So what delights does The Apprentice – Week 5 bring us?
The madness began as the teams were whisked away to York Hall, (in London not Yorkshire), and were tasked with making another quick buck to design and brand a new fitness programme. They were given two days in which to do this.
Refreshingly, it didn’t take long for each team to agree their respective Project Manager – Stephen for Sterling as he apparently works in the fitness industry, and ‘Lord of the Ring’ Ricky for Phoenix as he has wrestled professionally.
By the way Jenna also rides a horse, but this didn’t quite cut it to be PM. This time round ‘experience’ won the PM battle.
Next up… Some nifty footwork in creating a new and innovative fitness concept. This bit always seizes to amaze me. If there is one thing we know about creativity, it is the fact that it doesn’t magically appear in a moment of stress and time pressure. This was clearly evident.
After a haze of suggestions, Laura’s Retro theme was agreed upon for Sterling, resulting in space hoppers, hula hoops, and skipping rope galore, with the title “Groove Train” representing their fitness cause. This was taken a step further by Stephen who brought amazingly cringey dance moves such as the ‘swing-a-ling’ or ‘hip groove’ to the stage.
With all the cheesy excitement, there was no room for Tom’s concern on equipment practicalities and his comment was quickly dismissed.
Teamwork
For team Phoenix, a rethink on the popular classes of dance and martial arts formed their concept of “Beat Battle.” Not a bad name in my opinion. PM Ricky didn’t hold back as he stepped in to the spotlight to demo Thai boxing and showed off his moves. This looked slightly awkward in his suit and tie…
Day 2 and the teams split up; half to plan their pitch and half to play director and shoot their ‘winning’ video. It wasn’t long though before the “Beat Battle” team were battling it out between themselves as Duane boldly took charge and left his teammates, Laura and Nick, on the sidelines whimpering their concerns (much to Duane’s annoyance).
If only he had a team that just did as they were told…What was with all the questions and opinions? Unsurprisingly it wasn’t long before both simply disengaged and let him get on with it. Disaster.
Duane was clearly exerting his authority and confidence in the task, but ultimately his behaviour had serious consequences, and here’s why:
- You need to be a team-player – Duane did not invite or allow his teammates in to the ‘club,’ and subsequently used them when he needed them. He valued the outcome of his work above and beyond his relationships. This was all about him and his decisions, and it wasn’t long before the he allowed the martial arts theme dilute in to dance, much to Ricky’s distaste.
- Empathy and empowerment – Duane did not listen, lacked empathy, and lacked trust, which led Laura and Nick to be compliant rather than collectively contributing,and feeling part of a team goal to ensure success. This break of trust meant Laura could not easily forgive and forget, despite Nick’s suggestion to make up and “be friends.” Awkward moment.
So back to team Sterling and their Groove train thang. Little to say other than the fact Azhar had to wear some pretty skimpy red shorts for the filming, Adam was winding up Jade with over-enthusiastic but fairly useless comments, and Jade was winding up Adam with her inability to listen to his useless comments.
Lack of innovation
I failed to see what value either of these to brought to the task here.
Time to pitch and we finally got a glimpse of the videos created, both of which genuinely look like they were made in the 80s (and not in a good way). Another example that highlights the lack of creativity and innovation, but it’s no surprise given the obsessive objective to nail the number and bring in the cash.
The ability to bring divergent and innovative thinking still seems to be the fundamental ingredient lacking here week by week…
The outcome was that Sterling presented the ultimate fitness cheesefest but fell short on their equipment costs and storage practicalities, whilst Phoenix presented confidently their “Beat Battle” and tried to ignore the shambles of a video they had and their lack of differentiation in the market.
Results were presented in the Boardroom, and cheesefest “Groove Train” took the glory with a £12k deal, whilst “Beat Battle” settled for £8k.
The usual Boardroom tensions ran high, but really the decision this week seemed seamless to Alan as he pointed the finger and fired Duane for the failure of the video.
Phoenix had an okay idea, and a good name, but fell short in their execution of the product.
Key learning – The value of being a team player
The key learning? Don’t let your monster ego take over, remember to listen to and empower your teammates so that you are all dancing to the same beat and towards the same goal.
Amy King is a business analyst at talent management consultancy, The Chemistry Group.
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