The Apprentice

28th October 2010

Watching “The Apprentice” last night, as usual I found myself laughing at their mistakes, ridiculing their ineptitude, and wondering above all, how most of them had achieved anything at all in the business world. Of course this has now become much more of a “show” than an actual serious recruitment of real talent, and being on television, we only see the bits which are entertaining, and therefore generally the most cringe-worthy extracts. So is there anything that we can actually learn from watching it all pan out?

I think probably the key thing that I get from this is that at least they have got off their backsides and done
something. People are so quick to offer advice, and to put others down, but how often are they themselves prepared to put themselves in a position where they too could be laughed at.

You could say that it is part of the English culture; after all we all know the press love to belittle people. There is almost a feeling of “How dare they have the audacity to try something, and possibly be better, braver, and funnier than me. Let’s hope they trip and fall.”

Business Owners suffer this all the time. “You’re so lucky” seems to be the accusation leveled at them, when they have achieved great things, and actually have a life-style that many would love, but are never prepared to do something themselves to make it happen.

So next time you find yourself feeling jealous, or criticising someone for trying something (and possibly failing) think carefully why you are doing this. Could it be that they are touching a nerve? Perhaps you could be better also. Perhaps now is the time to take a chance and really go for the dream that you once had.

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4 responses to “The Apprentice”

1. James Davey says:

   October 28, 2010 at 1:12 pm

   Let’s face it, The Apprentice is not a serious business documentary. However there are some learning points which are demonstrated time and again:
   * Poor communication between the Team Leader and the Sub-Group often leads to disaster
   * The winner of the task has normally sat down and worked out a plan with a plan B in case things go wrong
   * Allocating clear tasks to group members and giving them authority to make decisions within agreed parameters pays dividends
   * Team Leaders need to be able to sit back from the detail and manage
   * Take time to fully understand the brief and follow the rules
   * Don’t create barriers in your own mind that don’t really exist
   * Listen to your customers

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