The Apprentice 2014

Greenback · 4 Dec 2014

I thought it was good thinking but I was concerned about how Sugar would react. He doesn't like being made to look a fool, and that was what would have happened had he accepted it. Had the skeleton been assembled, I think that they would have been on stronger ground with which to argue back. The fact was that in its flat state it was not 180cm tall!

Sanjay really should have been fired, he was very poor, whereas the 'losing' team actually performed well as a group for once.

RailUK Forums

Busaholic · 4 Dec 2014

Greenback said:
I thought it was good thinking but I was concerned about how Sugar would react. He doesn't like being made to look a fool, and that was what would have happened had he accepted it. Had the skeleton been assembled, I think that they would have been on stronger ground with which to argue back. The fact was that in its flat state it was not 180cm tall!

Sanjay really should have been fired, he was very poor, whereas the 'losing' team actually performed well as a group for once.

Last night Sugar did say to all the remaining candidates, after bringing them to the boardroom, that he wasn't restricted now to firing just one candidate, from the losing team. The implication I thought was there that he could also have fired one from the 'winning' team if he so chose. Felipe was perhaps unlucky - I could easily imagine the scenario where Sralan had praised his initiative if he had already decided he'd like to keep him. The docking of that number of points was also totally arbitrary. Daniel continues to live a charmed life: looks like his face fits better with Sugar than with the other candidates, none of whom have ever seemed to get on with him. His continual pursed lips, general petulance and humourlessness don't seem to count against him.

Strat-tastic · 4 Dec 2014

ralphchadkirk said:
You really think the other team's skeleton was a real one - i.e. not a model?

No, not at all. You should have heard my living room last night

Greenback · 4 Dec 2014

Busaholic said:
Last night Sugar did say to all the remaining candidates, after bringing them to the boardroom, that he wasn't restricted now to firing just one candidate, from the losing team. The implication I thought was there that he could also have fired one from the 'winning' team if he so chose. Felipe was perhaps unlucky - I could easily imagine the scenario where Sralan had praised his initiative if he had already decided he'd like to keep him. The docking of that number of points was also totally arbitrary. Daniel continues to live a charmed life: looks like his face fits better with Sugar than with the other candidates, none of whom have ever seemed to get on with him. His continual pursed lips, general petulance and humourlessness don't seem to count against him.

I didn't read that into what Sugar said last night. I think it refers to the fact he's able to fire more than one from the losing team this series, and that he still can, even if he hasn't done so for a while.

I can't understand why Daniel hasn't gone. I thought he was out yesterday!

Phirstman · 5 Dec 2014

Greenback said:
I can't understand why Daniel hasn't gone. I thought he was out yesterday!

I thought Felipe and Daniel both should've gone yesterday after they were declared the losers.

Having said that I felt the fines associated with the skeleton were ridiculously harsh and the other side should really have lost.

The 'winning' side were far more disorganised and Sanjay dodged a major bullet - he went down in my estimations this week.

A good episode in terms of the task but not entirely happy with the outcome.

A food designing task next week which is very disappointing - this is a Business programme not the Great British Bake-off! :roll:

IanD · 5 Dec 2014

Phirstman said:
I thought Felipe and Daniel both should've gone yesterday after they were declared the losers.

Having said that I felt the fines associated with the skeleton were ridiculously harsh and the other side should really have lost.

The 'winning' side were far more disorganised and Sanjay dodged a major bullet - he went down in my estimations this week.

A good episode in terms of the task but not entirely happy with the outcome.

A food designing task next week which is very disappointing - this is a Business programme not the Great British Bake-off! :roll:

IIRC there's been a food based challenge in every series so it could be argued that Great British BOGOF nicked it's idea from The Apprentice.

Greenback · 5 Dec 2014

Having thought about Felipe and his thinking outside the box a bit more, my conclusion is it;s not a good idea to get on the wrong side of someone when you want them to become your business partner with an investment of £250,000.

Did Felipe never consider that there was a possibility that Lord Sugar wouldn't be very impressed by someone who was trying to out think him? Felipe may have had grounds for arguing a case over the wording of the specification, but is that the right strategy with someone you are presumably going to have top work quite closely with? It seems unnecessarily adversarial and confrontational to me.

