The Best Won
Seek First To Understand Then To Be Understood. How very well said. This is of coz not the first time I heard of this famous quote mentioned in Stephen R. Covey’s best-selling, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People".
But last night, watching the Apprentice and hearing that from Randal* it suddenly dawned on me the importance of practising this habit. I haven’t been following season 4 as closely as I did for previous seasons hence not very familiar with the backgrounds of each contestant. Fascincated by the calm and poised Randal last night, I decided to do a little research on this guy. He has this leader aura around him that makes him stand out from other contestants who were constantly yelling their lungs out to make their opinions heard. It’s trully a pain to watch them. For some reasons, I even felt embarrassed for them. I think a great leader does not lead by voice but action.
Typed in Randal and clicked ’search’, a list of results returned immediately. I hit the first result and to my utter delight, Randal won! I must say I do have eyes for great leaders. 
Randal, 34, is the founder, president and CEO of his fifth venture "BCT Partners," a multi-million dollar management, technology and policy consulting firm based in Newark, N.J., that works with corporations, government agencies, philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Hightstown, N.J., he holds five academic degrees in engineering, business and technology including a B.S. from Rutgers University, an M.S. from the University of Oxford in England as a Rhodes Scholar, and an M.S., M.B.A. and Ph.D. from MIT. A former college championship track and field athlete, he has received numerous awards for his accomplishments as an entrepreneur and technologist including the National Society of Black Engineers "National Member of the Year." A Leadership New Jersey Fellow and Next Generation Leadership Fellow, Randal has been featured by Black Enterprise magazine and Ebony magazine in their "30 Leaders of the Future" issue. He is a proud member of First Baptist Church in Somerset, N.J., where he resides and is happily married to his wife Zahara.
1. What was your very first job?
Lemonade stand at the street corner.
2. Who convinced you to try out for the Apprentice?
My wife, Zahara Wadud-Pinkett.
3. What did you quit/leave/sacrifice to join the Apprentice show?
I left behind my family and friends, including my wife, as well as my business partners and colleagues to operate my company.
4. Why do you want to work for Mr. Trump?
I want to learn from the best in the business and Mr. Trump is among the best.
5. What have you learned from watching previous seasons of the Apprentice?
Work hard, play to win, and always be willing to stand up for yourself.
6. Why should you be the next Apprentice?
I combine a strong academic background (Rutgers, Oxford, and MIT) with more than 13 years as an entrepreneur including a multi-million dollar enterprise.
7. What’s your definition of success?
Success is measured by how many people you have helped to become successful.
8. What is your philosophy on business?
Find the best people and then get out of their way so they can do their job.
Do you, like me, is in awe by this great guy? I particularly love the answers on question 7 and 8! He’s a true genius and a natural leader!
As I clicked on other results returned, I found out about the drama on the Finale. ‘If you were me, would you hire Rebecca also?’, asked Donald Trump after announcing Randal as the winner. FYI, Rebecca is the runner up of season 4 Apprentice. But then Randal, who’s perhaps played the game with more integrity than anyone else in four seasons of “The Apprentice,” and who earned the respect of basically every other candidate in the suite this season, surprised everyone.
“Mr. Trump, I firmly believe that this is ‘The Apprentice,’ that there is one and only one apprentice, and if you’re going to hire someone tonight, it should be one,” Randal said. “It’s not ‘The Apprenti,’ it’s ‘The Apprentice.’”
I continued reading on other comments made by the Americans about Randal’s decision. Some very angry, hurt and even feel cheated by his last minute of so-called selfishness. Why would they even feel cheated?!?! They were too emotional. Deal with it and leave that man alone!
Below are some good comments about Randal’s decision which reflected mine.
WATERING DOWN THE REWARD WAS RACIST
“Randal was man enough to fight for his title of THE Apprentice — not one of the two apprentices. And then there’s the issue that white people — not having experienced racism will never be able to think of. But let me tell you what ALL black people are thinking today: Why, when finally Donald hires a black man (Kwame was just as classy and just as good — remember?) would he decide that this is the time to water down the reward and make it a two-fer. Let the black man have his day if he deserves it. I’m a woman, and I’m saying that if Rebecca was better no one could have twisted Donald’s arm to prevent him from hiring her.”
RANDAL STOOD UP FOR HIMSELF
“I think Randal was the clear winner. The fact that he wants to run a billion-dollar company is in line with Trump’s plans. I didn’t mind that Randal didn’t want Rebecca to be hired. In business you can’t always be nice. You have to stand up for yourself once in a while in order to survive. It’s not like Randal stepped on Rebecca to win. I believe Randal doesn’t mind if Rebecca gets hired, but just not on the show.”
Oh well, I think I went off track too much talking about Randal here. Meant to talk about the fifth habit. Maybe the next post
June 23rd, 2006 at 11:17 pm
this man obviously knows how to win people’s hearts and minds. i saw the last episode and although his reply was as expected by mr. trump. i couldn’t help but wonder how successful will he be doing business in the international community. i had a feeling mr.trump threw that question to him because he was too eager to celebrate his win by raising his fist and getting the crowd to row behind him setting a difficult to turn precedence of his win. the truly great person here is still donald and he wants to show randall he is aware of his manouvre and he will continue watching him. i would say that Randall does not breed trust in me and trust is the basis of all business. his credentials although excellent and his success as an entrepreneur (if he were truly successful, he wouldn’t need to be on the apprentice!) has been used extensively to dismantle his opponents. i would agree with mr.trump’s assistant that randall was taking it too far. whether he would survive or be successful and make a real difference to the Trump Organisation in the long run is a question yet to be answered. Successful people like Donald tend to surround themselves with a select few people whom he takes in the highest confidence. People come and go, but the few stays. It is not only Donald’s opinion that matters and sad to say Randall hasn’t the slightest clue. Do you think he will play a major role in trump int’l?
June 29th, 2006 at 12:15 am
We can go on and on arguing about this topic…
But, as long as you are inspired, it doesn’t matter who, what, when or how inspires you.
You think?