18^th July - It's all over now

Yes that is it. The final show and there will be no more Lord S and no more Nick and Karren for another year, and no more 'candidates' to laugh at and scream at and encourage and despair for.

Tom is the man with a plan, or at least Tom is the man with a potential product that Lord S feels he can work with and presumably make money from. Despite being on the losing side a record eight times during the series, Lord Sugar said he had a 'gut feeling' about investing in Tom. 'I'm a product man in my heart. I've made products and sold them to retailers, that's in my blood and that's what Tom is all about' Lord S added. So 'well done' Tom.

But back to those that missed out. The final four - Jim, Susan, Helen and Tom - faced a grilling from the Lord Sugar's trusted allies. Interviewers Claude Littner, Mike Soutar, Matthew Riley and (hurrah she's back if only for a brief appearance) Margaret Mountford joined the selection process to tear the quartet's business proposals and CV's apart.

Jedi Jim bit the dust with a scheme to not make money, with a business plan for AMSmart (oh he is smooth isn't he?) he failed to engage the man with the quarter of a million going spare. Actually I thought Jim showed another side to himself with the schools project which was nice to see. But the highlight had to be the 'describe yourself without using a cliché' challenge from Margaret from which came the response 'I am what it says on the tin'. Brilliant.

And then fell Susan. Despite promising a £1 million profit in year one her plan was not considered truly viable but Lord S declared that she was one to watch in the future. Apparently he wants to get in to the beauty world but it was more through Tom's nail file than Susan's cosmetics. Susan's magical moment has to be the 'Do the French like their children?'.

And then there were two. Helen the powerhouse of the series with 10 wins out of 11 made her second fatal mistake. Her concierge business idea was just mad. If you are that busy and that successful you will already have PAs and others to aid your life and if you aren't then you just wouldn't have the money or the need to buy a service like this. Maybe she should have pitched MyPY again and really taken that one to market? She will do well and Lord S said she would have walked it a year ago in the old format show.

You know there was a brief moment when I thought that my prediction of a dream team of Tom and Helen might come true. Karren summed it up in the final discussion in the boardroom between her, Nick and Lord S that Helen would lead and Tom would create. But the rules state one winner and one winner it was to be.

Tom with the (sssh don't say the secret word 'chair') idea. The device or mechanism or concept or thingy …. Oh heck, it was a chair so let's just say chair shall we? Lord S was not that keen on the business plan but he liked Tom and he knows Tom can invent and he knows he can sell, market, manufacture etc. Plus Tom already has a product in the marketplace that can be re-energised and so get Lord S's money back faster than anyone else could. And Tom's best part - well emergency biscuit aside I thought that his story of getting to the WalMart buyer was pretty neat.

And so it ends. Actually I feel that one thing was missing from this format. When people challenge me over the value of The Apprentice to the project management profession I argue that the best showcase is the final itself. When the losers used to come together to support the two finalists in the last challenge they were so, so different from the early weeks. When the egos have gone and they are there to support the project manager/team leader and the task is all important then we see a project team in action with good communication, a plan of action, people content in their roles and everyone working together for a common purpose. Compare that to week one when it is all too 'every one for themselves'.

And so goodbye The Apprentice for another year.

14^th July - They must be teaching something new in schools these days

Natasha is the twelfth contestant to be fired from The Apprentice after failing to impress in a fast food restaurant task. The recruitment manager stated early on that her degree in Hospitality Management made her perfectly suited to the task but she was out of sorts with Susan and out of focus with the task in hand - fast food for Lord S.

The dream team of Helen and Tom came up with MyPy the 100% British experience and it was very impressive for 48 hours work. The only minor point being the naming of one pie 'Columbus' the apparent English discoverer of potatoes (they must be teaching something new in schools these days). But that aside a 7 out 10 score and a pretty neat concept easily paved their way in to the finals. Well deserved.

Jim had a lucky escape as he failed to demonstrate any real business acumen with a lack of control and a lack of business plan and mental arithmetic that took us all to a new low (they must be teaching something new in schools these days - oh I said that already).

So the final four - Jim (who I don't think will make it now), Susan (popular outsider), Tom (a possible, he may work well with Lord S) and Helen (the favourite who recovered strongly from her one weak show last week). Do you think it is possible that Lord S will break the rules and pick maybe two people? The dream team of Helen and Tom perhaps?

7th July - The one that got away (with it)

Well goodness me, a week of firsts ... no treat for the winners and no winners 'big hug' in the waiting room ... and Tom sold something.

The final 5 is now known and Natasha is still there despite Lord S foaming with rage that he could not fire her (as he was an honourable man and it was her team that scraped a win - even with a penalty fine of £100).

Helen finally lost and faced the boardroom and a) showed her first sign of weakness in strategy but balanced that out by b) offering (so let's use that word to be polite) to take over the PM role from Melody, whilst Susan continued her climb to the top of the pile. On the other team Jim delivered another good performance and challenged (correctly) Natasha's action plan whilst (nodding) Tom sold the nodding dogs (and who says Lord S doesn't have a sense of humour?).

Natasha was weak, as she has been all series, but has somehow escaped the firing she justly deserves. There was no project management or team leadership or indeed anything remotely that would make Lord S want to go in to partnership with her.

Melody though took the boot this week based on her character and her wild buying patterns on day two. It was hilarious on the 'You're Fired' follow up programme that three times she was asked what she really actually properly did for work and three times she failed to deliver anything like a clear answer. I wonder if the Dalai Lama knows?

30^th June - Taking the biscuit

Helen takes her winning streak to 9 and Jedi Jim combines with her to win an astonishing order from Asda. Natasha was once again irrelevant I feel.

But over to the losing team, led by Zoe, and it was a straight battle between product development and marketing/branding. Lord S was not happy that Zoe kept away from the manufacturing (but interestingly did not levy that same issue against Helen) and Zoe walked (or grabbed a conveniently waiting black cab).

This was another lesson that things have changed; Lord S is seeking a business partner and not an employee. People are behaving in slightly different ways but this task came down to 'Product Manager' versus 'Project Manager' - can they be one and the same? Perhaps not.  

Tom is an ideas man that needs someone to manager his thoughts and, well, ideas; he came close to the chop and might well have needed one of his own Emerbiscuits 'the biscuit that's only for emergencies'. Melody played her one act again taking on only her idea and trying to override the market research and others to drive it through. Susie was more impressive this week but maybe that was because Zoe was focused in Melody (have you not heard the saying 'Keep you enemies' closer...'?).

Oh and Melody's role playing sales pitch was cringe worthy - all three times.

23rd June - For the children

Ah Susan, worth keeping in just for the entertainment but this week she led and won a task. Primarily I would say thanks to Helen's superb pitch to La Redoute. For Susan it was all summed it with Karren remarking that she is 'Beyond stupid' for asking 'Do the French like their children?' and 'Do they drive cars?'.

Accordingly to Mad Melody the answer to the second one is 'Non', they all travel by Metro but somehow Paris is a traffic log-jam at the same time.  Personally I would have fired her for manipulating the 'market research' in favour of the product that she preferred, and ignoring Tom's request for action. But it is not about finding a project manager or indeed an 'apprentice' any more - it is about finding a partner for Lord S. And Tom is no PM for sure - he has all the right ideas and tries to re-enforce them but does not have the character to control egos such as Melody.

But it was Leon who went for not being able to speak 'French' which was actually 'English' in most cases, and appalling drawing skills perhaps. No really he was fired for just not being effective, active or contributing. And, as I learnt from the 'You're Fired' show, as he used to work for La Redoute he should have resigned with embarrassment.

17th June - Hold the presses

Another masterclass from Jim this week saw him oppose his own viewpoint from two weeks ago when it was all his idea but it wasn't his fault to 'it was all Zoe's idea and it was therefore all her fault'.

Hip Replacement lost the task but actually both teams failed pretty much I would say, they both ended up stereotyping the people they were trying to appeal to. Older people have no sense of humour, they have no idea how to use a mobile phone and, worst of all, the lot of them wear cardigans. Young men, being ruled by their hormones, can only understand anything if it is smothered with double entendres and accompanied by pictures of near naked women.

But in the boardroom, Jim's playground of choice, it was Susan (the mouse as J calls her) and Glenn that were named in the three and not, interestingly, Zoe - as in 'it was all Zoe's idea and it was therefore all her fault'. J knows how to pick his boardroom playthings.

Lord S meanwhile was 'on to him' but decided that the fall guy was going to be Glenn this week proving that we are now beyond individual tasks and on to the whole experience. Glenn was not partner material for Lord S and looking ahead I am not so sure Susan would make a great partner either. Not that she isn't smart but would she stand up to the great man at times of disagreement?

9th June - Where there's muck there's money

Helen stretched her winning streak to 6 in a row and Tom bathed (literally) in the glory of his first win in 6 as a result, and all for the princely sum of £6. Team Logic clearly had a strategy - win the contracts with a Zero entry cost and seek to sell the valuable scrap, and then flexed with a deal on the fly (but not fly tip) in day 2.

Zoe was Team Venture leader and in the boardroom she was the odds on casualty having lost out on the contracts, confused herself and Susan on the right approach to this task and struggled to offer any real leadership as the task collapsed around them on day one. But she endeared herself to Lord Sugar by taking responsibility for certain failures, and he gave her another chance, instead firing Edna. All credit to Glenn for raising the spirit of the team (a PMs job really) and getting them motivated for day two - and almost making it.

Edna took the taxi as a result of Lord S not fancying working with her in any future partnership, perhaps her multiple degrees and constant reminder of them scared him off. Either way Zoe is in last chance saloon and must be glad to see the end of that rubbish task.

2^nd June - A double firing!

Every dog has his day they say but this was not Vincent's day as he was fired from The Apprentice. Vincent's team were deemed the losers after they tried to market a dog food called Every Dog - despite being advised by a vet (and Tom) that you cannot feed all dogs the same food. As the project manager, he paid the ultimate price for not listening to an expert and having visions of empire building way too early (Every Fish, Every Cat, Every Stick Insect...)

But once again the star was the man dubbed 'Jedi Jim' for his persuasive abilities. He managed to talk his way out of being taken into the boardroom once again, despite aggressively taking credit for the derided brand name. Big mistake by Vincent, I feel Jim would have walked had he been strong enough to name Jim in the three but he showed weakness by not doing so and as such Lord S made his decision.

On the other team Glenn was lucky to win and annoyed me by demanding respect from his team; next time Glenn try earning it first.

Both team leaders confused team leading/project managing with being the one voice, the only authority, and coming up with all the best ideas. Glenn took this to extreme by completely dismissing his sub-teams research efforts and by the end of the task they were a dysfunctional group of individuals.

But before Vincent took the taxi Ellie received the Lord S judgement that she was not someone he could work with in partnership and, to be fair to her, later on she agreed and felt that it was a right decision.

26^th May - Too much doing going on

In the words of Felicity it was all 'a bit of a pickle' in the end and as a result she was fired by Lord S. Losing the great ones money is always a heinous crime and losing it when there was potential margin of 90% was worse than bad. That said she was caught in a vicious pincer movement between Ellie and Natasha in the boardroom but was brilliantly decisive after only ten minutes of indecision.

Personally I was kind of hoping to see the other team lose as Zoe had moved from loving Susan for her (many times) declared expert knowledge of beauty products to setting her up for a fall in the boardroom should her team fail. This is not a pretty sight but a factor of the game in that 50% of the time they are all focused on winning but the other 50% they are planning their boardroom defence (especially if you are project manager come team leader).

Tom was spot on with his assessment of where the profit was to be made (and therefore the focus should also be made) but even he was beguiled by the thrill of selling product.

The failure (actually on both teams and project managers) was not stepping back and looking at the strategy and focus. They all get so carried away with the 'doing' that they forget was they are supposed to be 'achieving' a lot of the time. I have reviewed a number of projects and it seems that the longer they are in duration the more people get dragged in to the detail and the less that they remember the big picture of what this project is supposed to deliver. A good project manager should remind everyone on a regular basis on their purpose.

19th May - Gavin Gavin ... Gone!

People management, task allocation, time control, scope discipline - these were all wonderfully missing in the latest episode of The Apprentice in the losing team.

A mix of teams kicked off the session in The Savoy and then it was on to selecting team leaders. In his own words Gavin put his hand up despite his own reservations 'I hate this particular task anyway - I watch it every year and I always say to whoever's on the screen: do not get involved with that task, do not be project manager'.

Susan Ma on the other team did much better at the organisation and her team sped off to locate items. In the end they had 9 out 10 but paid the high price in some cases. Gavin's team split with Vincent leading 'the ladies' and handing out more charm on the way.

In the end it was only £8 that split the teams, despite Gavin's team only securing 6 items. Why oh why do they never sit down and look at the penalties and prioritise what they are going to buy and what they could sacrifice if needed?

A final word from poor Gavin then, it is all about the team and his team weren't all in this one together it seems.

 'Also, with the Yellow Pages, I'm from Liverpool and we only have one book there for the whole city. I didn't realise that London had different Yellow Pages for different areas of the city. None of the other local candidates mentioned this to me at any point'.

12th May - The 'Apps' make an App

Well no sooner than I decided to call then 'Apps' Lord S goes and gives them a task to make an App! Nice to have a new and relevant task (I mean selling fruit & veg is all well and good but ...).

Anyway, two priceless moments: Jim 'the force is strong in this one' Eastwood negotiates his way out of the boardroom three by convincing Leon (PM) that he is the wrong choice and then follows that up with arguing with Glenn (who is Leon's second choice) that the PMs decision should be final (even though Leon had just had his mind changed by Jim). Magic!

Second was Edna 'I have assessed everyone's skills and decided that I am better than all of you' Agbarha's presentation experience (with eccentric gloves) to the mass audience of App geeks followed by her frozen smile when the collective girl team declared they may have just lost the task at that point.

Were there any PM lessons to be learned this week? I'm not so sure, this task was won and lost by understanding the scope - Global not Local - and generally both Leon and Edna did OK'ish leading their teams. I am not convinced even the winning team appreciated that they had created something that would work outside of the UK but win they did and Alex was fired. Did he contribute to the team's failure? Not really (he actually didn't contribute that much at all) but Lord S had him in his sights and his tactics of staying in the background (which may have worked in previous shows) let him down (Lord S is looking for partner now and not an employee).

Personally I can't understand why none of them thought of creating an app based on The Apprenctice with Lord S insulting people as only he can.

11th May - I've got an App for that

And so the gathered clan of the very future of our business world met Lord S and the battle commenced. The 'Apps' as I will lovingly call them from now on were your usual mixture - from scary to odd but there will be one who will eventually rise in our estimation and get that business partnership with Lord S.

First casualty was Edward who spent most of the programme telling everyone, including himself, to 'roll with the punches' only to be dealt the knockout blow in round one as the mighty ones finger pointed and the 'you're fired' declaration sounded round the boardroom.

It is noted that Lord S talked about team leaders but the 'Apps' spoke about project management - and then brave Edward delivered a masterclass in how not to be a project manager (he was all shouting and then shying away from anything to do with the task).

The other team leader/project manager Melody (loving those power eyebrows) was all too much for the boys team, but then she had apparently been trained by AL Gore, Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama (and I only got a 5 day course to prep for my PMP in High Wycombe…).

The other thing that made me think - all that discussion about team names (especially when you know that the teams will change regularly week by week) - who really cares? - but Team Logic and Team Venture were born and actually this branding is an important project feature.

A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, a sign, a symbol, a colour combination or a slogan or indeed a mixture of all these. The word brand began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp and a legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company or service. I would hope with 'The Lazy Project Manager' that brand means good service, value for money, and great entertainment through a learning experience.

So what is your 'brand'? How do you present yourself and your projects?

There are three major categories of communication within a project Communication Plan: mandatory, informational, and marketing.

Mandatory and informational communication is, typically, well addressed by project managers; it is simple to understand and to carry out. The third element of marketing communication however is often neglected, to the detriment of the project and its likely achievement of success. Branding a project is achieved through creating a project personality with which stakeholders can have a relationship and therefore an emotional attachment; that is in essence that they actually care about the project outcomes. This personality or identity is known as the project brand and it is key to maximising buy-in and support from the widest range of stakeholders. If marketing communication wins the minds of these stakeholders then project branding should win their hearts as well.

Of course, branding takes time and money and effort, so you also need to have a project with a long time horizon. A steady stream of positive communication, combined with the positive feeling of the project branding, will help the project be successful and should help overcome any negative perceptions that the project may have.

Perhaps the simplest branding technique is to have a project name that reflects the people, the project, the company and the purpose.

All in all the entertainment level is as high as ever and I look forward to sharing the next few weeks with my favourite 'Apps'.

Season seven of The Apprentice is back!

As usual, it follows 16 contestants as they battle it out - via a series of entrepreneurial challenges, spread over 12 episodes - for the grand prize of a lucrative contract with Lord Sugar. But there's a significant change this year: instead of the winner being given a £100,000-a-year job at one of his lordship's companies, they'll be awarded a £250,000 investment with which to start their own company. Or, to put it another way, Sugar - who'll retain a 50 per cent stake in the new company - is searching for a business partner rather than an employee.

Might this mean a change to the type of contestant the show attracts? Probably not! Expect a few delusional, egomaniac types, a few buffoons and at least one dark horse (perhaps a wild stallion for 'Lord S' to tame) and a lot of fun for those of us watching.

But the real question remains - is there a single one of them with any project management skills? And does Lord Sugar even care?