The Rise and fall of a simple call – Episode 3, The Apprentice 2010

It’s a phrase that has long elicited feelings of power, triumph over disaster and success. Rising to the challenge conjures pictures of a bloodied and battered Terry Butcher, an exhausted Roger Bannister and a triumphant Edmund Hillary amongst others. These were people who have triumphed when the odds seemed against them, when they mustered every ounce of courage and what little energy was left and rose to top.


So to use the phrase to describe the goings on the latest Apprentice challenge is purely on for ‘punning’ reasons. Although, when Lord Sugar uttered the phrase at the start of the programme he was probably hoping to see Dr Shibby standing aloft a large pile of cash with his one remaining muffin shining like a beacon in triumph. Sadly, and very predictably it was less a case of the teams rising to the challenge, more the premature opening of the oven door on a soufflé.

Classic Apprentice in every respect, from the pitch through production and even final sales day, it was a challenge littered with ‘how not too’s...’ even down to the conduct of the project managers. Melissa and Shibby were the two project managers in the firing line, with Melissa’s team claiming the win in-spite of her.

The task for Shibby (sorry, Dr Shibby) fell down on two major aspects, over promising at the front end, and a production process that was badly managed. With communication between the departments the key to the whole debacle, or rather lack of communication. With clearer communication it was still feasible that the mistakes made at the front end could’ve been turned round and a win achieved. However, the lack of communication between the sub-teams and even between the members of the sub-teams was staggering.

In many ways saying ‘Yes’ to orders that will stretch your business is not a bad thing. As the old saying goes ‘if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten’, so stretching things isn’t inherently wrong. Under-promising and over-delivering is always better than over-promising, but the key to whatever approach you choose to take is ensuring that the communication lines within your business are such that all the key parts are aware of their roles in pulling off this mammoth task.

I was certainly left wondering what would’ve happened if Christopher had been running Dr Shibby’s production line. It is fair to say that Melissa only really succeeded through the qualities Christopher and his military background brought to the cake production. And the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced Christopher could’ve rescued Dr Shibby’s hotel order and ensured that it was Melissa and her Jenny Eclair style that faced Lord Sugar Cakes.

What it did go to show is how crucial communication is to winning. The best teams, be they business teams, football teams or military teams succeed where clear communication exists and is encouraged.