07 November 2009

Week 13 - YOU’RE HIRED!

This was the final week, and Steve Rayner and Stephen Higgins were asked to promote the new Ford Fiesta in Wrights Venue nightclub, in Swords. The winner of The Apprentice would then be offered a job as Bill Cullen’s assistant. I think it was the best week of all and there were moments when I thought to myself that I’d be tempted to hire them both!

Steve and Stephen were Project Managers, asked to pick a Team of 5 from previous candidates and prepare a car launch 48 hours later. Both candidates prepared excellent launches with Steve concentrating on the Fiesta’s holiday theme, and Stephen adopting an electric, modern theme. Both launches were fantastic. They featured dancers, balloons, ice sculptures, celebrities and of course, the Ford Fiesta.

After the razzamatazz the candidates presented the cars, before meeting Bill in the Boardroom to await their fate. With them were their teams and it was remarkable to see the transformation in the previous apprentice hopefuls. Gone was the worry, gone was almost all the animosity (there was the odd hint of it – like Sam commenting on Stephen) and what was left were loyal and enthusiastic followers. NB. I found that interesting in itself. I can fully understand that the candidates were more relaxed, but that so many had seemingly lost their fight, accepting that they were clearly not in fact, as good as Steve or Stephen and were happy to just assist… I was trying to imagine Stephen Higgins being asked to assist, say, Setanta. How would he have been? I suspect he would have done what he could to help, but would have been smarting inside – only in Lucinda’s eyes did I see the competitive fire still burning! I can only conclude from that, that Bill chose his finalists well, because Bill had asked for “warriors”.

Stephen Higgins: With the caveat that it’s slightly distorting seeing a highlights show, I thought Stephen Higgins and his Team did an unbeatable car launch. Stephen presented it confidently and it sounded like he absolutely believed in the car. Yes, he made some small mistakes, like not mentioning the price (actually, that’s a huge mistake), but the overall effect was to have me wanting a Ford Fiesta.

Steve Rayner:Steve’s launch was all Steve. It was fun, charming and full of positive feelings. Steve’s presentation was poor. He was clearly very nervous and when he is nervous his thought patterns distort – it happened again in the Boardroom later on. This confusion under extreme stress is normal for a dyslexic. The brain just frazzles and the slightly tenuous control that a dyslexic generally maintains, goes. Steve couldn’t think clearly and he struggled to regain calm and control. The truth is, as a dyslexic, this will always be with him and what he needs to do is learn to control it – good preparation is crucial (Steve admitted he hadn’t had as much time as he’d have liked to have practiced his speech – he must do in the future). Imagine the pressure he was under, the chance of a lifetime, a packed house, hundreds of thousands watching you, your hired Celebrity then trips and falls to the floor… and then you have to read a speech (reading and dyslexia presents another problem). All eyes are on you and you’re not in control of the situation, you falter... How did Steve regain control? He struggled, he fought, he tried to regain control and he eventually did. That took real courage.

The decision: This was a really tough one and I believe Bill took a big picture view. While no decision was declared on the winner of the car launch challenge, I think Stephen Higgins’ presentation was the clear winner – his slick, dynamic launch was complimented by a slick and dynamic presentation. Steve Rayner’s presentation wasn’t great and at the end, they showed a pained looking Bill Cullen and team watching (as opposed to Bill’s grinning team watching Stephen Higgins’ presentation). However, watching Steve’s presentation you could almost palpably feel the audience’s support and liking for him. You could sense they wanted him to do well.

Bill picked Steve as his apprentice and I agreed with his decision. I don’t think I could do any better than to repeat Bill’s comments. He ended up picking Steve he explained, because of ‘integrity, courage, sales skills and likeability – a unique talent in itself.’ He’s so right! While one can never predict the future, you can imagine Steve growing and developing within Bill’s business empire, becoming a senior figure (like Brian) in the years ahead. You can’t see that with Stephen Higgins.

Monday night’s Meteor bash + additional observations: The Sugar Club was host to the event where Bill Cullen and Team, all the apprentice hopefuls, Sponsors, TV3, Shinawil, family and key contacts attended. It was a great success and the roar that greeted Steve’s appointment as The Apprentice told us what we already knew – Steve was the popular choice!

Bill Cullen, Jackie and Brian were there. They are 3 people who have always been there, but not received the plaudits they deserve. I’ve watched Donald Trump twice and Alan Sugar many times doing The Apprentice. For me, Bill Cullen was far better. His comments were spot-on. He was tough, but fair. He was The Boss, but not a bully. He was even funny on occasion (remember him reading-out Stephen Higgins’ advertorial?) and showed sensitivity by insisting Stephen should consider himself a winner too – he wasn’t fired, he was the runner-up.

