Friday, April 20, 2007

A Reality Check With ... Sean Yasbeck (NBC's "The Apprentice")

Sean Yasbeck, 33, born and raised in London, was hired last year as Donald Trump’s 5th apprentice. He graduated from the Southampton Solent University with first class honors. Quickly snapped up by an international recruitment consultancy, Sean spent nine years brokering multimillion dollar deals with Fortune 500 companies in over 20 global locations. Here, he sits down with RealityCheck to discuss this Sunday’s live finale of NBC’s “The Apprentice”.

RC: What has life been like since winning?
SY: It’s been very fast-paced. I moved to New York, although it’s similar to London, so it wasn’t too much of a culture shock. I spent the first few weeks learning how you go about building a hotel. It was a huge learning curve for me. After a while, I started to lead as opposed to just getting my feet wet.

RC: You sat in on tasks this year as Bill Rancic has done many times in the past. How surreal is it to think that just a year ago, it was you on the other side of that board room table?
SY: Well, it’s a lot more enjoyable sitting on this side! Some people come back & grill too much. I didn’t have it in me. These board rooms can go 2-3 hours and you only see 10-12 minutes at home. You’re drained by the end of it. I can appreciate how they are feeling.

RC: You could say you had a little showmance with Tammy? This season, on a larger scale, we have Tim & Nicole. What’s your opinion on their situation?
SY: Well, office romance is a bad thing. It’s a real no-no. You need to think with your head. Tim & Nicole have gone way further than my flirting with Tammy. If Tim put Nicole before his team and that is why they lost, then that is a HUGE no-no. It’s like Frank said – you’re here to be The Apprentice. You can have a romance any time?

RC: How come you didn’t get in trouble for you showmance?
SY: Because I kept winning! If you stay out of the boardroom, they can’t ask you about it!

RC: In the final boardroom, you really have to fight for your life. There’s the added pressure of it being live and millions of people watching. What advice do you have for the final 4 candidates?
SY: I was so eager to be prepared for my final boardroom that I went & saw a coach in Miami. I wanted to make sure I projected in the right way. He told me one thing, “Be in the moment.” Don’t worry about what you’re going to say next – look & listen. Be in the moment.

RC: What will your role be in the final boardroom this Sunday?
SY: I’ll be sitting in the audience though I’ll have a last-minute meeting with Trump beforehand to offer my opinion on who I think should be the next Apprentice. I expect Ivanka & Don Jr. will be sitting with him at the board room table.

RC: What can we expect from you in the future?
SY: I will be with the Trump Organization until 2009 which is when the hotel opens. I also do a lot of work with the Trump Institute. We do free seminars all over the country on how to create wealth. I’ve seen about 700,000 people already and you can find a seminar near you by going to the website & typing in your zip code.


The final episode of this season's The Apprentice airs Sunday at 10pm EST

2 comments:

Themanager07 said...

In the headline you have Sean's name mispelled

Gina said...

Woops - thanks for catching that. It's all set. I appreciate you visiting the site!

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