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.

Friends, Lancastrians...here me now!! Apprentice 2010 Episode 2

Sound. We all make it, some more than others. And it’s the same in business, and never has there been a better time to be heard. Though let me qualify this, there is a distinction between sheer volume and the distinct sounds of passionate and enthusiastic believers.

The enthusiasm with which the candidates have attacked the first few tasks is admirable. Enthusiasm, especially around the creative table, is an essential element; a fired up, high-energy session creates its own momentum of ideas. Enthusiasm and energy can get you a long way, particularly when the going gets tough.

What has been seriously less admirable is the usual Big Brother mix of ego’s, super-ego’s and demi-gods, focused solely on making, well noise quite frankly, and lots of it.

As expected a dose of Stella tempered the boys’ stag-rut (in complete contrast to real life). However, the screaming match continued on the girl’s team, with the all-seeing eyes of the classy Karen and Nick less than impressed.

The uncontrollable noise from the girls meetings reflects a similarity within many industries these days. The markets out there are often crowded, noisy places, not easy places for your customers to hear your voice. Sometimes it’s just hard to get heard.

It’s your marketing that gets you heard, and the very best marketing will do this in such a way that you’ll get heard over the din created by everyone else.

Many desperately join in to the cacophony of sound; hoping brash volume will turn heads, Joanna being a prime example. Others sit back, aghast at the wall of sound in front of them, unable or unwilling to get involved. Some crack it with expert advice. And others put up their hands and hope for the best just like Joy.

A hand in the air, will get attention initially but as the old saying goes, sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. And after seeing that hand wafting in the breeze for a few minutes, it no longer registers as relevant.

It is as true with your marketing. Truly uncontested spaces are difficult to find, and it is important that you are able to get noticed, and then create such an impression that it’s your voice that is the one others turn to.

Get heard, make some noise but ensure you can back it up. As Karren Brady put so succinctly, it’s about finding those moments where your words will make the most impact. Don’t think putting your hand in the air is enough. Joy did, and the impact was lost. And even more criminal, when she was given the platform in the boardroom to put her view over, she flunked it.

Throw your enthusiasm and energy into your messages, and find innovative and most importantly, relevant ways for your message to be heard. Pick your moments and strike with impact, understanding and relevance.

Then the next time you get vocal, you’ll see the room quietening a whole lot quicker, with no hands required.

The Apprentice is Back (-'s Up!)

The Apprentice well and truly sizzled back onto our TV screens this week with the usual mix of ego’s, attention seekers and potential stars. That wasn’t entirely unpredictable, and neither in many ways was the result once the boys appointed Dan Harris to be their first project manager.


It was an episode filled with lessons in ‘how not too’, but let’s not forget in the furore that followed the result, both teams achieved profit. That was about as good as it got, as neither team overly impressed, though it is fair to say that that isn’t unusual in week one.

Watching the episode with a group of seven women was an interesting place to be, especially as the boys team held their kick-off meeting...or should that have been stag rut. Things didn’t get any better once the sausage challenge kicked off, with the views in the room going from mild annoyance to outright disgust.

From the moment Dan was appointed project manager, Desperate Dan appeared. Indeed he may have been better eating his cow pies lovingly prepared by Aunt Aggie. The bumbling fool of The Dandy fame was there, however somewhere along the line, it may have been the kitchen fumes, he morphed into Gordon Ramsey, or certainly his vocabulary did.

Under the pressure of the challenge and the testosterone filled frenzy, Dan ignored almost all the rules of good people management and proceeded to shout, swear and bully his way to a profitable loss. His team were on edge from the first moment, automatically taking their lead from the project manager. His body language, demeanour and conduct did nothing to calm, reassure and control his charges. In fact, it’s fair to say we will probably see several of them less macho as the series proceeds, with a different project manager around.

There will be different body language and communication experts that will be able to explain what went on far better than I can, but you certainly didn’t need to be an expert to understand just how wrong the boys and Dan in particular got it.

Respect was for me the biggest lesson. Even the girls team got it wrong a couple of times, almost in a more spectacular way when they left a customer wanting to do a big deal, whilst they proceeded to have an argument over who would close the sale. Showing no respect to the customer, they were lucky he stayed around; he may not have come back. Equally, the boys may have made a profit, but just who from the team has any respect for Dan? After all he showed none to them, and even more astonishingly, none to Lord Sugar in the boardroom.

Disagreements are acceptable in business. Dictatorial leaders/managers are arguably needed in certain situations. What makes it possible to move on and create lasting relationships with staff, suppliers and customers is having an underlying respect for each and everyone. Be they Lord or sausage maker.