Is The Apprentice Giving PM a Bad Name?

If ever there was proof needed that project management is a misunderstood role, you only have to look as far as prime time TV. In the last year or so, 'project manager' has entered the vernacular... but hardly in a positive way.

More commonly known to most of us is The Apprentice, which gave us the immortal line "You're fired!" So what does it take to be a project manager? According to the show, you need to be arrogant, over-confident, and prepared in public and on TV to stab your colleagues in the back. No actual project management happens - and whoever lands the project management role on an episode seems to lose whatever few leadership qualities they might have once had.

Perhaps it would be funny to do one episode and show what a Project Manager should ALSO be doing besides what he/she does in the show. So, there would be the initial rush of the challenge presented and then the person will sit down and work on a scope statement, WBS, risk plan, organize resources, risk register, etc.

We would be watching this team sit in front of their computers and sit in many meetings. I doubt it would be entertaining and would probably not last more than an episode... but then, with Big Brother out there, who knows!