What I learn from: Nadal vs Federer... James vs Stefani The Apprentice

Last night, I watched not one great match, but TWO great battles. Okay, both are not LIVE, but still, they provide good insight for me...

Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2008 final

We can't say who played better during the match, because the match is very close. True enough, Nadal dominated the first two sets, but Roger Federer is world's number 1 not without reasons. He was so calm and he tried to win one point each time, not thinking that he was down by two sets.

Roger is 27 this year, probably the greatest player of all time. He is like blue-chip in the stock market. Great performance, very consistent, and always delivers.

While Rafa, 22, is young, energetic and optimistic. He never blames his racket (or the ball, weather, or any other circumstances). He is like good start-up companies with great ideas, like Starbucks or Microsoft in their early stage.

However, seeing from marketing point of view, I think Roger outshines Rafa a lot. His English is much better than Rafa (although I can still understand perfectly both), and he is more comfortable in front of camera than Rafa. Rafa doesn't like to be the center of attention. If Roger was an Asian, he would be the Korean auntie-killer Bae Yong Jun. Seeing these commercials, we can easily tell: Who makes better marketing icon.

We have great players all the time, but why can we only remember Maria Sharapova? Andre Agassi? Sampras? Federer? We can't remember Justine Henin so much, Lindsay Davenport. Justine Henin is more talented than Sharapova, but Sharapova is a lot richer..

All comes down to Marketing. I am sure Rafael Nadal can easily afford to hire an Image consultant, and I think that is one of the best investments he could ever make in his life... beside hiring a tennis coach.


The Apprentice 6: James Sun vs Stefani Schaeffer

Well, both are great. And anyone who follows The Apprentice will be able to spot each candidate's weakness.

James is too perfectionist and he sometimes loses focus. When I saw him directing the 60-second commercial, I was like... What is he up to??? The actor was okay, but he asked her to repeat so many times... for hours.

Luckily, James was with Stefani who has good organizational skill. If he was in one group with Frank, I think they couldn't finish the commercial.

Stefani is a good presenter, charismatic lawyer... BUT. I didn't see her leadership, and hiring someone who never leads before to lead hundreds of smart professionals is just too risky.



Now it comes down to a classic decision making process. You want a leader who sometimes loses focus or you want someone who likes to play it safe to gain respect from everyone?

If I were Mr Trump, I would still hire Stefani though. James made 6-figure income in his previous job, found a successful company, and now works for "only" $250,000 per year??? Gimme a break. He is too great to be The Apprentice. Stefani will make a safer option.

Nevertheless, it's great to see an Asian - American to be the runner-up of The Apprentice, and that proves that Asian - Americans are not only good in Math or Science, they are good in business as well.