Baby food

Lessons from BBC TV’s “The Apprentice” – Series 16. 10. Baby food

Create and brand a new range of baby food. That’s the challenge in episode 10, series 16 of BBC TV’s The Apprentice. But wait, you have to create an actual dish, pitch it to “industry experts” and, to win, secure the highest value of orders from them. So that’s what to focus on – how to secure the orders.

One PM (project manager) mistakenly thinks it’s about them – they like fish curry so that’s to be baby’s dish of the day. The others go veggie. Big mistake, I think, to think it’s about what you want rather than what the buyers might buy – but this is a common error in these tasks. “Remember it’s for a baby, not you” one competitor remembers. Too right. One step better might be “think of the buyers”.

Big mistake to have a brand “First time ** dies” as a baby food. Common sense, our old friend common sense, and perhaps stepping back now and then to look reflectively and analytically at your own work?

Also we see again the lack of coordination when a team splits into sub teams. There’s a need to understand the shared intent and basic common parameters you’re working to in that situation – manage the interfaces and boundaries. But no, they split and right hand is ignorant of left.

And so, maybe for the first time in this long-running series – ? – neither team secures any orders at all. It was product and brand in the case of both teams. Two teams, two buyers, two factors. Eight chances. And only one buyer liked the product from one team – but even then they didn’t like the brand enough. No sale.

And at the root cause? One branding team left themselves too little time to get the packaging right – yet the time was theirs to manage.

Time management, team coordination, common sense. As bland as baby food.