- You are here:
- Home »
- Blog »
- The Apprentice »
- Business and Leadership Lessons From The Apprentice 2011 Episode 2
Business and Leadership Lessons From The Apprentice 2011 Episode 2
In the second episode of The Apprentice UK 2011 it was boys versus girls once again.
This time the challenge was to develop a mobile phone app. The team with the most downloads were deemed to be the winners. Once again the girls triumphed.
So what could we learn from episode 2 about business and leadership?
Don’t Limit Your Thinking
After 6 hours the boys were well ahead in terms of downloads but got slaughtered when the global market kicked in. Perhaps this was because they were thinking in terms of a UK market rather than a much bigger global market.
Build Some Challenge Into Brainstorming
One of the things that surprised me was that no one seemed to be asking the basic but challenging questions when brainstorming. Things like who the target market was, the interests of the target market or even the geographical area to be served.
Hold Your Hands Up When Your Judgement Was Wrong
It was interesting watching the girls in the boardroom. They were all distancing themselves from the app choice. Yet I did not hear any of them acknowledge that their judgement calls about the app was wrong when they romped to victory.
Be Decisive
The Project Manager on the boys team was looking for someone else to take the decision for him on who to bring back into the boardroom. Not a great quality in a leader.
Don’t Be A Bystander
The person who got fired ultimately lost out because they did not show what they had to offer in any of the first two tasks. This strategy might work when it is a job that people are trying to get but not when seeking investment.
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to become highly successful managers and leaders. He invites you to sign up for his free audio e-course Leadership Success here
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.