Stephen Higgins was there and I so wish him well. If only he was brave enough to admit his failures. He wants success so badly that he just can’t admit failure. I understand that well, but when he was still insisting he had a thriving Wedding Trainer business even at the end, I found it somewhat embarrassing. I believe Stephen has another job now. I’m sure there’s a quote I should know about meeting success and failure as twin imposters, or accepting them both… you know what I mean! That’s easier said than done if you’re as driven as Stephen, but Stephen should have seen how people warmed to him when he admitted failure (he admitted he needs to be more humble) and showed some pain (he cried after being named runner-up). I’m sure this is just the beginning of Stephen Higgins’ business career and I hope he finds what he’s looking for – capable and intelligent from the start, he has learned an incredible amount throughout the Show and people management most of all.

Steve Rayner and his fiancé were there, it was the first time I’d seen him in months and it was a pleasure to see him. It’s always funny when you meet someone the first time and then you don’t see them again for a while. When you see them again, they seem different and it’s actually that second meeting’s impression that stays with you thereafter. With all the publicity and all the plaudits, Steve was the same extremely personable individual. He was everything you’d want to see in a person, or key member of staff. He was modest, strong and professional. A consummate salesperson? Everyone sells (when you get up in the morning you wear things that make you look good, not bad. When you meet someone for the first time you tell them more of the good things, than the bad etc), Steve is just much better than the rest of us. I had a good chat with Steve and then we sat beside Steve and his fiancé for the next couple of hours as we watched the The Apprentice and You’re Fired shows. Not only was Steve superb, but his fiancé was exceptionally nice. She was glowing with happiness and pride, and was an absolute pleasure to meet. I’m sure Steve having such support can only help him reach his potential. I wish the Rayner family Good Luck in everything they do… and from everyone at Brightwater: Congratulations on winning The Apprentice!

Week 12

Well we warned you there’d be a few surprises, and Stephen Higgins provided it!. Surely Mairead’s comment that “his CV is a work of fiction” was the line to match Geraldine’s earlier “Daddy can’t buy you cop-on at Trinity”! However, Bill chose Geraldine as the one to fire…

This week was the interview section and we (Mairead and I from Brightwater, plus Gavin (of Dragon’s Den) and Sheena (psychologist) were briefed to push the candidates as hard as we could, to see what they were made of. Bill explained to us that he was looking for all the usual criteria of determination, integrity and flexibility, but also explained that in the current market he was “looking for a warrior”. On that basis Bill chose to keep Steve and Stephen.

Brightwater became actively involved only in week 9 when we were given the details of the remaining candidates, their cv’s, application forms and resume of performances to date. We were asked to take references and prepare everything for Week 12. When opening the briefs we were surprised to see Stephen Higgins’ face staring back at us, more surprised to see the inaccuracies in his cv, and shocked to read Mairead Fleming given as one of his referees! To be absolutely clear, Stephen was employed for 9 months at Brightwater where he was an average consultant (as MD, I was unaware of Stephen – he wasn’t stand-out, good or bad). The problems were that Stephen exaggerated his success with the company (not abnormal in sales), he claimed to have been promoted, which he wasn’t (less normal!) and given Mairead as a referee without permission (distinctly abnormal… and not smart)!

Stephen left Brightwater of his own volition, but it seems that by this point there was some undisguised ill feeling between the parties… so why would Stephen give Mairead as a reference? When we discussed this with Shinawil (the production company) they explained that he might not make the final 3, but he did. We then asked them how we should handle it and they said we should address the above issues, TV or not. Their only concern was would Stephen about turn and walk when he saw Brightwater’s offices. With some knowledge of Stephen, everyone agreed he had a “brass neck” and wouldn’t flinch. Well I can tell you that he certainly did flinch, but soon got a grip of himself and faced the music!

Below, I will go through each of the candidates and what we learned about them. For me, the most interesting was definitely Stephen Higgins and despite the exaggerations (OK…, lies!) I came out with some admiration for the man.

Geraldine O’Callaghan: First-off, I really liked this woman. She is brave, determined, funny, charming and honest. However, at interview she was the weakest of the three. The interviews were pressurised and you had to think on your feet, Geraldine wasn’t able to do this very well and so kept repeating the same mantra about really wanting the job and how much it would mean to her inner city neighbourhood. Her spelling, grammar and sentence structure were also as bad as I’ve ever seen. The best thing about Geraldine was her energy and heart. However, to be a senior executive you need to use your heart and your head. I felt she was perfectly intelligent, but simply not trained to use her intelligence in a lateral way. I believe the role of The Apprentice would have suited Geraldine down to the ground, but I’m not sure she had enough to offer Bill.

