Week 4 sees a noticeable change in the group dynamics and in some of the candidate’s behaviour towards Lottie.  As the task gets underway, you cannot help but wonder if Lottie gives any consideration to why.  Perhaps, she chooses to remain in ignorance, maybe her at times arrogant manner consumes all her thoughts in the assumption the shift in her teammates attitudes is down to them feeling threatened by her presence and sheer brilliance as a go getting individual able to stand her ground. 

In life although a lot can be achieved on your own, so much more can be accomplished when you include and embrace others recognising all they can bring to compliment everything in place.

So heres a brainteaser - is Lottie the problem or is it everyone else?  When I say everyone, I mean Marianne, Thomas, Riyonn in particular, all from Team Unison.  Not so much Scarlett or Lubna.  

Dean started the ball of doubt rolling before the teams were rearranged and the task was set in his speculation of who would go next.  Without any hesitation the only name that left his lips was Lottie.  Perhaps wishful thinking or was it that she had sat where he had previously been in the Boardroom and he would rather she returned than him?

Marianne seems to have sharpened her nails and donned on the warpaint where Lottie is concerned, and it is clear to see there is no love lost between them. 

We all understand that there is no written contract making you sign on the dotted line to agree to like the people you work with, but it really does help if you can get on with them or find some common ground to make a professional relationship workable.  As a leader it is advantageous to be liked and in return to be able to positively influence others, gain respect and productivity through being a team player and building up trust in others.

At only 19 one can argue that Lottie has a lot to learn and this 12-week process could provide her with some valuable lessons. 

Watch this space ……

The task; to make high end ice lollies for a corporate company; create & sell appealing ice lollies to the public and the winner would be the team with the most profit!

With Carina Project Manager, actively encouraged by Lottie, not yet prepared to step up and put her neck on the line – but it was only Week 2!

Lottie is someone who likes to be in the limelight and have the spotlight firmly on her at all times, so when she was offered the role of Sub Team Leader but declined putting forward Marianne instead, immediately viewers were on high alert by her game playing antics!

Although young and inexperienced, (although the way she dresses gives the impression of someone much older) she has enough confidence for all the candidates in this process and doesn’t appear to be someone who does anyone else a favour without there being something in it for her!

Marianne takes the role after being put forward by Lottie whose experience she feels is more suited. 

Lottie did contribute positively in making suggestions for the theme for their lollies before moving into the pitching team which was supposed to be managed by Marianne but who for this task seemed to lose the power of speech with no ability to lead giving Lottie endless opportunities to take centre stage and grab camera time – Unfortunately she utilises this whether she had something of relevance and worth to say or not!  Consequently, from the off her style of how she would stay in the process was demonstrated.

Lottie is an attention seeker, obviously someone who has been told from a very young age how wonderful she is and so she believes it and has a can do attitude.  The latter I am all for in life as it is good to be flexible and adaptable enough to turn your hand to different things and have a coping mechanism that can be triggered to survive various situations.

But where Lottie goes wrong is her immaturity for this process will always shine through when competing against others with more experience (even though by looking at all the candidates it is easier to identify their flaws than the impressive talents they all like to brag about).

When Scarlett took the women away from the negotiating table, even though Lottie who was a main part of the negotiating showed her immaturity by not reversing this and sealing the deal.  Instead she followed this poor decision, began whispering, keeping a client waiting and then when they all returned to the table – no one had the ability to calculate the correct price.  Lottie apologises for their inability to add up as a miscommunication.  Why do confident people think their bullshit sounds so much better than anyone else’s?  This will be one of her downfalls – always having an answer no matter what that looks like!

Quick to gush over how their corporate lollies turned out, had she simply put herself into the punters place she would have realised that to place a whole sprig of rosemary inside each lolly was a big no no – who wants to suck on a sprig of rosemary? Rosemary is very overpowering in taste and smell and is sharp to the touch.  She did suggest for those lollies with a noticeable amount of foliage sticking out to trim them but instead of working collaboratively as a team instead she pissed off Jemelin and Lubna by her curt responses.  Already people are beginning to become vocal about Lottie being difficult to work with.  But in Lottie’s world she thinks this is good? – immaturity once again!

