Why it’s The Apprentice that needs to be fired!

“I am hard, cold and unstoppable.”

“Weak people have no place in business.”

Two quotes from past participants in The Apprentice, which has been back on our screens for its umpteenth series. Having been in business for over 30 years, both in corporate and SME environments, I have increasingly come to question the style of this programme.

Let me be clear that these observations are made with the understanding that ‘nice’, ‘warm’ and ‘unsure’ do not make for confrontational television. However, the programme delivers a negative perception of business and gives young, aspirational people the impression that the behaviours portrayed are what they must replicate to succeed.

It’s OK to be wrong

One of the most concerning behaviours is the need to be ‘right’ at all costs, vigorously defending opinions regardless of facts or evidence. Personal attacks are encouraged – good for viewing figures, but damaging to perceptions of how business should be done.

Conventional management thinking tells us that nobody has a monopoly on good ideas. The
Belbin team roles framework highlights the importance of complementary skills. Modern leadership is built on consideration, not the belligerent force of character so often displayed on The Apprentice.

Leadership requires balance. Good leaders have vision, but they also bring people with them. ‘Cold’ and ‘hard’ are rarely qualities that people relate to or respond well to.

In his poem If, Kipling captures this balance well: “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you / but make allowance for their doubting too.” Similarly, in The Buddha in Daily Life, Richard Causton notes that true wisdom lies in seeking truth, not merely defending one’s own opinion.

The importance of balance

What many The Apprentice candidates struggle with is the balance between confidence and arrogance. Confidence comes from self-knowledge – understanding strengths and recognising areas for development. This requires self-leadership and clarity of mind, neither of which are possible when proving oneself right is the sole objective.

What is ‘weak’ anyway?

The claim that “weak people have no place in business” raises an important question: what is meant by ‘weak’? In the context of The Apprentice, it often seems to refer to those uncomfortable with unnecessary confrontation, who do not shout the loudest or resort to personal attacks.

In sales, a profession I have worked in all my life, there is a stereotype similar to that portrayed on the programme: brash, arrogant and forceful. Yet these traits do not define successful salespeople.

Over the past decade, my workshops have consistently shown that the most effective sales professionals are thoughtful, reflective, analytical and principled. They display calm, self-assured confidence rather than aggression.

You’re fired!

In The Apprentice, thoughtful professionalism is largely absent, replaced by loud, forceful assertions. This matters because many of the programme’s tasks involve sales. While it may be compelling television, it ultimately damages perceptions of business and sales as professions.

And that is why I say it’s time to fire The Apprentice.