The Apprentice UK - A Coaching Perspective On The Latest BBC Episode

Episode 3 of The Apprentice on the BBC - The Fitness Contraption

The task this week on the UK show The Apprentice on BBC TV centred around finding unique product for the fitness market. The teams had to come up with the design concept; get a prototype made by a designated manufacturer; then market it to pre-assigned potential outlets.

The same retail prices were allocated by Sir Alan Sugar and his team of Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford and, we believe, identical manufacturing, transportation and packaging costs assumed. Therefore, the task's aim was to gain the biggest number of orders rather than the usual maximisation of profits.

Debbie (Debra Barr) was manager for Ignite team while James McQuillan took that role for the other team, Empire. The latter has Product Management experience so we expected him to rise to the challenge well. Ben Clarke was in charge of design for Empire and initially mentioned a sex-related device, which James quickly pooh-poohed! They came up with a device to reduce women's 'bingo wings' with names such as Bingo-Buster and Wing-Worker. James' advice was sound: keep it simple. This was especially good advice given the incredibly tight timescale! They went to a sports store to get product ideas, which they perhaps should have done first?!

Majid Nagra was all for adding product extras, which overcomplicated was meant to be an inexpensive product. The end-result, the 'Home Multi Tone', was rather a Heath Robinson-looking product that Ben embarrassingly had a struggle packing away in front of a sports shop Buyer. The team admitted some aspects were 'just for show'! They called it a home multi-gym but failed to research the market to see that their potential buyer in the sports shop would not be interested in this sort of product when he was more interested in selling shop visitors multi-gyms costing hundreds if not thousands of pounds!

In terms of picking the leader, the team seemed uncertain about Debbie, one member, Lorraine Tighe, asking her could she manage all the big personalities in the team, while another, Paula Jones, said the biggest challenge would be managing her own (Debbie's)! Clearly she's seen as a bit of a handful and is rude when it really doesn't seem to be justified. Her put-down of Lorraine below didn't help in portraying her as a good manager and she doesn't seem to be a team-player. This was evidenced by her comment to Kimberley Davis back at the penthouse while awaiting the boys from the boardroom with 'Your failure is my success. I don't really care if you lose! I know that might be harsh…' Kimberley said she felt it was indeed harsh! If Sir Alan Sugar is reviewing the tapes of the discussions back at the house, and he would certainly get the highlights, is this really the way Debbie thinks she should portray herself in order to get a job with him?! Today's managers are generally deemed superior if they lead from the front and build a consensus where that is possible we feel, not be autocrats as (perhaps) in days gone by. In truth, we wonder if Debbie's strategy is to be tough on others and gain notoriety that way, earning herself nasty soubriquets in the papers and so get a reputation that boosts a TV or other independent career outside Sir Alan Sugar's empire… (See Jenny Celerier's and Kristina Grimes' - 2008 contestant and 2007 runner-up respectively - new training company as just one example: www.kgjcp.com)

Ignite came up with a variation on the Swiss ball, a body rocker on which one sits to do exercises. Lorraine put herself forward to do the pitch, although Debbie gave her little encouragement, saying that if, on 'inspection', she was not up to it, they would assign someone else. Not a great morale boost prior to the task! Project Managers need to boost their team-members' confidence not undermine it. Undoubtedly they are all there to win, but Sir Alan, Nick & Margaret are surely also looking for team-players and leaders of the future for their organisation.

Debbie was deemed to bark at people (who said). She allocated Yasmina Siadatan to shoot the photographs and then wouldn’t leave her to undertake that task on her own. If Debbie's team had lost, she would definitely have been in the firing line as she micro-managed everyone.

Debbie's team apparently had no discussion re financials so when John Lewis's buyers asked them for an exclusivity contract, they had no idea of what to ask for. Debbie said they'd chat about it and come back to John Lewis, but one team member blurted out that 20,000 units for 6 months would seal the deal, to which John Lewis replied that it was too much.