Tetchytyke · 5 Dec 2014

I don't think he thought about it, he was too focused on winning, although I get the feeling that he thought Sugar would admire his cunning.

I think the decision was harsh and, really, it was Sugar's (researchers') fault for not being tighter on the spec. In proper business if a company did that you'd probably not have a leg to stand on, although you know fine well you'd never use them again.

Greenback · 5 Dec 2014

I agree, but the point is it was poor judgment on the part of Felipe and Daniel to think that 'getting one over' on LS would result in admiration. When the idea was first raised, my initial reaction was good thinking, then it crossed my mind that if by some chance LS wasn't impressed by the initiative, it could have devastating consequences. Too risky, was my conclusion!

It was only last night that I contemplated the folly of putting yourself in a position of having to have a courtroom like argument over the wording not being a good idea at all, so i assume the team didn't consider it either.

Unless it ended up on the cutting room floor, it didn't look like Felipe put up much of a defence, so maybe he realised it at the last minute and accepted that setting out a strong case in his defence would simply backfire.

Oswyntail · 5 Dec 2014

Greenback said:
... Felipe may have had grounds for arguing a case over the wording of the specification, but is that the right strategy with someone you are presumably going to have top work quite closely with? It seems unnecessarily adversarial and confrontational to me.

From my personal experience, it very much depends who you are dealing with. With someone who knows what they are talking about, pointing out that the spec is flawed is likely to improve a working relationship and ensure future co-operation; with someone who is so frail that they cannot be challenged the opposite would happen - but you don't really want to have a business relationship with them anyway. This episode showed Sugar at his worst, as a narcissistic bully who needs his sycophants - Felipe was well out of it, and I suspect he realised that.

Tetchytyke · 5 Dec 2014

Oswyntail said:
This episode showed Sugar at his worst, as a narcissistic bully who needs his sycophants

Sugar's always been about the bullying and, when that doesn't work, trying to spin himself as something of a victim. We saw that all those years ago when Tottenham Hotpsur made illegal payments to players and Sugar bravely tried to argue that he was being bullied by the nasty FA. The galling thing then is that it worked.

Busaholic · 5 Dec 2014

Oswyntail said:
From my personal experience, it very much depends who you are dealing with. With someone who knows what they are talking about, pointing out that the spec is flawed is likely to improve a working relationship and ensure future co-operation; with someone who is so frail that they cannot be challenged the opposite would happen - but you don't really want to have a business relationship with them anyway. This episode showed Sugar at his worst, as a narcissistic bully who needs his sycophants - Felipe was well out of it, and I suspect he realised that.

Have you ever seen the American version with that top sociopath Donald Trump? Sycophancy is taken to a level that even Stalin or Mao might have thought too ingratiating. To think that if Scotland had gained independence Trump would be planning to get more than his feet under Salmond's table.

Butts · 5 Dec 2014

Arctic Troll said:
I don't think he thought about it, he was too focused on winning, although I get the feeling that he thought Sugar would admire his cunning.

I think the decision was harsh and, really, it was Sugar's (researchers') fault for not being tighter on the spec. In proper business if a company did that you'd probably not have a leg to stand on, although you know fine well you'd never use them again.

The other members of the team seemed to think it was a great wheeze at the time of purchase only objecting when Lord Sugar did.

As someone mentioned earlier the level of the fine imposed was prohibitive and seemed an arbitrary amount which conveniently resulted in the other team winning. It was accepted almost without comment.

Greenback · 5 Dec 2014

In fairness, they hadn't seen the thing, which looked remarkably unimpressive in the flesh, so to speak.

RJ · 6 Dec 2014

Didn't the spec say the anatomical skeleton to be a minimum of 150cm tall? I don't think the submission in it's flat pack form met this stipulation - had it been assembled, I bet it would have been accepted.

Greenback · 6 Dec 2014

I think that was the justification for Lord Sugar's decision. As with the rope being accepted if it had been cut tot eh correct size, had they constructed the paper model they might have had a better chance of getting away with it.

Butts · 6 Dec 2014

Greenback said:
I think that was the justification for Lord Sugar's decision. As with the rope being accepted if it had been cut tot eh correct size, had they constructed the paper model they might have had a better chance of getting away with it.

I wonder how long it would have taken to put together ?

IanD · 6 Dec 2014

Butts said:
I wonder how long it would have taken to put together ?

