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tastyfish

heatherkmartin wrote:

Actually I sometimes wonder if Sir Alan would like to get rid of the lot and start again/

Apparently this lot were described as some of the brightest young entrepreneurs in the country! Whilst some of their ideas have been good, if I was Sir Alan I'd be getting my HR department to start trawling through some CVs to find the apprentice that he's looking for.

I'm still a bit confused by what he's looking for. Sounds like they have to be a jack of all trades: project manager, salesperson, innovator, manager, buyer. I would say he'd need a project manager to coordinate the activities of other people who are specialists in those fields but I bet none of them even have PRINCE2 Practitioner experience, the industry standard.

milly

Appreciating your sig T

steve_o

I was shocked about Miriam going last night :eek:

because it's made SAS to be a bloody hypocrite and what about past achievements, even the male and female Cray twins looked shocked. Last week he was saying his clients were mainly older middle aged people like him, so I don't understand how Paul could charm older blokes like that in the same way as Miriam could myself. I mean they left it up to her to do all the talking when they were dealing with that creep Michael Winner in fact they left her to do all the talking with all the clients on that task. Nope this programme last night showed you how even so called top business blokes like SAS can make huge mistakes. That's Amstrad still stuck in the wilderness for years then, but at least she went out with Dignity and a smile on her face, top woman.

Christine · **Joined:** 07 Nov 01, 2:00 **Posts:** 10186

Yes, I was not at all pleased that Miriam went last night. I thought she was quite good and should have been in the last four.

aaron777

Indeed. Sugar described her decision to have two directors as a fatal error - I'd argue that she made that mistake purely because she had no production experience. She certainly shouldn't have gone last night!

the hippo

yup, looked a slightly sexist decision to me, especially after sugar making those comments about her talking and feeling sorry for her husband :-?

heatherkmartin

How he could choose Miriam to go and not Paul I just don't know. James and Saira did work hard and poor James worked well despite Saira shouting in his ear all the time!.

I am beginning to wonder if James might win but I am not so sure of Tim as I was so who knows anyway.

We won't have to wait much longer anyway.

Madeline

Ten down, four to go. This week, the remaining four Apprentices are put through a whole day of grueling interviews. Sir Alan is looking for someone who is well prepared and doesn't say things just to impress.
BBC2

tastyfish

I cannot believe Miriam was chosen, she was my favourite to win. I'd have bet me house that Paul would be fired. As said above, so what that she chose 2 directors - she'd never had experience of broadcasting and she would never have made that mistake again. As SAS said in his own words, it's all about experience.

As for Nick's comment on Miriam's presenting skills,"and they said, with minimal training, she could walk into a job there". LOL, I'm sure she'd want to work there on their crappy salaries when she could be earning almost double that with all her other business skills. If I was an employer Miriam would be the first person I'd choose to project manage.
If SAS's clients are all older men (and they must be if they think Amstrad and Viglen are good quality brands) then James will fit right in. Tim's a bit too brown-nosey, Paul's too childish, and Saira's too limited to selling.

cheekiechickie

Quote:

By Sir Alan Sugar

WE'RE down to the last four on my TV show The Apprentice - three boys and one girl battling it out to win that six-figure salary job with me.

A lot of people said that last week's episode was the best yet. It had everything. It was gripping, dynamic, funny and it got over an important business message - it reiterated that you have to select the right products in the beginning.

You can spend all day talking your heart out, trying to sell an item for £2 and sell 100. But you'll only make £200. On the other hand, you select an item that sells for £200 and you can make the same money in minutes. However, the danger in that strategy is that you could sell none.

So you have to get the balance right.

One of the reasons that James and Saira won was that they adapted to what you needed to sell on a TV channel. It's really no different from the old-fashioned market stall.

What encourages people to buy is watching someone else buy.

James cottoned on to this very quickly and rallied the viewers to buy immediately... before things sold out.

I have mixed feelings about sacking Miriam and, with hindsight, possibly I did make a mistake in letting her go.

People have to understand that while I'm given a good debrief, the very first time I see the whole show is when I see it on TV, like you. And since I let her go, I've now been able to see her in action for 10 shows and she was a really cool and smart girl.

But that's something I couldn't pick up from the debriefing...

So knowing what I know now, someone else would have gone on Week 10 - and I've spoken to Miriam since then and told her that.

Tonight, as we reach the last four, I have called upon the services of some of my other colleagues in business, as well as Nick and Margaret, to help me find the winner.

One is Claude Litner, who has worked for me for many years troubleshooting problems within Amstrad. Bordan Tkachuk, who has worked for me in Australia, runs my computer business Viglen.

I've also brought in Paul Kemsley - he's a very smart young businessman and I value his perception.

These people give the last four a complete grilling and then present their findings and recommendations to me.

On that basis, I'll sack two of the apprentices tonight and will be left with two finalists to choose between.

It's tense stuff. Find out who'll be going head-to-head in next week's live final.

Catch The Apprentice on BBC2 at 9pm tonight.

MirrorOnline

tastyfish

Too right he was wrong to sack her. Is that a hint that maybe Paul should've gone?

Quote:

By Sir Alan SugarOne is Claude Litner, who has worked for me for many years troubleshooting problems within Amstrad.

Claude must be one busy person then ::lol::

.

Sounds like SAS wasn't best pleased with his debrief. Has anyone spotted Nick and Margaret down the job centre? Why do those two remind me of Martin Clunes' work colleagues on Men Behaving Badly :-?

Today's the interview episode. Should be interesting. Keep calm, remain focussed, and be positive everyone - it'll be the interview from hell!

tastyfish

Oh dear, the show was a bit pants tonight. Interviews were a bit of a let-down. You really wouldn't get that in the real world (as in the one outside this reality-TV show) - I've had more grilling than that for jobs I've applied to, let alone one that pays £100k/year. Not even a presentation, no awkward scenario-set questions, nothing and SAS wasn't even present.

I really am wondering about the point of the show now. What do they want? There's not even a job description. It's called The Apprentice, but they want someone with experience. So they fire the two guys with proven experience in business as they think might be bored with the job, but they're not prepared to invest a great deal of time in teaching who they hire, so if that's the case why call it The Apprentice? They've all had to manage projects as part of their tasks, but they kept Saira, a natural salesperson.

I'm beginning to think this is a shop window for SAS and his rubbish products that people who live in bungalows buy, and for the BBC to replace 'You're Fired' as the catchphrase to replace 'You are the weakest link. Goodbye' :-?

. And on that note...

heatherkmartin

Ah well its Tim and Saira instead of Tim and Miriam I have been saying all along so at least I was half right and SAS admits perhaps Miriam shouldn't have gone.

Hooray Paul has been sacked.

But why did he last so long I just don't know?

Who do you think will win?

Christine · **Joined:** 07 Nov 01, 2:00 **Posts:** 10186

I think if Miriam had been in that last round, she would have been one of the two finalists and won.

Now, I'm not sure who will win.

tastyfish

Christine wrote:

Now, I'm not sure who will win.

I thought Tim from the start but Miriam became a very strong contender. If she was still in it I would have put her down to win but as it is I think Tim. He's still young and shows a fighting spirit and desire to learn - just what you want from an apprentice. Saira's biggest let down is her people skills - she's very forceful and abrupt. She'd be good at selling - double-glazing ::lol::

.

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