Sir Alan Sugar felt James' team's prototype was very poor. James seemed to backtrack at this point, agreeing that Ben's concept was good but the prototype was poor, earning Ben's enmity. Ben was extremely miffed, pointing out that James hadn't voiced many reservations when the prototype turned up, but to be fair, by that stage, given the tight timescales, what other choice was there? James waffled too much trying to defend himself, stating that he was a bit fuzzy (he certainly issued lots of fluff!) at times and didn't want to 'stifle Ben's creativity' and also dumped on several team members. Seemed like a poor attempt at offloading blame for failure onto Ben and generally sidestepping responsibility as Project Manager. His boardroom manner clearly exasperated Sir Alan Sugar. James, and all boardroom 'defendants', especially Debbie given her comments above, need to consider that he may have to work with these people on other tasks. E.g. Philip Taylor received good feedback in the boardroom for having defended Lorraine. Margaret had made complimentary remarks about James to Sir Alan Sugar, saying that despite his poor boardroom puff and bluster, in the field he was actually quite good, geeing up his team, etc.

Howard seemed to play a silent game, at which Sir Alan Sugar accused him of sitting on the fence so much that he was in danger of getting a sore a**e! Definitely quote of the week! Noorul Choudhury seems to be playing a quiet game too. Not sure what he's contributed yet….

Philip didn't look best pleased when James returned to the house and Majid had been kicked out. Will Philip try to get rid of James as revenge?!

Ignite team's spokesperson Kate Walsh tended to just list the features of the equipment, whereas the art of selling requires extolling the virtues or benefits of the product. What it simply does is not sufficient: how does the product or service help the buyer or solve a problem? That's the key to selling.

Majid was deemed by James, Nick and Sir Alan Sugar to have been a passenger rather than have played a constructive part in the proceedings. Nick's eyebrow and stern look were working overtime with Majid at this point in the boardroom! Sir Alan Sugar pointed out that there was no room to hide behind the filing cabinets in his organisation…. Majid didn't really stand up for himself in the boardroom and agreed in The Apprentice - You're fired! that he was very laid-back. So was his just a bid to get TV exposure for the various businesses that he runs?

The contestants need a strategy in the boardroom - not just trying to drop others in it, which is seen straight through by Sir Alan, Nick and Margaret and certainly doesn’t win them any helpful colleagues for the next task!

Sir Alan deemed that the Empire team had not targeted the audience well (at that price) and given them what they wanted. As business coaches though, we generally feel that Sir Alan Sugar's team don't give sufficient feedback on what they would have done. It's easy to criticise the teams and no doubt makes for a more interesting show in terms of entertainment, but as a business-focused show, we were surprised not to hear more constructive feedback on what very experienced business people such as Sir Alan, Margaret and Nick would have done in the circumstances. No doubt editing of the show plays a large part! So we're not sure whether The Apprentice is intended to be a business show with entertainment thrown in or an entertainment show with a dash of business?! One thing is certain: it's highly watchable… Looking forward to episode 4!

Vinden Grace and Eve Grace-Kelly
Director and MD respectively
QCC

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Are you listening?

How long could you survive without your car? Or even worse.... how long could you survive without talking?!?!?

This is what John Francis did following a massive oil spill polluted San Francisco Bay in 1972. He gave up all motorised transportation and for 22 years, he walked everywhere he went hoping to inspire others to drop out of the petroleum economy.

Soon after he stopped riding in cars he also stopped speaking. For 17 years, he communicated only through improvised sign language, notes and his ever-present banjo. The environmental pilgrim says he took his vow of silence as a gift to his community because he just argued all the time.

Through his action of not talking, for the first time, he found he was able to truly listen to other people and the larger world around him, transforming his approach to both personal communication and environmental activism.

He realised that when listening beforehand, he listened to a point where he received confirmation that the person agreed with him. If the speaker didn't agree, he would stop listening and his mind would race ahead to compose an argument against what he believed the speaker's idea of position to be.

And so he wasn't really listening at all. When he realised this he felt as if he had been locked away half of his life.

"Silence is not just not talking" he said. "It's a void. It's a place where all things come from. All voices, all creation comes out of this silence. So when you're standing on the edge of silence, you hear things you've never heard before, and you hear things in ways you've never heard them before. And what I would disagree with one time, I might now agree with in another way, with another understanding. "

We can all relate to John's experience of 'listening' to some degree. I can certainly remember times when I have been guilty of nodding when someone has been speaking to me so that they will hurry up and finish what they're saying, so that I can put my 'twopenneth' in!

