In the Final Four episode of “The Apprentice,” shirts happened – Hanes T-shirts, that is. To celebrate the brand’s 50 years of success, two famous artists – Burton Morris and Romero Britto – were assigned to each team to design a limited-edition T-shirt. At the outset, the playing field was as level as you get. Alex picked Tana to work with, which gave each team a male and a female, along with equal measures of “book smarts” and “street smarts.” But despite the fair start, Net Worth had been called to the boardroom eight consecutive times and was unable to shake the curse. Alex and Tana lost in a laundry landslide to Craig and Kendra of Magna, who despite their hatred of each other, understand the infamous Corleone motto that is part of the opening graphics of “The Apprentice”: “It isn’t personal – it’s just business.”

The challenge, in the 14th week of the world’s longest televised job interview, was to design and make the most money selling limited-edition Hanes T-shirts in one day in two different NYC fashion-forward Scoop retail stores. On paper, Net Worth had all the advantages. Tana sells apparel for a living and has been on a long winning streak. Alex had won a similar contest – the graffiti challenge – earlier in the season. To make Net Worth’s apparent advantages even greater, Magna’s two teammates, Kendra and Craig, are unable to even share an elevator without squabbling.

Yet a losing streak can infect even winners. And as soon as Tana was made a member of Net Worth, the bad-decision bug bit her. As project manager, she spent all the team’s time on embellishing their Burton Morris-designed shirts with glass beads and no time on marketing. Magna’s project manager Kendra, by contrast, decided to e-mail 3,000 fans of their artist, Mr. Britto, announcing the limited-edition sale. On the day of the sale, Mr. Britto’s fans came by the bushel and shopped until they dropped. By comparison, Net Worth’s sidewalk flier marketing program was many shirts shy of a sensation.

In the end, the contest came down to a war between price and volume. Net Worth priced ’em high and hoped. Their men’s shirts sold at $42.99 and their women’s T at $54.99, rhinestones included. Net Worth sold 33 shirts and netted $1,147.95. Magna priced short-sleeved shirts at $25 and long-sleeved hoodies at $35. Magna’s magnificent marketing moved 101 shirts for $2,705. For his team’s marketing mess and for his seemingly endless losing streak, Alex won a trip from the suite to the street.

Appropriately, Kendra and Craig, who fought like cats, won the prize of a dogfight. At Air Combat USA, they got to sit in the co-pilot’s seat of military trainers and fly over the skies of New Jersey.

Turning Points

Rather than devising a marketing plan, Tana took a long taxi ride to Staten Island to buy rhinestones for her T-shirts. It was so ill-conceived that The Donald rightfully fired Alex for not overruling his teammate’s daffy decision. Kendra’s inspired decision to send a mass e-mail to Mr. Britto’s fan base was pure marketing magic. Kendra understood the eternal truth that fans’ budgets know no bounds when their favorite artist unveils unusual underwear.

Lessons Learned

LESSON ONE In Trumpland, winning is not about just avoiding mistakes. Winning is an attitude of action and Net Worth had none in marketing. Hoping to drag a few customers off a Manhattan sidewalk to buy a $54 T-shirt with well-placed rhinestones was no match for the precision-targeted e-mail of the other team. The Donald kept Tana because she did most of the heavy lifting for her team, even though she lost, but Alex was fired for standing by and doing nothing while Tana botched the job.

LESSON TWO Keep your eye on the prize. This is a Trump truism of the highest order. Tana fell in love with her bead idea rather than focusing on the goal of earning the most. Kendra, by contrast, despite all the noise between herself and Craig, stayed on task.

LESSON THREE Defend but don’t deceive. Leaning toward ousting Tana after consulting with Carolyn and George, Trump had a change of heart when Alex claimed he was only guilty of one loss as project manager when it had actually been two. When confronted, Alex said he “forgot,” but Trump didn’t buy it. You can shrug off past failures, but don’t rewrite them.

This week, no more teams – it is every apprentice for themselves with old-fashioned interviews screening out the final two. Stay tuned.

Mr. Whitehead is a consultant on work styles and careers. E-mail questions to trumponomics@aol.com.