They should have offered the guy in the shop £100 to put it together and called back later! Still think sugar should have accepted it in the state they presented it.

Busaholic · 6 Dec 2014

IanD said:
They should have offered the guy in the shop £100 to put it together and called back later! Still think sugar should have accepted it in the state they presented it.

Sugar is not a big enough guy in any sense of the term to have accepted it. I love watching the show for all the self-delusion of so many (but not all) of them including, numero uno, Sralan. It's a bit like watching those programmes centred on Easyjet and wondering why any sane person would ever consider flying with them except in absolute extremis.

Clint · 7 Dec 2014

It seems like the sort of task where, one year, the team would be castigated for not following the brief, and another year praised for their initiative.

I've never been a religious watcher of this series (mostly because some of the contestants are so full of themselves, but lack even the most basic common sense, that you wonder where their confidence comes from; surely if you were that thick you should have the self-awareness to try to keep quiet about it!) but I'm sure I can remember in a past series that one of the contestants was found out for lying on his C.V, and then won the series anyway! And wasn't that the same series that there were two men and one woman on one team, and the two men claimed the winning idea was theirs, despite the cameras proving it was her idea?

I think the only thing this series shows is that if people work as a team, the one who suceeds in business is the one who is quickest to distance themselves from anything bad that happens, and who is also the quickest to claim that any good ideas were down to them.

Tetchytyke · 7 Dec 2014

Butts said:
I wonder how long it would have taken to put together ?

The guy who sold it to them reckoned five hours!

Butts · 11 Dec 2014

Ah well that's the end of Sanjay and Katy .....

Remarkably Daniel survives as part of the winning team..plus my old mocker Solomon.

Roisin I said to answer the phone in a Nightie - not t-shirt and pyjama bottoms.

Tracked · 11 Dec 2014

I think if it had still been about working for Sugar then Katy would've won easily, pity no-one seemed to have spotted her idea was a bit rubbish until so far into the series :roll:

Greenback · 11 Dec 2014

Daniel must have a fantastic business idea, otherwise he'd have gone ages ago!

Butts · 17 Dec 2014

Just watching The Apprentice "Interview Stage"

No Margaret Mountford -looks like she has been excised completely

90sWereBetter · 17 Dec 2014

Roisin blew it spectacularly tonight. Horrible business plan. Like Helen from a couple of series ago, best candidate but came unstuck with the plan.

Certainly didn't expect Bianca to make the final, she's definitely been the wildcard throughout. It's gonna be tight as hell next week.

Solomon is a very nice chap indeed.

Butts · 17 Dec 2014

90sWereBetter said:
Roisin blew it spectacularly tonight. Horrible business plan. Like Helen from a couple of series ago, best candidate but came unstuck with the plan.

Certainly didn't expect Bianca to make the final, she's definitely been the wildcard throughout. It's gonna be tight as hell next week.

Solomon is a very nice chap indeed.

Are these Business Plans not vetted in advance ? - someone got kicked out on the basis of theirs a few weeks ago

CC 72100 · 17 Dec 2014

90sWereBetter said:
Roisin blew it spectacularly tonight. Horrible business plan. Like Helen from a couple of series ago, best candidate but came unstuck with the plan.

And Neil, in the last series (or what it the series before that?)

Trainfan344 · 18 Dec 2014

Am I the only one not slightly disappointed we didn't get a Daniel/Mark final when it went down to Daniel/Mark/Bianca?

Greenback · 18 Dec 2014

It's a shame Roisin blew it so spectacularly as she seemed like an excellent candidate. But she completely failed to grasp the basic concept of starting a new business from scratch with £250,000 and no other finance.

(She looked a bit of a funny colour on You're Fired, might this be a side effect of this amazing veggie thing she's so keen on using? :lol:

)

The final will just come down to whether Sugar wants to take a punt on hosiery or is more comfortable with Mark sticking to what he knows and does. I think it'll be the latter.

The Apprentice 2014

Emeritus Moderator

RailUK Forums

Veteran Member

Established Member

Emeritus Moderator

Member

Established Member

Emeritus Moderator

Veteran Member

Emeritus Moderator

Established Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Emeritus Moderator

Established Member

Emeritus Moderator

Veteran Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Emeritus Moderator

Veteran Member

Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Established Member

Emeritus Moderator