One of the gifts of coaching is that we learn how to truly listen and the richness that this has brought into my life has been enormous! I've always felt that I've been a good listener, but this has been heightened through the coaching skills. I now have conversations with people and recall not just the words, but the emotion in their voice and the body language they used. And this package provides me with so much information about the message the person I'm having that conversation with is trying to convey.

John Francis has given up his silence so that he can get his message across with regard to his environmental work. He silence certainly bore a message in itself and there is much on the internet about his life. But, on Earthday 1990, he realised that speaking again would enable him to further his quest in improving our environment.

He's now in the speaking arena and gives great motivational speeches. Click on the link below to find out more about his life and message.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlYJQ0psZYA

How have you made someone feel today?

Saw this today & certainly paused for thought…

It’s always good for the soul to reflect on helping others…


“I pulled my cab up to the curb and sounded the horn. No one came to the door.

So I walked to the door and knocked. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knick-knacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated’.

‘Oh, you’re such a good boy’, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, ‘Could you drive through town?’

‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly.

‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice’.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued. ‘The doctor says I don’t have very long.’

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newly-weds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now.’

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

‘How much do I owe you?’ she asked, reaching into her purse.

‘Nothing,’ I said.

‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.

‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. ‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID,

~BUT~

THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance."

What if your website could talk and help you convert prospects to sales?

Businesses spend thousands and thousands of ££s every year on advertising and marketing their business. In a business start-up phase though, not many of us have unlimited resources to throw at this expensive, but necessary, activity.

However, you can increase your online sales and profits with a very simple tool. AudioGenerator. This is a really fast, easy and economical way to increase your online sales and profits without additional spending on advertising costs.

The reason it's so effective is that it automatically builds solid rapport with even your more sceptical prospects by expressing trust, credibility and authority of the human voice.

That's because the human voice has the power to influence, motivate and persuade prospects to click 'Order Now' buttons faster and with less resistance.

And the good thing is, you don’t need to be a technie to learn how to use AudioGenerator – there’s no HTML programming!! It really is simple enough for a child to use.

So why not break the silence of your eMarketing campaign and add pulling power to your Website, auto responders, email, pop-ups, shopping carts and other online tools you may use.

Click here to find out more http://members.audiogenerator.com/specialinfo.asp?x=2003980

It’s a tool we at Quantum Coaching and Consulting recommend to all our coaching clients.

Here's a snapshot of what AudioGeneratorTM can do for your business:

• Talking emails – liven up your emails be making them talk to your prospects, subscribers and customers.


• Homepage Voice Messages – Welcome your first-time visitors to your website with your own voice. This makes you stand out from the crowd.


• Talking E-Zines – put e-zines on marketing steroids!


• Voice updates – Let your site visitors or subscribers hear your updates in your own words. The written word is limited, but prospects are more likely to make a purchase when they are exposed to the human voice.


• Audio learning – Let people learn through your voice, or the voice of a professional speaker. Instead of them reading your lessons, let them hear the lessons. That’s how most people like to learn most. And that’s why ‘distance learning’ companies like Nightingale-Conant are successful in building multi-million business with the power of the human voice!


• Audio postcards – Reach out to your customers and prospects during holidays, or the big moments – like birthdays – by adding sound to your email postcards. This functionality is NEW.


• Beat your competitors – Competition on the website is getting fierce with over 37 million Websites online and 50,000 new Websites that go live each week. ‘Voice Marketing’ instantly adds value to your Website and gives you a first-mover advantage over your competitors.


• Audio testimonials – this is one of the top benefits of how AudioGeneratorTM gives you an advantage over your competitors. Your customers simply call into a free toll-free testimonial Hotline and for a small cost you can have captivating voice testimonials uploaded to your Websites within seconds!


• Voice-activates sales messages – give that extra touch to your Website’s sales copy, FAQs, About Us pages (in fact any page you can think of) and have your prospects hear about your product or service through the power of your own voice.


• Instant rapport – Social psychologists tell us that humans are more likely to trust you if they can year you AND see you because you bring more ‘communication modalities’ into the mix.
  
  Give it a try - click here to find out more: http://members.audiogenerator.com/specialinfo.asp?x=2003980

Eve Grace-Kelly
Managing Director
Quantum Coaching and Consulting Limited http://www.qccgroup.com/

Be MORE – Do MORE – Achieve MORE

Energy Reach

Well, it's Sunday night and it's been a pretty packed weekend. We've finally caught up on a lot of gardening and it feels so satisfying to see the results!