Consequently a large percentage of the lollies were not saleable and once again Lottie made a total tit of herself by guessing how many lollies were good enough to pass on to Patch (the corporate company who demonstrated patience above and beyond whilst dealing with this amateurs!).

The girls won the task only because the boys were even more rubbish than them!

Lottie thinks that being the loudest, the rudest, the ones with all the answers even if they are not the right ones is the way she is going to become Lord Sugars Business partner.  The latter I cannot see happening as I am positive, he hasn’t got the time or inclination to work with a petulant child who has a naturally spiteful and mean streak giving her the likeability factor of zero.

Can Lottie show that there is more to her that is pleasing to see?

Watch this space! …..

How to make friends and influence people were two things not on Lottie Lions agenda.

From the off she wanted to make an impression and that is one thing she did.

Although not brave enough to step up to being PM for the first task, Lottie had her eye on the Sub Team Leader role which all went Pete Tong.  What was wrong with these women didn’t Lottie have the full package on offer – she knew the population of South Africa for goodness sake (well according to Google she was only 6 million short and as we all know figures never seem to be a strong point for any of these potential could be’s).

Pipped to the post by Jemelin, when life gives you lemons – just make a strong G&T and get on with it or in Lottie’s case pour a large glass of sav blanc! 

Because she had worked in the UK’s best wine bar – not sure if she meant the one located on the edge of Exmoor awarded for being Wine Pub of The Year where only well behaved dogs and children are welcome, as far as Lottie was concerned as soon as the tour chosen was a wine tour this was her moment!

In order to ensure everyone else also understood this was her moment she became a cross between Jilly Goolden and Veruca Salt taking over, talking over, lording it over as she used  a variety of wine descriptors to describe the collection of wines ready to taste by a group of people who had paid for the pleasure and been taken on a magical walking tour in the quest of finding the cellars.

Although one couldn’t help but admire the confidence oozing out of every pore, the fact that she was prepared to put others down to grab the limelight makes Lottie both an interesting and at times embarrassing candidate to watch.

Will she be able to curb her ambition enough to realise that first impressions count and last.

Watch this space ……

With a name sounding like a best-selling children’s book, lets meet Lottie Lion; a 19-year-old from Somerset and wait for it – a librarian – so someone who definitely won’t be pushed around as well as insisting she is no push over! 

Describing herself as ‘cutthroat’ – a quality the world at large associates with librarians across the land!  But reading between the covers; Is it long overdue for teenagers like herself to participate and will she be feeling her shelf over the next few weeks after participating in numerous demanding tasks with only limited camera time?

For those readers who prefer to look at the pictures and abandon tiresome words, this candidate has a large collection of being scantily clad via her Instagram account insisting her standards are high.    She says: “I bring ‘class’ to everything and ensure nothing I do is half-standard or tacky.” So glad we got that cleared up!

Admittedly she hasn’t been shy in stating she is seeking fame and fortune by appearing on The Apprentice adding she will never leave behind her countryside roots – a wise move given the price of property in the big smoke!

So what has made this candidate stand out from the thousands of potential applicants?

Washing cars, cleaning homes from the age of 12 working on pheasant hunts before and after 16 and then going on to be a barmaid and not forgetting being a librarian.   Note to self – you are wasted!

Living in the country with lots of evidence of horseriding being a hobby, no surprise the business she took to the boardroom was a countryside ladies members club to appeal to isolated women bringing them together through outings such as equestrian events – Tally Ho! (Give me a G&T & a book club any day of the week!).

Sharing her key life objective she says “I do want money – people say money won’t make you happy but realistically it will, and it will make you comfortable which does bring happiness I believe.” – as shallow as a baby’s paddling pool! Going on to reveal “I really want to put myself out there – I need exposure, I am young and I want success. Lots of people decide to go on television for fame and exposure, and it can be hard to get those living in Somerset.”

But will this opportunity fast track her with her wealth of skills and knowledge into the spotlight of success?

Already rumoured to have had a night of passion with one of the other contestants Lewis Ellis, can Lottie have the lot and gain her desired heady status of gaining a proper job and becoming queen of a business empire or will this lioness be put out into the wild and gwoam to return back to Somerset and drown her sorrows down the local with a gurt pint of Zummerzet Zyder?  - Watch this space…….