Two years ago, readership of my blog increased by a factor of twenty as I charted the highs and lows of a remarkable group of Apprentice candidates. Very quickly, it seemed to me that writing a weekly (sometimes twice a week) analysis was both fun and commercially valuable. So I repeated it with the next […]
The message of episode 2 was pretty clear: �If you don�t or won�t listen properly; you won�t hear what is said� Sometimes people say important things and if you did listen, then maybe you will end up paying the price � like poor (and, I suspect, talented) Sean Spooner. Communication is a Cruel Task-master If […]
Well, last night we saw the first episode of the new series of Young Apprentice � and, we�re told, the last.� Although, Lord Sugar has gone on record saying that he regrets the BBC�s decision to cancel the show and would like to find a way of continuing it.� Whether his contract will allow him […]
The third � and, it seems, final � series of BBC�s Young Apprentice is due to air later this autumn.� There has been no formal announcement yet by the BBC, but Lord Sugar tweeted earlier this week: �I just heard that Young Apprentice will start in November and run for 8 weeks up to Xmas […]
So, the Final is over; the winner declared. In the end, it was the business plans that were paramount, but the journey, over the last twelve episodes, was also important. I want to use this final Apprentice 2012 blog to consider the reasons: why Lord Sugar was right. But first let�s review who the four […]
In tonight�s Apprentice semi-final, Lord Sugar finally bowed to the inevitable.� And if it was inevitable, what can we possibly learn from it? The task was to create a range of �affordable luxury products�.� Excuse me, Lord Sugar� affordable to whom?� How much luxury?� On the face of it this is close to a tautology, […]
Well, we�re down to the final five candidates. At the end of my last blog, on Episode 10, I asked of each of them, �who are you?� Last night, we were able to see a short documentary about each one, so are a little closer to knowing the answers (even though Karren Brady herself made […]
When will any of this year�s candidates show us something special?� For sure (to borrow a phrase from Stephen Brady), we have seen some good performances and some consistency.� We have also seen some of the usual appalling performances � but, I will grant you, fewer than usual.� But I have not detected any outstanding […]
Last night�s episode of the Apprentice focused our attention on one key point; and I hope you didn�t miss it. Sadly, the two teams did, in their different ways, miss the point. And the candidate who did so most spectacularly, paid the price. The task was to create an awareness-raising campaign to support the promotion […]
Tonight�s episode gave us a litany of business lessons, a further reminder of the importance of demeanour but, ultimately for me, one really important principle to focus on: decision making. The teams� task was to select two urban artists to represent and to mount a one night show and sell to maximise the commission on […]
Nearly a week late in publication, I know, but Episode seven was instructive about one of the biggest principles in business � and one of my hobby-horses. It also provided a deja-vu moment as we flashed back to the theme of my commentary on Episode 1, at the start of this series. This was the […]
I am working in France this week and unsure when I will get to see and comment on Episode 7. So, to tide you over, some humour� This is an official BBC video made by Radio 1 presenter Matt Edmonson. It is a nice skit on last week�s Episode 6. […]
That�s two weeks in a row I think Lord Sugar fired a strong candidate.� Today�s show taught us the importance of what you have to say for yourself. But before I get into my analysis of what I took away from the show, let�s look at how the task played out. The Teams and the […]
Well, I said creativity would be central to this year�s Apprentice (in my 3 April blog post) and what could be more creative than this week�s task? That task was to: Come up with a new fitness programme that will start a trend Create a promotional video and branding, and Pitch it to three health […]
Over the last two weeks, I have been considering the role and nature of creativity in The Apprentice: – Why it is important and how the 2012 candidates appear to stack up in their current business activities – How a project manager can get creative ideas from their team Now it is time for the […]
Last week, I made the assertion that creativity is going to be an essential skill for this year’s candidates. �This week I want to give some hints and tips about how to get creative ideas, and next week, I’ll examine how to evaluate those ideas. �It is too late for this year’s candidates, of course, […]
Two Roads Diverged� Once again, the cause of the losing team�s failure is absolutely clear � and once again, the same problem plagued both teams � and also, once again, Lord Sugar�s opening remarks presaged the key problem: it�s almost as if he knows what he�s talking about. Fancy that! But the response within each […]
A lot of Apprentice tasks require a considerable degree of creativity. It has always been thus for as long as I have been watching, and the past two weeks of series eight have both put it at the heart of the tasks. I expect many more like this, because this series, like the last, is […]
For what it�s worth, I was distinctly underwhelmed by what I saw tonight.� I�m finding it hard to see any glimmers of who might emerge from the ruins of 12 weeks of tasks as a worthy winner.� For my money, only one person tonight even started to impress me, and they were a long way […]
Last night�s first episode of the new series of The Apprentice gave us one simple, powerful business lesson. But, unusually, we had to wait to the very end to learn it.� Along the way, two new teams formed, with the names Phoenix (men) and Sterling (women) to add to the growing list of Apprentice team […]