I know the weeds will come rushing through again, especially with the changeable weather we're having, but it was great being outside soaking up the sun while doing the gardening.

The only problem is that I know feel exhausted after so much physical work (while not being very fit!). At times like this I use a NLP techniques to re-energise myself and thought I would share this with you.

It only takes about 3-5 minutes and is a great exercise to do every morning to ensure that you've got bags of energy to carry you through the day.

Here goes:

• Stand tall and stretch your arms out above your head. Reach as far as you can.

Imagine that your body is being pulled up from the top of your spine by a very strong silken cord.

When you feel that you have stretched as far as you can, stretch just a little bit more - you always can! Feel your body strengthen and lengthen. While you're doing this, remind yourself of all the great goals you're reaching for. Maybe it's the promotion you want; the new job; the improved relationship; a great physique - you name it!

Hold the position for about 20 seconds and then release. As you release breath out looooonnnnnng and slow.

Repeat two more times or for as many times as you like.

I find this exercise really energising - I hope you do too!

Have a great week.

Eve

Powerful Possessions

Have you ever been amazed at how a simple thought or idea can change the way we think? Or how it can change the way we look at the world?

Being open to these two precious, powerful possessions of ours can improve every area of our life, from self-confidence, to improved relationships, better personal wealth, health, career ..... you name it! But, unfortunately, we are sometimes afraid of embracing their power and potential.

At QCC Group, we believe that these are at the very heart of your success. Contact us now to talk about how we can help you tap into your hidden potential.

Eve

Be MORE - Do MORE - Achieve MORE

Moving away from the Conditioned Mind

Have you ever heard (or even said) something like ‘he’s in his own little world!’. I heard this the other day while sitting on a train on a business trip to Paris….. not a bad place to do business!

I’ve heard it myself dozens of time and even said it. But this time, it got me thinking that each one of us lives in our own unique world, really. The way we perceive and experience things are unique to us and no-one else. We are conditioned by the way we grew up, by the values and beliefs we develop as part of our environment (people and things), by the limitations we were given or adopted, by the emotions we experience, by the attitudes, and opinions we experience. So you see, this conditioning affects everything we do and our every outlook on life. It’s a kind of distortion, similar to looking through a curved window.

With over 6 billion people in the world, that’s a lot of individual worlds and a lot of curved windows!

The effect on our Potential

This conditioning, the way in which we see things, makes us believe that that’s the way things are, and has an effect on how we perceive ourselves. As you can imagine, this distortion can have a huge impact on whether we are able to reach our maximum potential.

Recognising this effect is a huge first step to being able to make any changes necessary to break through any barriers (or distortions). We can now start to see things in a different light. We start to understand the impact these beliefs, values, emotion, attitudes and opinions have had on our own decisions and why they have often felt incongruent to us. When this happens a phenomenal thing happens. Things click into place. Any anger that we experience starts to drift away because we now understand why we feel angry – we understand that the conditioning has distorted our views. Our experience of life improves, and keeps on improving!

We are able to shake off the shackles of our conditioning and continue to grow and improve – to reach our maximum potential. It might seem a bit frightening at first because it’s sometimes easier to stay as we are, to continue to accept our conditioning and all of the limitations that it holds for us. There’s an element of security in that conditioning.

But if you want to make changes in your life, take advantage of this learning. Recognise that you have the power within you to Be MORE – Do MORE – Achieve MORE.

We all have within us the potential to be our very, very best. We just need to take a little bit of a risk now and then to step outside of our comfort zone and to experience the freedom it can give us.

Take Action

1. Look at areas in your life where your perception may be distorted by your conditioning and make a list.
2. What one thing can you do today to change the effect the conditioning has had on you?
3. Be bold – be adventurous! Make the change today, and tomorrow, and every day after that. It only takes approximately 21 days to change a habit.
4. Then come back to this blog and share your experience with us.

At Quantum Coaching and Consulting we work with people to help them understand and re-evaluate their conditioning, so that they are able to make lasting changes. If there’s anything that’s holding you back, give us a call to see how we can help you help yourself!

Email: enquiries@qccgroup.com
Tel: 0044 207 193 1055