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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

The Apprentice: Who Should Be In The Finale?

The Apprentice

We're down to the final 5 candidates for a job with Sir Alan.

They are, in no particular order:

  • Simon Ambrose
  • Tre Azam
  • Katie Hopkins
  • Kristina Grimes
  • Lohit Kalburgi

Let's do a reality check of who I would look at for the final. Will they be the same two as Sir Alan? Who knows...because the clever BBC editors are just giving us enough information so we form the opinions they probably want us to have.

Simon Ambrose

Simon is by all accounts very clever.

My thought is that he may be very clever but if his QVC showing is anything to go by he doesn't appear to think about what he does. For example:

  • He chose a folding wheelchair to sell on QVC - why?  He needed more high volume, mid to high value items
  • He didn't direct his team when they were on camera - which is one reason why they sold very little and looked so clueless
  • He looked (as Sir Alan said) a "right pillock" because he was screwing the trampoline leg right in front of his groin so it looked very "odd"

Tre Azam

Tre appears to have managed to keep his temper in check more lately.  However, he does appear to sulk when things aren't going his way.

In week 9 ( selling imported products) he was on the losing team and as Sir Alan said "cocked it up royal." He's definitely a doer. However, that seems to be at the expense of very much planning. So it looks to me as though you could point him  at a task, tell him clearly what you required and he would do it

Tre was the project manager that week and made some very strange product choices. Particularly the air filter that seemed to give people who came close to it a shock.

He's also spent his time moaning about decisions when he's not project manager rather than getting on doing what he's been told. That despite being on the winning side the most times.

Katie Hopkins

Katie, Katie, the girl we all love to gasp in wonderment at as she outlines how people that rub her up the wrong way should be killed.

Katie - the flirt, personally I'd run a million miles before I got involved with her flirting, ugh!

Katie - the two-faced silent assassin - working on people to get them to point the finger at anyone else but her

Katie - the below the belt fighter. She took Adam on and made it seem as though he was a borderline alcoholic - when she drinks wine too

Katie - the global branding consultant who doesn't seem to understand branding or marketing

Personally I wouldn't trust Katie as fat as I could throw her. She's a complete snob which must mean she's making negative judgements about mass markets. And mass markets are those that Sir Alan is selling into.

Why is Katie going for this job if she's already a "global branding consultant" earning £90,000? She doesn't need the money, she thinks she's cleverer than almost anyone else in the world.

Kristina Grimes

Kristina has been very ambitious and aggressive in trying to become The Apprentice. She's resorted to underhand tactics to help her win - for example selling sweets to children at London Zoo so that parents have to cough up or risk a scene with their children.

She's also made sure that she's stood out at the expense of her team - as witnessed by her appalling presentation of the steam cleaner on the shopping channel task in week 10.

Lohit Kalburgi

Yay Lohit, level headed, nice, maybe too nice...

Lohit has quietly got on with the job all the way through this series. He sold when required, project managed when required and has kept completely calm at all times. Sometimes though he appears to lack any passion which paints him as bit of a grey man. And I suspect Sir Alan doesn't want a grey man on his payroll, he wants a mover and shaker.

The Final Two Prediction

The two people I'd take into the final task are Kristina and Tre. The reasons I exclude the others are:

  • Lohit - too nice, not demonstrated any assertiveness
  • Katie - back stabbing snob who thinks (wrongly) she's cleverer than the rest of the candidates and Sir Alan. Sir Alan wants shrewd, not clever!
  • Simon - he lies, he talks BS and blathers

 

Tre has improved over the weeks and Kristina had been a steady performer. Either could probably do a reasonable job for Sir Alan.

 

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jim,

have a look at the links on my blog

Rob

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