Charity
In the previous episode of the Apprentice, in spite delivering 2 highly successful events, the 2 candidates were still chided for their lack of control and their inability to perform to what the others expected them to. Eg. the gal was often branded a bitch, for not making herself count, letting others do the work while she just goes with the flow in the background. Clever gal, she made it to the final cut, and shone through like a blinding light.
Well, in this final test, both were tasked to organise charity gala events, and they have reporting to them, those previous wannabes who were already fired. Some of them were even fired because of these two jokers. Wow, how do you report to someone who had backstabbed you, cost you your million dollar job! Wonderful twist. But then again, with the bright lights and clever scripting, such bitching were deftly sidestepped.
Now the gal. I think she did well, considering the time frame and massive tasks she had to complete. I won't have done any better than her really. But according to her teammates and that plump SOB, he said her deficiencies were glaringly painful. Never see the boss off. Never spend more time with the boss. Never kiss his ass enough. Hey, his reputation and businesses depended on the success of the event. Sure, she could've kissed more, but then again, it'd have been her ass that'll be kicked. So in a sense, no sweat gal. Next time, spend 1 more minute with the SOB and you'll be fine. Others like delegating "important" tasks that would have allowed her to score even more points are valid enough, but then again, she can only do so much, but she did use her people wisely. Good job.
As for the guy, apparently he has had some military training before, and his delegation skills were sometimes questionable. Look, he was a control freak! He sat behind the computer and managed everything from his "nerve centre". Very different leadership style from the gal. He let his generals fight the war, while he monitored the situation. Good job. My kind of boss. Let you run your socks off, while he enjoys the champagne. Well, that wasn't really fair, coz he did drive around in the middle of the night, looking for the photostating shop. He made some cardinal sins too. He didn't check on the bosses' personal box -- his seat was dirty and the other was broken. "Its alright, I'd prefer stading" was the SOB's sarcastic retort. You could almost see the bullet leave the barrel, his grey matter coagulating, blood on standby to spurt spurt spurt. My sympathies buster. See, the best thing I learnt in this seat of mine is, you never, ever, leave anything to chance. Never assume. Coz if you don't check, and don't have a gameplan in advance, judgement will be swift. In my position, it is is always the little things that will get you condemned, no matter how well you planned, never mind if all objectives are met, or if everybody left happy, congratulating the bosses on a job well done. It is never enough for them. Ultimately, you screwed up on that minor detail, and all brownie points previously gained are thereby erased. You actually OWE them for giving you one more chance to screw up in future.
All in all. Parallels can be drawn from this episode.
The twins are now being brought up by a bunch of good people, who out of their good heart, was willing to work with me to nurture them. In a sense, they are the surrogate mums or godpas. Its their child, but really not theirs lor. They know that these twins would one day grow up, and their contribution, being voluntary, means that when the going gets tough, or when they felt like it, they could easily take a back seat, and enjoy the ride. Or they could even withdraw completely. In this environment, how do I motivate, challenge or even get them to play their fair share? Those jokers, they have the glory and the chance to be on National TV. That, to them, is reward enough already. Here, gosh, the only satisfaction I suppose is when its all over, no cruel unjustified criticisms come our way. Sure, their immediate bosses may think they have contributed and thus deeserve something. But whether that materialises or not, has no bearing on their performance, and definetly, they know I will have no direct contribution in that eventuality. They know it, I know it. So meanwhile, all I could do is to appeal to their altruistic sense of serving for the greater good of the company.
Alone, i feel even more alone. Why did I get myself into this?
Well, in this final test, both were tasked to organise charity gala events, and they have reporting to them, those previous wannabes who were already fired. Some of them were even fired because of these two jokers. Wow, how do you report to someone who had backstabbed you, cost you your million dollar job! Wonderful twist. But then again, with the bright lights and clever scripting, such bitching were deftly sidestepped.
Now the gal. I think she did well, considering the time frame and massive tasks she had to complete. I won't have done any better than her really. But according to her teammates and that plump SOB, he said her deficiencies were glaringly painful. Never see the boss off. Never spend more time with the boss. Never kiss his ass enough. Hey, his reputation and businesses depended on the success of the event. Sure, she could've kissed more, but then again, it'd have been her ass that'll be kicked. So in a sense, no sweat gal. Next time, spend 1 more minute with the SOB and you'll be fine. Others like delegating "important" tasks that would have allowed her to score even more points are valid enough, but then again, she can only do so much, but she did use her people wisely. Good job.
As for the guy, apparently he has had some military training before, and his delegation skills were sometimes questionable. Look, he was a control freak! He sat behind the computer and managed everything from his "nerve centre". Very different leadership style from the gal. He let his generals fight the war, while he monitored the situation. Good job. My kind of boss. Let you run your socks off, while he enjoys the champagne. Well, that wasn't really fair, coz he did drive around in the middle of the night, looking for the photostating shop. He made some cardinal sins too. He didn't check on the bosses' personal box -- his seat was dirty and the other was broken. "Its alright, I'd prefer stading" was the SOB's sarcastic retort. You could almost see the bullet leave the barrel, his grey matter coagulating, blood on standby to spurt spurt spurt. My sympathies buster. See, the best thing I learnt in this seat of mine is, you never, ever, leave anything to chance. Never assume. Coz if you don't check, and don't have a gameplan in advance, judgement will be swift. In my position, it is is always the little things that will get you condemned, no matter how well you planned, never mind if all objectives are met, or if everybody left happy, congratulating the bosses on a job well done. It is never enough for them. Ultimately, you screwed up on that minor detail, and all brownie points previously gained are thereby erased. You actually OWE them for giving you one more chance to screw up in future.
All in all. Parallels can be drawn from this episode.
The twins are now being brought up by a bunch of good people, who out of their good heart, was willing to work with me to nurture them. In a sense, they are the surrogate mums or godpas. Its their child, but really not theirs lor. They know that these twins would one day grow up, and their contribution, being voluntary, means that when the going gets tough, or when they felt like it, they could easily take a back seat, and enjoy the ride. Or they could even withdraw completely. In this environment, how do I motivate, challenge or even get them to play their fair share? Those jokers, they have the glory and the chance to be on National TV. That, to them, is reward enough already. Here, gosh, the only satisfaction I suppose is when its all over, no cruel unjustified criticisms come our way. Sure, their immediate bosses may think they have contributed and thus deeserve something. But whether that materialises or not, has no bearing on their performance, and definetly, they know I will have no direct contribution in that eventuality. They know it, I know it. So meanwhile, all I could do is to appeal to their altruistic sense of serving for the greater good of the company.
Alone, i feel even more alone. Why did I get myself into this?
posted by Brother John at 9:01 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home