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- The Apprentice: Series 5: Week 8
The Apprentice: Series 5: Week 8
Well we reached week 8 of series 5 of The Apprentice last night. The task for the teams was to re-brand Margate, an English seaside town, which like so many in the UK is struggling to keep attracting visitors.
Empire was led by project manager Debra after a bit of debate with Howard. Ignite were led by Yasmin.
Empire decided that they would focus on the Gay Community whilst Ignite decided to focus on the Family Market.
On both teams there were some good points that came up:
1. Team working was, on the whole, much better than in previous weeks.
2. Both teams really threw themselves into the task.
3. Both teams took the time to do some research.
The decision on the winning team came from the scores from a major advertising agency and a group of people from Margate. Ignite won the task convincingly, getting 14 out of 20 points, while the losers Empire got 8 out of 20.
As always there were a number of learning points that arose.
1. The project management of the poster and leaflet production on Empire was poor. They ended up with a half finished leaflet.
2. If you have not completed something, it is better to say so than come up with some half baked explanation in the hope that the recipient of the presentation will not challenge you.
3. If you are working with models for a photo shoot or in a business situation a team, you need to give clear direction
4. When making a pitch, you need to try and get a good opening.
5. When thinking about promoting something, you need to keep in your mind the overall aim. It appeared that at times the teams lost sight of this.
6. Both project managers demonstrated once again that the communication skill of listening was not their strong point.
Back in the boardroom, Debra took in James and Mona to face Sir Alan and while it was a close run thing, Mona was the person who was fired.
You can watch The Apprentice every Wednesday on BBC1 or on the web on the BBCiplayer.
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.