Some financial and business educators encourage their students to watch whatever incarnation of ‘The Apprentice’ happens to be available hoping they will pick up on some of the methods, ideas and solutions presented. Others believe that the series offers nothing in terms of business and financial education. In fact, many in the world of business write the show off as a series of staged events designed to cash in on reality show popularity and promote whatever product of the week that Trump happens to be hawking. All these viewpoints have valid arguments, but they are missing the real lessons offered by this reality television show.

The whole idea of The Apprentice is a fascinating one. People have to work together in teams for the ultimate benefit of just one member. That concept is acted out in real life everyday within the corporate workplace. Everyone is trying to climb the same ladder and it can get pretty crowded at times. The lessons to be learned from The Apprentice teach how to prepare for the steep climb, how to remain on the ladder and how to eventually make it to the top.

Like most reality television shows, this one makes it easy to spot the various types of people we’re likely to meet in life. Optimists, pessimists, leaders, followers, problem solvers, troublemakers, ambitious and ruthless competitors, slackers, true believers, skeptics, team players, loners and those just along for the ride are all easily identified.

What makes The Apprentice different from most reality TV shows is that it allows us to view all these different types of people in a workplace environment while they are competing for what can turn out to be a life-changing career. For those observant enough to notice, the series teaches us how to avoid becoming a casualty of the corporate workplace.

Let’s face it. If someone is going to move up in the corporate world, somebody else has to be moved out. Most people set themselves up for dismissal, downsizing or demotion by becoming a target or overreacting to various plots and schemes designed to take them down. They allow peers, supervisors, team leaders or outsiders to set them up by reacting to various outrages directed at them in ways their enemies expect.

The Apprentice provides a unique behind the scenes view of how and why someone is targeted and what they can potentially do about it. In almost every case the victim of a successful conspiracy is someone who worried more about what others were doing, and less about their own actions. Part of surviving workplace intrigue is sticking to corporate philosophy. When a hammer falls, it’s more likely to fall on those who break the rules than employees who do not, regardless of the motivation. The series provides a good example of the soundness of this approach to workplace survival.

Donald Trump is continually vigilant about protecting his name and image. He’s always concerned as much about how people represent his name and image as he is with making money. For him, the two are one. No goal rises above that and he is easily able to communicate this fact to Apprentice job applicants. Despite that, we have seen many instances when teams and individuals simply ignore the Trump philosophy and are unconcerned with the way they represent him in trying to complete their tasks. This leads to failure and firing.

Part of surviving the real life corporate workplace means being able to sign on to a corporate philosophy, respect it and embed it in everything you do. For Donald, the name Trump implies success, quality and innovation. Anyone wanting to work for or represent the Trump Organization should understand how important those elements are to him and the corporation.

An important difference between The Apprentice and other reality shows like Survivor is how the participants are eliminated. Rather then just being contestants voted out by their peers, these are actual job applicants who are ’fired’ by the same person who will ultimately hire just one. Those who get shown to the door are let go based on their inability to successfully complete tasks of varying difficulty in a pressure filled environment.

Some who squeak by during one boardroom session will probably face the music within an episode or two. Others slowly prove their potential corporate value by following directions, contributing to team efforts, showing loyalty, displaying leadership, proving their ability to think in and out of the box, respecting corporate authority and being innovative when it is appropriate. They also keep their eyes on the prize.

It’s easy to lose focus in a workplace filled with distractions. Few business office environments are stable enough to promote harmony among employees, supervisors, visitors, newcomers and corporate authority figures. Beyond all the feuds, factions and relationships, there are also the plots, false accusations and misunderstandings that can easily slow down or bring any workplace to a grinding halt. Most people who face these situations do so alone and that is part of the problem.

The Apprentice offers some obvious solutions to workplace problems that are amply illustrated on the series. One is the simple concept of Mentoring. As we see on the television show, a good Mentor is not going to think and act for you. Instead, they are going to guide you in the right direction, inspire innovative ideas that meet corporate standards and give you some straight talk when you screw up. This is what Donald Trump, Martha Stewart and their staffs do on their respective shows. Another concept is learning the lost art of listening.

The Apprentice competitions illustrate the importance of learning to listen. Whether it’s during a meeting, while receiving instructions from a project manager or getting advice from a Mentor, you must be sure that you are listening to what is being said. If you cannot understand the goal, you can’t reach it. During the first episode of the Martha Stewart Apprentice, Martha clearly spelled out the ultimate goal of the first project. It was to see how well each team could connect with their customers. The team that failed ignored that simple goal and decided to do things their own way.