Stephen Higgins: This was the first time I had had the opportunity to interview Stephen, and was very impressed! Of all the candidates, he was the most intelligent, lateral, subtle and above all driven. Stephen doesn’t just want to be successful, he needs to be successful. When I asked him what made Bill Cullen tick, he understood it right away. Insecurity drives many successful people and that is the reason Bill is still pushing with all his might. Stephen is trying to prove to the world he is worth something and he will continue to push until he hopes to get there (do you ever ‘get there’? Isn’t there always someone with a bigger boat? Isn’t there always some doubt there driving you on? (I’ll let you know if I ever find out myself)!

However, there is a big difference in the ways you drive for success. Stephen will push anyone out of the way, lie and manipulate to achieve his end. I for example, will not – and Bill explained that ‘integrity’ was a characteristic he cherished. Conundrum indeed! I fully understand why Brightwater recruited Stephen Higgins and he would have definitely been my pick of the candidates for The Apprentice, if not for the additional facts we had.

In the Boardroom I explained that while I thought Stephen was the best candidate, I wouldn’t hire him as I’d be concerned that Stephen would simply use the role for as long as he wanted it and then leave when it suited him. During that time Stephen could cause some bad blood, but he would also achieve results! In a market like this, producing results cannot be sneezed at and I could see that Bill was tempted by the challenge of releasing Stephen’s vast potential.

Steve Rayner: Steve was a good man and I liked him, but where Stephen Higgins could read me and respond, Steve couldn’t. Steve wants the role and explained he’d learned a lot through the process, but Steve will not get to the top without being even braver than he’s been. Let me explain:

Steve has overcome many obstacles to get to where he is. He’s dyslexic (which would have made school work harder); he became an alcoholic and a gambler. Steve was open about everything, including what he had to do to feed his habits. He successfully faced his addictions, got married and started a new life back from where his family hailed from, in Ireland. The way Steve faces the world is on the surface… he can face rejection because he doesn’t let it inside, but this is the problem.

A good leader, indeed a good recruitment consultant must look, feel and sense what’s going on and face whatever issue arise e.g. A recruitment consultant is speaking to Candidate and Client, understanding, empathising, relaying information in a subtle and sensitive manner. This is quite different from a cold caller / door knocker. A person who can do this must be able to face getting knocked-back regularly. Not a nice job for many and one doesn’t so much develop a thick skin; people who are good at cold calling usually just don’t let it inside - It doesn’t matter, rejection is a part of the job, it’s just a statistic - smile at the next customer and one of them will say yes. A recruitment consultant who has to cold call must be brave, facing the possibility of rejection at every call – Steve is different.

Steve has come a very long way in his life and I admit that he was my pick for The Apprentice, but for Steve to reach the top, he needs to be brave enough to open his heart to people, things and situations. “Feel” things, don’t disengage. It is for this reason that Steve has been outstanding in sales, and very poor at marketing… marketing requires “feel”. You have to be able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and feel what the customer feels when they see your advert, your display, your artwork. Feel is also essential for a great business leader and Bill Cullen certainly has that. Throughout our meetings he was constantly looking and feeling his way through. If Steve does get the nod, I hope he is brave enough to extend himself even further than he’s done. Take the final step, and then perhaps we will see this Apprentice become The Master!

For comments on The Job Spec, Interviewing, plus notes on the day (meeting Bill, Jackie, Brian and off-air comments on the Final 5, please see our On The Bloch blog tomorrow Wednesday 9 December 2009.

Week 11

Somehow it seems that every week throws up surprises. Lucinda, who had never been in the Boardroom before had a total nightmare, and was fired!

The task was to produce a radio advert, and an advertorial for Appleby’s jewellers. They were to highlight Appleby’s range of products from top end to bottom, accentuating the Irish nature of the company and giving it all a Christmas theme. The Teams were Lucinda (PM) and Steve vs. Stephen (PM) and Geraldine… Lucinda and Steve lost big-time!

Lucinda Kelly:From the beginning of the competition Lucinda has been excellent, winning every challenge, bar one (not her fault). Brightwater were asked to take references on the final 5 and Lucinda was given such fantastic references that I thought she was favourite to be Bill Cullen’s Apprentice. So what happened?

Last night I watched the You’re Fired Show and what I saw was a very determined, intelligent, eloquent and even slightly ruthless individual. She looked the age and had the experience base to make an excellent apprentice, but I had the distinct feeling that while not being dishonest, she didn’t tell us everything.

