Suite Success: The Psychologist from The Apprentice Reveals What It Really Takes to Excel -- in the Boardroom and in Life

257 Pages·2006·1.14 MB·English

by  Liza Siegel

Suite Success
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Suite Success
The Psychologist from
The Apprentice Reveals
What It Really Takes to Excel—
in the Boardroom and in Life
Liza Siegel, Ph.D.
AMERICANMANAGEMENTASSOCIATION
NewYork•Atlanta•Brussels•Chicago•MexicoCity•SanFrancisco
Shanghai•Tokyo•Toronto•Washington,D.C.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Siegel,Liza,1957-
Suitesuccess:thepsychologistfromTheApprenticerevealswhatit
reallytakestoexcel—intheboardroomandinlife/LizaSiegel.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-10:0-8144-7360-1(hardcover)
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-7360-3
1. Successinbusiness—Psychologicalaspects. 2. Creative
abilityinbusiness. 3. Attitude(Psychology) 4. Optimism.
5. Self-confidence. I. Title.
HF5386.S448 2006
650.1—dc22 2006002738
(cid:2)2006LizaSiegel,Ph.D.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,
ortransmittedinwholeorinpart,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,without
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ManagementAssociation,1601Broadway,NewYork,NY10019.
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Contents
ForewordbyMarkBurnett vii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
ONE ThePowerofStayingPositive 7
TWO Optimism:TheFoundationofSuccess 27
THREE Creativity:AddingValuetoYourWork 63
FOUR Resilience:JumpingtheHurdles 93
FIVE Self-ControlandPassion:Strivingfor
Balance 125
SIX EmotionalAwareness:KnowingYourself
andOthers 161
SEVEN SociabilityandRelationships:
NoEntrepreneurIsanIsland 195
Notes 221
Index 231
AbouttheAuthor 239
v
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Foreword
WHEN DR. LIZA SIEGEL firstwalkedintomyofficeinSantaMon-
ica for herinterview, I had myfingers crossed that wehad finally
found our location psychologist. We were scheduled to begin fil-
ming Survivor IIIin Africa about five months later,and we were
having trouble finding someone with just the right qualifications
who would also be low-maintenance enough to tolerate the rug-
gedconditionsoflocationwork.
Before we began the first Survivor we had hired Dr. Richard
Levak, a leading expert in personality testing, to help us screen
people during the casting process. Richard had proved to be an
invaluable resource at helping us predict how people would fare
under harsh conditions and social competition. Now all we
neededtomakeitworkwasapsychologistwhocouldhelpduring
the casting process and who would also be available on location
afterpeoplewere‘‘votedofftheisland.’’
Richard, who is quite good at predicting behavior, felt that
Liza could do the job. She seemed warm and personable, and
vii
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viii Foreword
definitelyhadtherightcredentials,buttherewasnowaytodeter-
mine how she would do in the elements, especially considering
that she wore a powder-blue suit and was well-coiffed and mani-
cured during the interview that first day. We decided to give her
a chance, and the first time I saw her on location, knee-deep in
dust with a ponytail and no makeup, I was relieved that she fit
right in. I am very glad that we took that chance, because five
yearslaterLizaisthefirstpersonIturntowhenitcomestolook-
ing after the well-being of the contestants I send onto my reality
shows.
Somethingthatallofmyshowshaveincommonisanelement
ofpeople’senduringanextremechallenge.Iknowfirst-handhow
mentallyandemotionallyexhaustinganendurancechallengecan
be. Nine years before Survivor, I happened upon an article in
that day’s LosAngeles Times about the adventurerace, the Raid
Gauloises. Although I had created a successful marketing busi-
ness, something was missing in my life and that article spoke to
me about what I needed to do next. I made up my mind to create
my own expedition-length race in the United States and called it
theEco-Challenge.
Ialso decidedthat itwouldn’tdo tojust sitback andproduce
such an adventure without knowing what it felt like to actually
compete,soIsignedupforthenextRaidGauloises,whichwould
take place in the Arab country of Oman. During that race the
environmental and physical challenges were staggering, and my
team weathered fatigue, storms, injuries, and getting lost. The
darkest moment came when one of our team members did the
unthinkable: he quit, leaving us one person short of the require-
ment to finish with a full team! Through all of this I experienced
every human emotion at some point in the race, ranging from
despair andragetojoyandeuphoria.
I am proud that I have been through such a raw experience,
but I also know that this is not to be taken lightly. I have always
wantedtomakesurethattheindividualsinallofmyrealityshows
are well supported afterward. Over the course of all of the past
seasons of The Apprentice, Liza has been the one who the con-
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Foreword ix
testants turn to for support after they are fired. It may seem un-
necessary, and may sound uncharacteristically soft for an
adventurer and risk-taker like me, but I know that the shows I
createtapintoaverybasicpartofthepsyche,forboththeviewer
and the participant. That is part of what makes those shows so
compellingtowatch,butIdon’twanttoputpeopleatriskforthe
sakeofgoodtelevision.
Both The Apprentice and Survivor deal with the painful
emotions that all humans experience when they are excluded
fromsomething,whethertheyarevotedoffasinthecaseofSur-
vivor or fired as on The Apprentice. In primitive times, if you
were excluded from the tribe, it would mean certain death, and
both shows evoke that same feeling of being ‘‘killed,’’ whether it
is by having your torch snuffed out by Jeff Probst or having the
deskslammedandhearingthewords‘‘You’reFired’’fromDonald
Trump.
Thatemotionalhookiswhatmakestheaudiencerelatetothe
shows, but the characters who have just been ‘‘killed’’ aren’t
actors and they genuinely experience those emotions in the mo-
ment. Having Liza there as someone they can talk to afterward
gives them an opportunity to put into place what they just went
through,boththehighsandthelows.Manycontestantswhohave
been though that level of challenge and competition are able to
use what they have learned about themselves to make positive
changes in their lives, and Liza is there to help them make sense
ofitall.
Gettingfiredonnationaltelevisionisnotaneasything,noris
surviving on an island without food or shelter for six weeks. The
shows that interest me are those that push people to their limits
by placing them in extreme conditions. Obviously we don’t want
anyone getting hurt, so we select only those individuals who are
hardy enough to handle such extreme conditions. What Liza and
I have observed in this select group of competitors is that their
attitude and mental states are central to their high levels of
achievement, both on the show and in their personal lives. Liza
hasbeenonthesidelines,watching,observing,andmakingsense
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