The Apprentice Round-Up... Is there anything to be learned from The Apprentice? Or is it just good entertainment? Saville Consulting take a look at some of the highlights and talking points in Series 10 of The Apprentice so far. Candidate Images Sourced from www.bbc.co.uk - © 2014 BBC

1. 1
The Apprentice Round-Up

2. 2
Is there anything to be learned
from The Apprentice? Or is it just
good entertainment?

3. 3
Bring plenty of
nice make-up!”
• The first task was designed to test
the candidates’ ability to sell. As
normal the teams start off as a battle
of the sexes, with the girls on one
team and the boys on the other.
• Sarah was team leader of the girls
team and suggested some slightly
dubious tactics to increase their
sales that involved relying on their
feminine charm.

4. 4
As a leader you must maintain your integrity
By encouraging this sort of behaviour, Sarah
immediately lost the respect of her team. It meant
they questioned her judgement; she came across
as desperate to win at any cost and ultimately
looked foolish.
“Bring plenty of nice make-up!”
These are antiquated views from a bygone
age that is, thankfully, no longer around any
more.”
Baroness Brady

5. 5
Buy this
t-shirt.”
• Disorganised: “We haven’t even got the t-shirts guys.” The group then had to sprint back
to the van together to pick up a box of t-shirts.
• Chiles decided the best way to come up with a t-shirt design would be to stand in a circle
and think for 30 seconds. The results reflected his poor decision, with the slogan “Buy this
t-shirt” being the final design.
• Finally, the t-shirt design became irrelevant when he decided to go to the balloon shop as
they couldn’t wait for the t-shirts to finish being printed, leaving them at the printers.

6. 6
1. Creativity doesn’t just happen!
Creativity is inspired by the world around you.
From the physical things you interact with, to the
people you meet and the research you undertake.
To expect to come up with a good t-shirt design
by standing in a circle and thinking, is naïve and
ultimately is not going to end well.
2. Plan your project
Draw up a list of tasks or actions that need to be
ensued to achieve your goal. Prioritise these,
then work out if any can be done simultaneously,
and the order they should be done in to ensure
the best efficiency.
“Buy this t-shirt.”

7. 7
Chiles was appointed as the sub-team leader. But was he right for this
role within the team?
• Sometimes it can be difficult to determine what team roles
will suit members of your team, especially as some people’s
talents and motivations are not as obvious.
• Performing some form of team analysis (even something
less sophisticated than a psychometric tool) would have
helped them in this task. For example, they could have
identified that they were lacking a innovative team member
to help with the t-shirt concept creation.
The highly valid and
contemporary Wave
Team Roles Report
adds new insights to
building and managing
teams

8. 8
From now on, I’m
putting this back
on you.”
• The task was to design a piece of wearable
technology and then sell it.
• Scott’s initial idea was rejected by the group
at which point he proclaimed, “From now
on, I’m putting this back on you”.
• Their final design was a grey jumper with a
camera imbedded in the chest. Needless to
say it received no orders.

9. 9
Decision making is part of leadership
Trying to pass responsibility to your team and let
them make decisions for you is not acceptable. If
you’re the team or project lead, you must have
the final say on which direction the team should
take, and you have to accept that you will be
accountable for the results.
“From now on, I’m putting this
back on you.”
Scott is a slippery character; he passes the
buck like it is a grenade.”
Nick Hewer

10. 10
Comparing Leadership Styles
• Scott was the team leader in week two. His
leadership style was quite aggressive and he
failed to build effective relationships within his
team. He didn’t generate any usable ideas, and
didn’t have any previous experience that was
relevant to the task to draw on.
• In contrast, Solomon (team leader in week 4)
came up with their idea, and directed the team on
how to implement it. One of his most noticeable
strengths was his ability to enthuse his team with
his idea and get them all working towards one
common goal. Whilst his idea was not brilliant, he
got to the heart of the task, understood how to
reach the objective and made decisions that
reflected that. For example, he chose the partner
with the widest audience reach.

11. 11
Identifying Leadership Skills
Identifying leadership skills and selecting
candidates for leadership positions can be difficult.
As we have learnt from The Apprentice, some
people have already developed the skills
necessary and some may need some additional
guidance to become a good leader.
The Leadership Report
measures the specific
leadership styles and
situations which a given
leader is particularly
suited to.