Whatever the above, marketing of any type requires ‘feel’. Steve Rayner has been honest in that he lacks marketing skills, but most of us were expecting Lucinda to produce…, but I simply cannot defend what Lucinda did. The radio advert was poor, but the advertorial was probably the worst I’ve seen. In particular, the Three Wise Men (who were wearing Burger King type crowns) were the 3 most miserable-looking people I’ve ever seen in an advert. Unshaven and sullen…, I just don’t know what to say! I was at the studio preparing for the You’re Fired Show and the audience were watching the pre-screened version of Week 11 and they were simply howling with laughter at the whole thing! ‘Oh dear’ is all I can say.

Bill Cullen was then left with a choice between firing Lucinda, or Steve. He choose Lucinda and I think most people were surprised, but Bill seems to be developing his clear favourites and it appears Steve Rayner is one of those. Whatever Bill’s choice, Lucinda can have no complaints about being fired. What I would say is that assuming this was an aberration, and assuming Lucinda retains her motivation and continues to learn (and there is absolutely no reason she shouldn’t), she has a stellar future!

Geraldine O’Callaghan: Last week I said she blows hot and cold. This week she was smoking! I was so impressed by Geraldine and quite surprised. Up until now she’s been all vim and vigour and not shown anything in the marketing tasks. Most of all, I was impressed by her work in the studio. She produced a radio ad with original music, light, upbeat, classy and even Christmassy. Most of all she listened, sensing the mood of the piece and putting herself in the shoes of the listener. Geraldine showed ‘feel’, motivation, intelligence and charm. She’s learned a lot over the weeks - wow!

Stephen Higgins: A decent, average week from Stephen once again, except that he revealed two things. 1. He showed again that it’s all about Stephen – self confident, indomitable and completely arrogant, he wasn’t prepared to entertain anyone else but himself running the project, and he has no time for minions (he kept calling the male model John when his name was Paul… despite Paul correcting him on four occasions)! 2. Stephen can really write! His advertorial was not only well written (despite 2 typos), the piece showed sensitivity and flair. C’mon Stephen, can we please see more of that?

Steve Rayner: Ho hum, to me Steve is looking out of his depth. Great guy, great salesperson, but he’s really not bringing much to the party. Simply: One on one he’s great at the sales (HB ice cream and GSK nasal strips tasks), but when it requires anything else, Steve really has very little indeed to offer. The biggest thing in his favour? Sales people are always in demand, and Bill clearly understands the value of sales (as Bill says “everyone and everything is about sales”).

* Next week will reveal much!

Week 10

Well, after an indifferent week from all parties, Aoiffe certainly livened things up at the end (she repeatedly called Geraldine a b****)! The task was to present Microsoft’s innovative new video conferencing software, back to Microsoft executives. The Teams were broken into Steve (Project Manager) & Aoiffe vs Lucinda (Project Manager), Stephen & Geraldine. Lucinda’s Team won by 16 votes to 12.

Aoiffe Madden: I watched her on the “You’re Fired” show to see what she was all about, but haven’t had any startling revelations. She was clearly somewhat embarrassed by her swearing, but did not revoke the sentiment. One of the golden rules of business (as well as life) is that when you put other people down, you also put yourself down. Aoiffe has damned herself by her own vitriol. What I don’t understand is exactly where it came from. An attractive, hard working and capable woman, she seemed emotional throughout the whole Boardroom experience. Long before she had even discovered that her team had lost there were tears in her eyes. I can only imagine that the pressure-cooker environment was getting to her. Bill was clearly reluctant to fire her, but if she couldn’t stand the pressure then she isn’t equipped to handle a €100,000 a year job… sorry!

Geraldine O’Callaghan: Blows hot and cold, week 10 was a cold week. Geraldine is so passionate and ‘out there’, that when it comes to a more cerebral task like the Microsoft one, she is not at her best. Worrying for her, it seemed that her team mates weren’t looking to her on this task. Perhaps her colleagues now appreciate her strength (energy and negotiation), but have identified her weaknesses – the lateral thought required for tasks like marketing.

Lucinda Kelly: It was great to see the real Lucinda stand up! As Project Manager she set about the task with decisiveness and structure. Her team mates were quite responsive, and when they weren’t, Lucinda made it happen. As usual, her presentation was good, if not inspiring and she looked very talented and capable throughout. However… when her team had won and Bill sent them all off for an enjoyable Spanish evening, the camera revealed Bill shaking his head in disappointment and regret. Taking that in conjunction with Bill’s remark about not wanting to fire either Steve, or Aoiffe from the other team, I wonder whether he had in mind to fire Lucinda, or someone else from her team?

