The Apprentice

I have questions ....

1. Why does Alan Sugar insist on having himself called Sir Alan?

- Yes, I know he's a Sir but this smacks of having to 'Lord' it over others because you can because you have a title and a bit of money and in this case because you are looking for sycophants.

2. Was it just me, or did Badge come over as being someone who doesn't need molding or training and in which case she in no way meets the criteria for an apprentice?

3. Are all the apprentices just a little bit - ok then, a lot - anally retentive? I haven't watched the series avidly but to a person they are all totally full of themselves and in need of personalities.

Is life really a better place because we have these over ambitious self-centred achievers appearing on our TV?

For my part I will walk away from anybody who comes over this way as my life doesn't need the grief. If this makes them happy then fair enough it's their life - but you only had to look at each of their faces as they were fired to realise that not one of them are happy. Is this what they (and here they becomes more generic to represent anybody like this and in my time I've met a few) believe they are here for? Is it their sole purpose to climb the corporate ladder? come the end of the road, will they look back happy that they've made it? What is their legacy going to be?

I'm only asking these questions because I now work with somebody whom I can see has similar traits and I'm trying to work out what it is that drives them. This person - let's call him/her Z - had to go on a grad course recently and was so anti it you'd have thought that Z had already been on the course and knew it's content. Well surprisingly Z has come back from this course with an entirely different attitude and is determined to move on - that's good for Z but what I spotted as Z regaled us with stories of the course was shades of 'The Badger' - arrogance and over-confident attitude dressed up as competence and ability in a young package.

And since Z's return to work Z has done precisely nothing in terms of what they are supposed to be doing. Z has spent time eMailing new mentors (found from the course) and studying. Neither of which is a bad thing when we have nothing to do .... I'll leave it to you to figure out if we have nothing to do.

Don't any of these people realise that life is so much more than our achievements?