The Final

With the selection process now finished we have our finalists.

The selection process though lengthy, has revealed in many cases the true colours of the candidates and there are the inevitable comparisons between experience and youth, and the different backgrounds and upbringings. What is clear is that you didn't necessarily have to be the best candidate to get to this stage, it is more about staying in the race.

Now in truth I am being a little bit guarded here, I am speaking both about the Apprentice and the US presidency, two vastly different jobs, but still two cut throat selection processes. We now know that the Apprentice finalists will be Helene, Claire, Lee and Alex; whilst the US presidency candidates are the Republican John McCain and the Democrat Barack Obama. However Hilary Clinton is manouvering for position as she has yet to formally acknowledge defeat (despite being defeated) if I was Obama I would perhaps let her hang out to dry and embarras herself, rather than meet her supposed demands for the Vice Presidency.

To get to this stage for all concerned has taken a great deal of effort and in the case of the presidency candidates, resources. It may now be a test of stamina rather than genuine ability, Obama will no doubt be more strained after his intense battle with Clinton for the nomination than McCain who has seemingly strolled into the Republican nomination. However McCain's past health problems may catch up with him as they tour the country campaigning for the November elections. Whilst for the apprentice hopefuls those who are tired now after a gruelling selection procedure will struggle in the final task.

Undoubtedly one of the big issues in the US presidency will be experience versus youth, McCain the war veteran vs. Obama the young senator; and this is a recurring argument in any selection procedure, how do you gain experience if you are young without getting exposure to the top jobs. 1 Timothy 4 v12 says "don't let anyone look down on you because you are young," and as young people we can set an example of how to live and act, but we are also called to respect those more experienced than ourselves. Alex in the Apprentice, despite always being defensive, seems especially so about his age being just 24, youth is not there to defend it is there as a positive with potentially years to learn from those ahead of you.

This quote from Pitt the Younger whilst being humourous also serves to make the point about youth and experience.

Pitt was accused by Robert Walpole of being young and theatrical, his retort was such:

The atrocious crime of being a young man, which the honorable gentleman has, with such spirit and decency, charged upon me, I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny; but content myself with wishing that I may be one of those whose follies may cease with their youth, and not of that number who are ignorant in spite of experience. Whether youth can be imputed to any man as a reproach, I will not, sir, assume the province of determining; but surely age may become justly contemptible, if the opportunities which it brings have passed away without improvement and vice appears to prevail when the passions have subsided.

Pitt's answer was I can't deny my youth , but I hope my mistakes stop in my youth and don't continue onwards as with others. Whether youth can be held against someone as a disgrace I won't say, but experience is no better if it brings no improvement or old and bad habits die hard.

Leadership & Management

Leadership is an issue that affects us all. We have all been lead by someone, or lead someone.
I enjoy observing different leadership styles and taking on board the successes and learning from the mistakes.

The difference between leadership and management can be a confusing one, and they often cross-over. Personally I believe a leader sets the vision and gets people behind them naturally, where as management is appointed and controls how a team operates.

The bible seems more leadership orientated than management orientated, and although Churches can learn helpful things from managers, the authority should always rest with how we see leadership in the bible.

I find the Apprentice interesting to watch, although it has seemingly got more TV show oriented than business oriented, there are still many valuable lessons to be learned from the successes and mistakes of the contestants, especially the leadership/management styles.

Many of the contestants come across as arrogant, and whilst confidence is important, arrogance makes others feel smaller. The good leaders on the show, allocate the tasks to people's strengths (e.g. not Helene wk 3), encourage one another (the boys wk2), and inspire their team (Raef wk2). On the last series there was one instance where Tre was team leader and did a lot of the work in the team and became frustrated. Sir Alan's observer noted that although Tre had undoubtedly worked the hardest, he hadn't lead the team, because he failed to allocate tasks (manage) or inspire others (lead).

In my experience good leadership is decisive, where as bad leadership is devisive and leads to splits and rifts, leading to inefficiency.

This quote seems to sum up leadership quite well

"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall." (Stephen Covey)

Leaders, inspire and set the right course, managers make sure that course is stuck to and the best results achieved, and some people can do both.



Just in case you've missed it, I will leave you with a few quotes from the latest Apprentice series

Real eyes, realize, real lies (Ian)

There are two types of people, winners and I can't even say the other one, it begins with L (Ian)

I always do outstanding in whatever I do, I've only ever failed once, when I got a B in French at GCSE (Nicholas De Lacy- Brown)

If someone called me arrogant, I'd say you are 100% right and what are you going to do about it. (Michael)

I'm not afraid to cut off loved ones, if it means I get the job (Michael)

The spoken word is my tool (Raef)

I didn't label shark a hamster (Raef)

People are vying for the prime spot of situation which i do find a little irksome. (Lucinda)

I am concerned, Lee McQueen is concerned (Lee)

As a sales person I rate myself as the best in europe (Jenny)