The Apprentice: Neil Clough reviews episodes 1&2

IN his first weekly blog, Apprentice 2013 finalist Neil Clough discusses the process and reviews the week’s task.
 
So the Apprentice is back, and having been on the show last year, it’s nice to be able to watch without cringing from time to time! This year saw a record 20 candidates setting out to claim the £250,000 prize, which means that over the coming weeks we will get even more of the phrase that sends chills down your spine: ‘you’re fired’.
 
At the start of the process, it’s very much a pantomime – everyone looks to stand out and get his or her airtime in early. There’s always one who makes outrageous statements, whether it be Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs, or even someone a little closer to home! ‘Behind every great project manager, there’s a Neil Clough’ – did I really say that?!
 
With the first two tasks relying heavily on sales, I can have a good idea of where the teams went wrong.

Task one was extremely simple – pick the right products and go out and sell them for the best margin, while task two focused more heavily on design. Under such extreme pressure, individuals do make mistakes, and it often tends to be the ones that attempt to push themselves to the forefront that make the early errors. Unfortunately, a good first impression is critical with Lord Sugar, so these mistakes can often be fatal.
 
Chiles’ big mistake was his decision not to sell the T-shirts despite advice from his team, which ultimately led to the failure of the task.

His attempts to blame Steven simply saw him dig a larger hole for himself in the boardroom. However, when he suggested that James butting in on the pitch was because he’s Northern, that’s when I knew he had to go!

Having met him after the BBC2 ‘You’re Fired’ programme, I must say Chiles was a nice bloke, and definitely isn’t the weakest still in the competition (I’m still not quite sure how Sarah managed to get away with her sexist stereotyping and looking to sell a bucket and sponge for £250!), but that’s the way it goes.
 
I know Lord Sugar hates bottlers, so as soon Robert wimped out of being project manager in Task Two, I knew he was gone. He went against clear instruction from Lord Sugar to be project manager, and he had a background in fashion! If you wait for the perfect circumstances to step up you will be waiting a long time – he could have made a name for himself in this task, but instead he’s on his way home.
 
Only a brilliant team performance from the boys could have saved him, but Steven turning the laptop round to make the picture the right way up instead of the camera summed the boys’ task up for me! Zero orders is not a record to be proud of, and Scott was too busy covering his backside from the start to take control, but it should be mentioned that the girls did not fare much better. Though the phone charger idea was a good one, they over-complicated the design, leading to a coat only air traffic controllers would wear!
 
Though neither of the teams have acted as such, I am sure that we will see a vast improvement over the coming tasks as more individuals are weeded out. My person to watch so far is James – for me, he is the only one that has shown common sense, which is always the best logic in business.