BBC’s The Apprentice is back. What can the show teach us? Don’t be a jerk

The Apprentice has returned for its fourteenth series, along with Lord Sugar and his pointy finger of boardroom doom. Siobhan Kenny, Chief Executive at Radiocentre, wrote a blog for City A.M. about the real business lessons to take from the show. 

Why do we still love The Apprentice so much? Well, there’s the stirring Prokofiev Dance of the Knights music, aerial shots of London looking glorious, some hysterical tasks, Karren Brady looking cross, Claude Littner looking exasperated, and the arguing in losers’ cafe before the inevitable “you’re fired”.

But mostly, we love it for the ridiculous candidates. A mix of the arrogant, average and downright odd, they’re always overly self-confident and brimming with braggadocio, sometimes to the point of self-delusion, as seen with the cringe-inducing one-liners that they use to describe themselves.

Take new candidate Frank Brooks, a 27-year-old marketing manager from London.

Frank says he is “guilty of playing people against each other to achieve his own aims”.

Other choice quotes from this year’s batch include: “All is fair in love and war … and business is war” and “I bring both the passion and the fire – in the boardroom, I will be merciless”.

We rightly mock these budding entrepreneurs for their wildly overblown opinions of themselves. But the truth is, they’re sadly symptomatic of how business and working life are so often misrepresented in pop culture.

In Apprentice-land, blowhards, bullies and self-promoters rise to the top, while more traditional values like humility, collaboration, respect and hard work are way down the agenda.

By its very nature, the format of The Apprentice suggests that bullish, self-serving, backstabbing behaviour is what you need to get ahead in business, as there can only be one winner (usually – although last year, there was the twist of two candidates landing £250,000 from Lord Sugar to boost their nascent businesses).

But in fact the opposite is true. I’m involved with Speakers4Schools, a charity which provides state schools with free talks from a network of leading business figures.

Drawing on my years of experience, I give school children advice on how to get ahead in life, and while it’s true that there have been fundamental changes in the last couple of decades in how we work and live, it’s wrong to assume that old-school attributes are now old hat.

In fact, I think that grown-ups in business – and The Apprentice candidates – could benefit from the same advice I give to kids.

I tell them that instead of elbowing others out of the way, we should all be collaborating with one another.

I say that it’s vital to take an interest in wider issues in the world, such as politics. The same holds true for business leaders – if you take an interest in issues both inside and outside the workplace, you will help create a competent, engaged and energised workforce.

And I emphasise the importance of being polite and helpful, and most importantly (take note, Apprentice candidates) – don’t be a jerk. And by the way, that’s a pretty good life message too.

It’s time to get real about what employers are really looking for. While there are of course times when the loudest voice wins, the majority of workplaces still hold traditional values of politeness, curiosity, helpfulness, and willingness to muck in as the most important.

The Apprentice after all is reality TV, and the candidates wouldn’t last five minutes if they behave as they do in a real job.

Regardless of what The Apprentice would have you believe, “don’t be a jerk” remains as relevant a mantra to live by in business as it ever was.

Ignore that, and it could be you who’s fired.