Despite the desire to include a number of successful entrepreneurs within the cast of Apprentice job applicants and add some zest to the competition, this plan hasn’t worked out so well for many of the entrepreneurs themselves. Most were used to being the boss rather then working under one and have had limited experience dealing with co-workers and peers.

The successful entrepreneurs we've seen on The Apprentice are those who can connect their capacity for creative thought with an ability to work closely with others and treat them as equals when the need arises. Good team players know that the losers will fall off by their own hands. They understand the need to keep a low profile, stay under the radar and wait for blowhards and frauds to self destruct. Those who try and manipulate things by drawing attention to themselves on The Apprentice, usually end up on the short list of those soon to be fired. The same may be said to be true in real life situations.

Success in any workplace means putting aside personality conflicts, quick tempers and anything that can distract from the job at hand. Individual success often comes at the cost of being part of a successful power team, rather than leading one. The rewards can be substantial, but not everyone can be the top dog. There has to be at least one decision maker and ice breaker and that’s not always an easy seat to sit in. It’s a place where failure is not an option and mistakes are not an excuse. This is another lesson taught to us by The Apprentice entertainment machine.

When the numbers started to come in for Martha’s version of The Apprentice, there were more than a few disappointments. Not only were their far fewer Viewers then hoped for, but the people watching were not those with the kind of purchasing power that Sponsors had hoped to connect with. And that wasn‘t the only surprise. What came next was a real shocker.

The bad news about the ratings for Martha’s Apprentice had barely hit the streets when The Donald scolded her profusely and directed a number of less than flattering Trumpisms (criticisms with teeth) her way. He may have felt that she dropped the ball by failing to take decisive action when her show seemed to be going in the wrong direction.

Martha certainly didn’t take Trump’s comments lying down. She fired off her own barrage of phantom phrases and hot one liners towards Trump in the press and on her daughter’s Sirius Satellite Radio Show. Stewart reminded people that Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, started his empire with a big bankroll and took all his best moves from daddy’s playbook. Martha made her fortune from the ground up and did it as a woman in a day when that was anything but easy.

Despite Trump’s criticism, Martha seemed deeply involved with each episode and I enjoyed watching all of them. There were provocative projects, lots of drama and good interaction among all involved. However, Martha’s Apprentice wasn’t quite as edgy as Trump’s version and that may have been because she tried to bring The Apprentice series model more in line with her ideas about connecting with viewers. Both are successful, but target different audiences.

The Apprentice isn’t Martha Stewart Living. People watch a reality television show to see competition under pressure and watch the various alliances form and fall apart. Most Apprentice viewers would be less interested in getting a walk-through of Martha’s homes or meeting the Décor Diva’s favorite dogs, hairstylists, decorators or hangers-on. Those segments were unnecessary and too much about her. Trump’s version is always more about the game than about him. But not if you listen to Martha.

Stewart seemed to feel that The Donald was just a spoiled brat whose show was more about his ego, than entertainment. To be fair, Trump worked hard to get where he is. Despite an advantaged start, Donald Trump and has gone well beyond his father’s success. However, not everything he touches turns to gold. Proof of this comes in the form of failed marriages, corporate squabbles and occasional financial problems. And, yes, even The Donald has had trouble with audience fall off.

Trump’s Apprentice has been down in the ratings for the last several incarnations. Even with the addition of more difficult tasks and the introduction of a seemingly tougher Trump as series Guru, people were just not watching as much as they had been. The solution to the mystery of Martha’s ratings failure and Trump’s audience fall off may have less to do with any individual mistakes they’ve made regarding the series and more to do with too much of a good thing.

As with shows like Millionaire and Weakest Link, a broadcast network desperate to find its way in a world of cable TV, internet entertainment and portable video devices, may have just gone too far. Scheduling one Trump Apprentice competition right after another and having the Trump and Stewart Apprentice shows running at the same time probably left some viewers weary of the format. It’s always a mistake to believe that people will never tire of a new or exciting idea or entertainment concept. Just ask members of The Backstreet Boys, N Sync or 98 Degrees. Are you already saying, “Who?”

Despite some over-exposure, The Apprentice is a must-see for anyone who desires to master the art of workplace relationships and corporate etiquette. Whether producer Mark Burnett and his crew egg-on contestant feuds and squabbles behind the scenes as some claim is less important then the disagreements themselves. They typify the problems that come into play when egos, sexuality, personalities, experience, flirtations, age and education collide in the workplace.