The Apprentice: chaos versus control [BT broadband office]

The Apprentice: chaos versus control

Posted 14 June 2007 at 2:52PM by Simon Dickson in Light relief

And so the 'job interview from hell' ends for another year. The two remaining candidates to become Sir Alan's next Apprentice were set the task of designing virtual buildings for London's South Bank, aided (mostly) by some familiar faces from earlier in the series. Adam clearly hadn't cheered up much since being fired. Mad Rory tried to prove he wasn't mad by, er, acting even more strangely. And Lohit was back being Lohit - by which I mean, I can't actually remember if he was in the show at all. (Anyone??)

As you probably know by now, Simon got the nod. It can't have been based on his performance this week alone. Things didn't start well, as he paired off with Tre (yet again) and ignored the rest of his team-mates. His own 'ship' concept seemed pretty weak, and was ditched in favour of something which - frankly - resembled a part of the male anatomy. The 'dancing girls', flouncing around to what was presumably the only opera tune his team knew, were baffling. And based on the excerpts the BBC chose to include, his presentation to an audience of property experts was full of marketing waffle.

Kristina, meanwhile, was a powerhouse as ever. Rock-solid management, strong leadership, determination without ever becoming desperation. Why didn't she get the job? It can only be because it was, at the end of the day, a job interview for a specific job. Sir Alan clearly had something specific in mind, and Simon was closer to it. Indeed, as it turns out, the role is in real estate, where you do feel Simon's personality might be a better fit. He may have been the winner; but Kristina certainly was not a loser.

It's been a great series - but before withdrawal symptoms get a chance to kick in, switch over to ITV where Dragons' Den panellist Peter Jones is the eponymous 'Tycoon' mentoring six genuine entrepreneurs. It's looking more 'documentary' and less 'gameshow' than The Apprentice, and I'll certainly be catching Tuesday night's opening episode.

Tags: Alan Sugar, bbc, simon ambrose, The Apprentice

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Comments

1. At June 14, 2007 4:07 PM, Stevo wrote:

Did anyone else feel deflated at the end? Having recorded each programme each week and managing to avoid the excellent BT blog until Friday morning after watching one day later than everyone else, I actually watched on the Wednesday night to see Kristina take the role. Wow!!! Now we have dear Katie saying she actually won (in her mind anyway), poor Kristina who was the real winner actually not winning and Simon who should not even been in the final ending as the victor. Perhaps Mr Sugar saw the event as his beloved Spurs taking on Real Madrid and making his own ending. A complete travesty!!!

2. At June 14, 2007 4:19 PM, kim wrote:

strange decision, hardly worth £100k per year. he will be a good average employee, loyal and hard working, but i dont think he will ever set the world or amstrad on fire.
lets hope next years contendors are a bit more dynamic.

3. At June 14, 2007 4:22 PM, Bev wrote:

I,m sure you're right - with the specific job in mind, Simon probably was the best choice. However, I think Christina would have been a far better over all choice - he wouldn't have gone far wrong with her. I've been rooting for her since day one.
Turning over to BBC2 for the chat, I may be a bit of a softie but how cruel was it to put Katie in the audience and then attempt to tear her to shreds. As per usual, she did hold her own well though but I couldn't help cringing for her.

4. At June 14, 2007 4:24 PM, hilary wrote:

After lots of discussion at work today, it seems the majority of people thought SAS made the right decision as Simon is definitely not the finished article, more of an apprentice (but didn't he fire someone else for that earlier in the series?), and yes, as you say, will probably fit better into a real estate job than Kristina. However I don't agree that the best person won. Kristina, all round, was much the better prospect. Her team remained calm, cohesive and in the main, respectful of her as their leader. Paul could so easily have sabotaged her out of revenge, but he chose to help and she managed him really well. In fact she brought out the best in all her team members. Simon's team, on the other hand, were divided, resentful and had their own agendas and Simon did not seem able to bring them together for the good of the task. I certainly would not want to work for Simon, however, having a leader/manager like Kristina, I feel would be an inspiration.

Kristina was definitely not a loser - I hope she goes on to bigger and better things.

5. At June 14, 2007 5:11 PM, Matt wrote:

Kristina was certainly the stronger candidate, in my opinion. It was the same last year, with the better contestant (The Badger) losing. I suspect that Simon won't last long in the role, much like the previous winners, but I could be wrong. Sir Alan is still the biggest winner, though I feel that the concept is getting a tad tired...

6. At June 15, 2007 10:43 AM, Rachel Riley wrote:

Simon probably deserves to be the apprentice because Kristina is the ultimate all round better person and will be head hunted by numerous companies. she handled the interview after the decision with her usual aplomb and di not rise to the Katie bate.

As for Katie had her comments not been so very derisive and in poor taste, she is a very intelligent and witty person and she also handled being in the audience well, her private life is her own business.

7. At June 15, 2007 11:59 AM, Simon wrote:

Am I the only one left feeling a little sorry for Katie? She may have brought about her own downfall, but this national demonisation of the poor girl is getting a bit ridiculous.

8. At June 15, 2007 2:16 PM, Brian Dodd wrote:

Of course Sir Alan's decision was the right one - no chance of this one getting head hunted away is there?

Congratulations to Kristina for not getting the job. You can now go on to greater things without having to give up a year of your life to Amstrad first. Lets face it, how many of the previous apprentices are still with Sir Alan?

Must add though, I quite enjoy 'Badger or Bust', which features Ruth Badger from a previous 'The Apprentice'.

9. At June 15, 2007 2:34 PM, Kim wrote:

i agree, he keeps on at Katie but he offered her a place in the final - why - double standards or is he just a bit mad?
Katie will get herself some good pr or a media contract out of this anyway i think

10. At June 15, 2007 3:48 PM, Niamh wrote:

Yes, Kristina looked like the winner and it was a shock when Simon won. Based on the job Sralan had in mind then I think he had Simon ear marked from way back. I believe Simon now has to qualify as a Chartered Surveyor. It may seem daft but I do find myself wondering if Kristina had worn dark rather than light coloured clothing more often would she have looked more the part for that particular job. Simon looks like an estate agent.

All along with Katie I did wonder if she had her eye on a media career. I felt her remarks such as "Kristina always covers her a*** which is more than can be said for her skirt" were deliberate. She is too intelligent to say such things by mistake. Successor to Ann Robinson perhaps? Her employers seem a bit mean spirited in firing her. If they were hoping for a PR coup then I think they have scored an own goal.

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