Stephen Higgins: A decent, average week from Stephen. He worked with and assisted Lucinda through the task. He put forward his ideas and he worked to make it happen. But that was about it! He didn’t come up with anything innovative and the one really good idea (champagne reception) was Lucinda’s. Did enough to get through again, but no more.

Steve Rayner: After his stupendous performance last week, where he was revealed as an outstanding sales person, Steve looked very calm and confident from the off. Steve knew that at the end of the day, it’s all about selling the product. His partner, Aoiffe was trying to come up with something innovative to promote the product and Steve was willing to listen, but not really engage. They lost. They lost, not because Steve had lost his sales mojo, but because this wasn’t cold calling, this wasn’t one on one sales, it was a presentation and that requires marketing. Microsoft didn’t get where it is today just because of its products, nor because of its salespeople, it got there because it marketed itself better than anyone else. In the 21st century, marketing should lead and sales will then follow. Can Steve learn macro sales skills (marketing)? Does he understand what’s required?

Week 9

There’s been a lot of discussion about the qualities of the candidates in relation to winning a job package of €100,000 per annum. In today’s economic climate, those concerns are understandable, but let’s be honest; it’s a hell of a job interview!

Each week we watch with fascination as a bunch of young people (with little or no experience of the challenges being set them) try and do something brilliant in an impossibly short timeframe. Each week some mistakes are made and someone is found out. This week it was Breffny.

Breffny Morgan: I watched him on the “You’re Fired” show and what a nice guy he is! He was honest, charming and showed surprising determination (his overwhelming disappointment was evident in the car that was taking him home). However, in truth, he lacked almost all the skills needed for the role of “The Apprentice”. His greatest asset was the fact that he was ‘the glue’. The one person in the house who wasn’t competing for Alpha status all the time, and only in the Cadbury’s task did he bear his teeth. At the end of the day though, not only had Bill lost faith in him, but more crucially, so had his colleagues.

Aoiffe Madden: She has had a rough ride in the Board room, appearing there over and over, but she’s survived by fighting like a tiger. She has many qualities, not least of which is her self belief. Besides what she shows in the tasks and in the Board room, she was happily showing the camera’s around her shoe display, without even a hint of self reflection. Not a hint that her discussion of Gucci shoes and the like, might be taken as very bad taste by many of the viewers. I suspect that if The Apprentice was put to popular vote, Aoife would be on her way.

Geraldine O’Callaghan: A gutsy and dynamic person from morning to night. She has shone most in the tasks that require sales skills (HB ice creams and GSK nasal strips), or less complex tasks like the B&Q challenge. She led the B&Q challenge to improve the rental value of property, showing dynamism and leadership skills. She galvanised the team with her energy and enthusiasm and won with ease. However, when tasks have required lateral thought, like the marketing challenges, she has struggled. Can she go all the way? I suspect she is slightly less respected by her colleagues than she is by Bill, or the viewing public. One to watch!

Lucinda Kelly: I still don’t have a totally clear picture of her capabilities. She’s clearly bright, and I suspect she’s a thoroughly decent, loyal and hard working person – also an eloquent presenter, but she doesn’t stand out as much as the others. Unless she begins to shine brighter, I suspect she’s not going to get the job, but she may do very well in her career… with the right mentor (Bill)?!

Stephen Higgins: I’m not sure what to make of him. At times I’ve been very impressed, but others time not. I was surprised and disappointed by his selling skills in both the HB ice cream and GSK nasal strip tasks. What he certainly has is an iron will! This trait alone is one of the reasons he must be one of the favourites to get the job. Against him, is that he seems to lack the listening skills to win over his colleagues. He titles himself as an entrepreneur and Company Director (his own company). Will Bill take the chance on Stephen Higgins? He might, but as an employee he would need to be tamed. Bill might just enjoy that challenge!

Steve Rayner: He’s played a really cute game. He’s been fair and decent to everybody and I remember well how he complimented Geraldine on her excellent leadership skills after the B&Q task. He complimented her in the Boardroom, when everyone else uses the forum as an opportunity to “Dis” their colleagues. The tactic seems to be working because if there is one skill that Steve has in spades, it sales ability. He oozes charm and confidence when selling and was truly outstanding flogging the nasal strips! Can he win? I think he can, but at 30, Steve is the oldest Apprentice, and while his experience and calm have helped him through, Bill may want a younger apprentice that he can mould.