So here we are, 10 years of The Apprentice. After all this time, has the show managed to improve the public perception of business and encouraged a new swathe of entrepreneurs? Or does the programme just humiliate the contestants and denigrate the image of British business?
Let’s start with the new format. The producers have added four more contestants, adding to the suspense so that now more than one candidate could fired at any one point. Presumably, this is to prise out those extra moments of tension in the boardroom – a few more close-ups of angst-ridden faces and then the relief – what relief! Forgive my cynicism, but I was hoping for a bit more.
The show is still all theatre, so we have to try to read between the cuts to fathom out what is really going on. Since The Apprentice has been on, there has certainly been wider interest in small business - but is the programme being fair to it?
According to the show, business success is based on egotism and aggression. Well, such methods never worked for me. On one occasion I was trying to close a deal with a London fashion chain and, after being told at the reception that the director was out, I blagged and bullied my way into his office. I politely asked the rather embarrassed and intimidated chap for the order but it was too late, he had already given it to someone else. This behaviour was totally against my nature and, of course, I was never asked again.
It is now some time since I started my first business. I collected a load of engineering machines and rented part of a Victorian railway works. I wanted to make big things out of metal. I still lived with my parents, begged and borrowed £10,000 to get it going. One big thing I did learn was how much you could do if you put your mind to it. I didn’t have the bravado of these TV stars but, as I found out, you don’t need it. I did everything wrong, the whole thing was what we call a baptism of fire, yet it was great fun.
About that time I was probably seeing the odd TV episode of the Troubleshooter, which featured Sir John Harvey-Jones advising struggling companies on how to get back on track. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t address the business problems I was encountering.
It was credited with educating the British public about the inner workings of business management. I would like to say the same about The Apprentice. I believe anything that helps encourage people to think about and understand business and perhaps even start one is a good thing. If The Apprentice manages that in this series, then it will become a valuable resource for changing the perception of British business. Let’s see how the rest of the series pans out.
Nicholas Showan is founder and managing director of Jali, a high-tech manufacturer of made-to-measure and custom-made furniture
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