The Apprentice Series 3 - Episode 4
Geek Chic! |
"Sophie, You're Fired!"
So - I got fired! Ouch! I guess my principles lost me my place on "The Apprentice" and I pretty much wrote my own P45 by admitting I am not a cut-throat sales person. Still, I never really believed I would win so I am pleased to be fired for my ethics and principles as opposed to for a major error. It seems this is opening various points for discussion, including:
- Profit at all costs? Sales over service?
- Selling sweets to children, "pester power", and child obesity issues
- Targetting fat people, as neatly highlighted by Tre Azam!
- Feminism - what is it really, and how do we avoid the stigmatised legacy?
The Task:
So the task was to design, manufacture and sell sweets to children at London Zoo. Sir Alan mixed the teams so I was working as part of 'Eclipse' and we lost by 10 pounds.
Was it a Fair Firing? Will I ever be rich?
If it was based on this particular task then I would have to say 'not really'! I was in charge of production and, as you know, we produced twice as much as the other team. However, if you look at what Sir Alan is looking for then I really don't fit the bill as I am not prepared to compromise my values simply to increase revenue.
I did find some parts of this Boardroom experience interesting: the 'damning indictment' of all retail business and the assumption that all 'Doctors' work in the Pharmaceutical industry being just two of them. I also have a few friends in the legal profession wondering if what they really do is 'lawyering'...
Just to be a tiny bit defensive for a minute, I am very good at selling things I believe in: things that are value for money and that are ethically sound. I have no doubt this will come back and bite me at some point; meaning I am now obliged to be squeaky clean for the rest of my days! I believe my business will always be about finding bespoke solutions for customers rather than mass production and mass market and, whilst that means I may not be rich, I will be successful and much more likely to sleep at night.
Why wasn't Natalie fired?
A lot of people stop me in the street and ask me why Sir Alan didn't fire Natalie. I think that Sir Alan can see good potential in Natalie and that he is right to do so. Natalie is always 'chipper' and starts every day with a smile on her face and great enthusiasm for the tasks ahead. She is always driven and fun to be around. She is also at the stage where she could be moulded to what he wants for his business.
The Labelling Problem:
Natalie is not a lawyer and, in fairness to her, the effects of mislabelling were not obvious. I think that two things compounded this issue: firstly, the inclusion of 'foreign' ingredients as decoration and, secondly – as Trevor Bish-Jones pointed out, the automatic assumption that E-numbers are artificial is not necessarily accurate. There were clearly some communication issues between Adam and Natalie and who knows where the fault lies. Her, real, error was in not frankly admitting her mistake in the boardroom. I still believe she is a fantastic saleswoman and has a lot to offer Sir Alan's companies.
Who should have gone instead of you?
On this particular occasion, I think it should have fallen to Simon as location was the key issue and Simon was in charge of location. In our location, most of the people passing had already bought lollipops from the other team and, as you saw, were less than impressed at being hounded by us as well. However, Adam and Simon are good friends and so I was pulled in instead. You do have to admire Adam's strategy here though: it is always wise to pull someone into the boardroom who has been there before, especially someone who does not appear to fit Sir Alan's requirements.
Was Adam hiding in that lion suit?
The truth is I did sell a lot of lollies that day, definitely far more than Adam and sales is his business. As leader, he should definitely have seen my discomfort and put me in the lion suit. Then again, as it was terrifying the younger kids, perhaps we should have dropped the lion and stayed with the anteater! In fairness to Adam, he and I had both just done a 20 hour day producing the lollipops so he was probably exhausted as well.
What do you think of Tre?
One of the most common questions is how do you find Tre. Truthfully, if he respects you then he treats you with respect and, for some reason, he respects me. I would, however, encourage him to come up with a new adjective as the F-word gets quite tiring. Having conversations with him involves having to search for the useful content amongst the expletives, a little like weeding a flowerbed!
Who would you like to win?
I would have said Katie but, apparently, I sap her energy and so I am going to say Lohit. Lohit is always working, extremely good at production, clearly good at design, and a very good salesperson. Also he is a doer not a talker, so whilst everyone else is infighting he is getting on with the task.
What do you think of Margaret?
She is actually really lovely and really funny. Obviously she is strict and clever and has the ability to convey entire sentiments with a single glance!
... and Nick?
Nick is very charming and after the 'Your Fired' show he was really lovely to me, saying he would watch my career with interest, particularly as I become more commercially aware. I don't think he had any choice but to agree with Sir Alan's decision.
What about Vanessa Feltz?
Somebody pointed out to me that Vanessa's business is media and column inches which, I guess, necessitates the need to talk about 'blow jobs' on TV and to discuss people shagging behind bike sheds. I am not sure we will be great mates but she also offered me a good piece of advice: that the only 'reality' is what you see on screen so the public don't want to know what really went on if it doesn't fit with their perceptions.
What did you think of Trevor Bish-Jones?
A lovely guy who made some interesting and valid points about the business of sweet manufacturing and retailing. I think he should be persuaded to hire more geeks - especially ethical and principled business women! Go on Trevor, you know you want to!
What is a quantum physicist doing on the apprentice?
The funny thing is I don't believe I am a quantum physicist first and foremost. I think I am someone who enjoys experience. The application form looked like fun and so I filled it in and then pressed send and it snowballed from there. I really believe that, if you are given an opportunity to do something, then you really have to seize it. You only live once and you never regret the things you do in life, only the things you don't do. I have learnt so much about myself: not the least of which is that the qualification and the posh accent can alienate people and so it might be an idea to take 'dumbing down' lessons. Secondly, I have learnt that I am too nice to be really rich which definitely saddens me more than being fired! (OK, I'm kidding!)
What was your favourite experience?
My favourite experience of all was the 'doggy wardrobe'. This was a real discovery for me: that you can brainstorm and design something in 10 minutes, prototype it overnight, pitch it the next day, and receive £5,000 of orders within a week. OK – I grant that having the retail contacts established was a major advantage, but surely it's time to take a long hard look at the amount of process and bureaucracy in business and to try to get back to the basics of innovation? I'm watching Tim Campbell's new Trust with interest and would hope to see some aspects of this emerging from the companies that he encourages.
What are the other candidates like?
The candidates fall into two camps that I loosely group as the adults and the children. Unfortunately, some of the adults have already been voted off. The children group do exhibit some behaviour which might be better placed in 'Big Brother' but, that said, you have got to admire anyone who goes on the show and realise that are all working incredibly hard to still be there. Good luck to all of them.