I came prepared for last night's Apprentice: a full
day of smoothing and soothing my throat with honey and Strepsils in
anticipation of a gleeful stress-busting hour of screaming
expletives, like the demented banshee of East London, at Stuart
Baggs The Brand. Yet, in a double-edged sword of an editorial
corner-turn, it was not the boastful big-headed Baggs who had me
yelling, but Laura. Laura the Moaner.
Sure, Baggs had his fair share of fun: "I basically can't lose
this task". But it was Laura who stole the show - or rather, made
the whole business ethic of The Apprentice soggy with
self-pity and patheticalness and bitter, hideously unprofessional
negativity.
"Well I don't give a sh*t any more... They're pieces of sh*t [of
her team mates Stella and Joanna, for going to a big
meeting Moaner and the Brand were originally booked in for]... Oh
god, can we just go back to the hotel now, I've had enough... We
might win, but in a way I hope we don't, because I don't think
Stella deserves to win. She's treated us like sh*t... I can't
waaaaaalk on these cobbles!! I thought I was meant to be doing
corporate pitches, not running around all day" [cue a lovely bit of
editing to show all other contestants running around
enthusiastically, giving it their every last drop to find another
sale.]
You get the picture. And a sad, sorry, distinctly
un-business-like picture it was too.
Not to say that Laura was the only one at fault last night.
Jamie slipped up royally under the scrutiny of boardroom Lord
Sugar: when asked what he'd actually achieved in the last few
weeks, he came out with the worst hot-airy nothings you can utter
in the boardroom and no real evidence of anything. And him and
Christopher were both pretty silly for trying to pitch to a
waitress in that bagel bar. Oh, and for dozily pushing their 9am
appointment back to 1pm.
But military Christopher far from deserved to be fired this
week, when you still have Laura and Stuart in the mix. Sure,
Christopher didn't have that push push sell sell mentality of
Joanna (who seemed to be nailing the sales) or Stella, or the
smooth professionalism of Liz, or even the quiet assuredness of
posh Chris.
Christopher did, though, get on with people and get things done.
He seemed to us here to have no edge to his personality - just a
genuine, hardworking guy trying to make good. Lord Sugar said
as much too - he made it clear he liked Christopher and respected
his affability and productivity. It was just that lack of
'entrepreneurial spark' that got Christopher sent home.
Though judging by the fact that pretty much every former
Apprentice winner has left Lord Sugar's company Viglen
to start up their own venture within a couple of years of joining -
some leaving mere months after winning the show - we can't help but
wonder if Lord Sugar might not be better off employing a little
less entrepreneurial spark, a little more reliable long-term
employee.
What do you think? Is it better to employ an
entrepreneurial person who will only end up working for you for a
year or so, or to employ someone who'll stay long-term but who's
more Christopher-safe? We'd love to hear your thoughts
below.