12. 12
Extreme luxury –
high fashion
retail.”
• The task was to design a piece of wearable
technology and then sell it.
• Lord Sugar made it very clear that he
expected Robert to take the project
manager role.
• Robert chose to disregard this as he wanted
to specialise in “extreme luxury - high
fashion retail”. He didn’t believe this task
would be relevant to that industry.

13. 13
There is a big risk in waiting for the ‘perfect’
opportunity.
In the real workplace, if you weren’t confident
enough in yourself to take the project lead, you
would discuss it with your line manager. However,
there is the risk that the ‘perfect’ project for you
will never come, so don’t turn down opportunities
that could show your potential, unless it’s really
not the right time. Give it your best shot and treat
it as a self-development opportunity.
“Extreme luxury – high fashion
retail.”

14. 14
I haven’t been the
person I thought I
was going to be
when I came here.”
• The task was creating and selling home
fragrance products.
• Lindsay gave up this week, and tried to coast
through, leaving others to complete the task.
• Having seen the stress and the level of self-
belief required to make it through the process,
she essentially selected herself out of the
process.

15. 15
Job fit works both ways
It is important to make sure candidates are fully
aware of what will be expected of them throughout
the selection process and for the job. There is no
point recruiting a great candidate if they’re not
happy with the role and leave within a month.
Lindsay’s biggest issue was her misunderstanding
around what would be required to make it through
the process. Had she known, she may have
withdrawn her application earlier and a more
suitable candidate could have taken her place.
“I haven’t been the person I
thought I was going to be when
I came here.”

16. 16
Situational Judgement Tests
Lindsay shouldn’t have been able to get this far in
the process. Better screening at an earlier stage
could have demonstrated that she couldn’t take the
pressure.
Situational Judgement Tests offer engaging,
realistic work-related previews.
Available in a variety of new media, our bespoke
Situational Judgement Tests:
• Offer fast and effective sifting for high volumes
• Create opportunities for impactful employer branding
• Use the latest technology providing an engaging
candidate experience
• Assess candidates against job scenarios they are
likely to encounter
• Can be seamlessly integrated with applicant tracking
systems
• Are underpinned by the highest validity and empirical
research

17. 17
The wheels
on the bus
go round
and round...”
Throughout the episodes so far, one personality has really stuck out…
• In Episode 3 he was being unethical with pricing; advertising that the product was
discounted from a price far above any price it had actually been sold for.
• Clowning around all the time, but his role in Episode 4 was to provide silly slapstick
humour
• Not thinking about customer service and the value of repeat customers for real
businesses.
• Episode 5 was cringe-worthy from start to finish, but the highlight was singing on the
coach.

18. 18
A wise man speaks because he has
something to say, a fool speaks because he
has to say something.”
Bianca about James
Derek?
James was ultimately fired for calling someone
the wrong name, the mistake meant they missed
out on their first choice of product.
This sort of slip up shows a lack of attention to
detail. Throughout the tasks we’ve seen James
taking a gung-ho approach and not thinking
strategically.
“The wheels on the bus go
round and round...”

19. 19
I’m a lawyer,
and it doesn’t
say fully built.”
• Episode 9: the candidates had to buy a number of bizarre items for the cheapest price.
This task tested the candidates’ organisation skills and their ability to haggle.
• Felipe tried to save his team some money by securing an anatomical skeleton made of
paper which needed assembling, rather than a fully assembled one made of plastic. The
specification the teams were given did not mention what material the skeleton had to be
made of; it merely stated the height and that it must be anatomically correct.

20. 20
The bare bones of it
Felipe’s firing has been controversial, some
people back his stance that the item he bought
matched the specification he was given. Others
agree with Lord Sugar and believe the type of
skeleton was implied.
In a real workplace scenario, you would clarify any
ambiguity within the brief with the client. However,
with the client unavailable to him, Felipe used his
initiative to try and meet the primary object: Buy
for the best possible price.
We can’t decide: Hired or Fired?
“I’m a lawyer, and it doesn’t say
fully built.”

21. 21
Find out more about Saville Consulting at: