The lesson that I learnt in Episode 7 of “The Apprentice (Season 5)” is …

Be Decisive!  Don’t waste time over small things. Always focus on the goal!

In my opinion, the project managers in both teams for this round were ineffective.  The winning team won because his team pulled through (more on this later).

In this episode, the team would be working with two Ace Hardware executives and an executive from the Boys and Girls Club of America as part of Ace’s “New Faces for Helpful Places” program. Each team was to renovate a room in a Boys and Girls Club location.

Below is what I found to be relevant lesson to our online business.  Avoid the mistakes and model after the effective methods.

1. “Gold Rush” did the following wrong this round:

First of all, the project manager did not listen to the suggestion of his team members.  He was only focused on what he wanted.

Second part, he was not well prepared enough to ask the executives the critical questions on what they wanted from this project.  This was the most critical mistake made.  It also left a bad impression.

Lesson at this point: Before you start your goal, ALWAYS know what is the end-goal of the market.  It is not what you want, it is what the market wants that is important to determine your success.  The project manager of “Gold Rush” lost sight of this critical point even though his members has reminded him on this.  To me, this is the main reason this team has failed.

1. “Synergy” did the following right this round:

They found out exactly what the executives were looking for. The project manager asked them pointed questions when he sat his team down to meet with them.  This was the first right thing that they achieved for this task.

Lesson at this point: In your online business, always make sure your initial planning and foundation is done correctly.  It need not be perfect but at least you must cover the main points/goals.  If this is not done, you will face a lot of problems at a later stage.

After the initial success, the project manager were not decisive in even minor decision.  For example, it took them almost 9 hours to decide on the colours to use for the room.  This has delayed the project progress and had also impacted his members (who need to work through the night).

Lesson at this point: Make decision fast based on the best knowledge available.  By holding back, you are impact your down-stream work.

In the end, “Syngery” team won this round.

The results after this episode was “Gold Rush” - 2 and “Synergy” - 5

Above are the main lesson that I noted in this episode that is relevant to Marketers and Infopreneurs. Tuned in next week for my review of the next episode.  You can check out the pictures from this official site.

Related postings:

• My Compilation “The Apprentice” Lessons
• Lesson 1 - Creating Successful Buzz
• Lesson 2 - Location, Location, Location
• Lesson 3 - Have A Theme And A Plan B
• Lesson 4 - Keep It Simple, Silly!
• Lesson 5 - Listen To Your Team And Your Customer
• Lesson 6 - Command Respect

To Your Success,
Keith Choy

Tag: the apprentice, take decisive action