job, and even raised money.

So…why was the project manager fired? Reasons stated: because she didn’t raise a lot of money. She didn’t call Cosby. She didn’t delegate tasks effectively. Again, Kate raised Zero! If Lorenzo should be fired because he raised the least amount of money, why shouldn’t Kate be fired? How could the project manager on the losing team FORCE Kate to raise, not $150 like Lorenzo…but just a mere penny? She can’t! She couldn’t! And that was not her job!

Bottom line. Kate raised Zero during a Fund raiser when everyone agreed that the main goal boils down to how much money was raised. Kate…you’re fired! Kate was lazy in the shop during the fund raising event and when the project manager delegated her to go outside and recruit customers, Kate remained inside and had polite conversations with people coming in, raising nothing. Kate, you’re fired!

Person after person after person was asked why he or she SHOULDN’T be fired. Everyone was asked, but Kate. Why was that? Even at the end when all 3 women were sitting at the table, 2 out of 3 were asked (at least that’s what it showed on TV). Guess which one was NOT asked why SHE shouldn’t be fired? You’re right! Kate!

The project manager did not argue her case effectively. It’s understandable. She was over-talked for the most part, she became emotional, she was not cut-throat (good for her), and she was targeted from the beginning. The rules were changed to target her and she felt marginalized, and so instead of moving to the core of her empowerment, she became defensive. At that time, she lost. Instead of making her point from where SHE stood and focused on the money goal which would have solidified her position, she went on the defensive instead of the offensive.

I’m not sure if I’m going to watch the rest of the show that appears to say that the worse cut-throat person, ironically, in the name of charity…will eventually win. But, for now, I can say that I’m glad there was no hair pulling, name calling, or fighting. And I don’t think I actually saw a knife at all…..yet!

Both Trumps were classy and giving at the end. I disagree with the decision…but perhaps what makes great TV is not watching great people do great things the ethical, moral, and kind way any more. We’ll see….

Stay tuned.