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I saw a fraction of an episode of Richard Branson’s “The Apprentice” and was struck by the fact that (unlike a different host of the US The Apprentice) he consi

by LeonB 4y ago

I saw a fraction of an episode of Richard Branson’s “The Apprentice” and was struck by the fact that (unlike a different host of the US The Apprentice) he considered the act of firing someone very painful. It was an existence proof that billionaires do not have to be heartless psychopaths - even though media consistently gives us this impression. And - predictably - his version of the show did not rate very well, and was fundamentally less entertaining. It was soon cancelled I believe. (I am not saying that he is a wonderful person— I don’t know him. I just know that he doesn’t outwardly celebrate the cult of cruelty that is popularly believed to be necessary for being a billionaire.)

awb 4y ago
One lesson from Branson’s Apprentice that always stuck with me: He was hoisted up in a capsule with different contestants above Angel Falls. Branson encouraged the contestants to abandon their fears and press a button that would release the cables and send the capsule plunging to the water below. Whoever pressed the button was kicked off the show. The drop was high enough to kill them both and Branson said he couldn’t afford to have people around him that were afraid to tell him no.
- pbhjpbhj 4y ago
  Seems more of a TV gimmick than a test for sycophants. You know Branson does daring activities, you know you're on a TV show where the utmost care is taken by a whole team of professionals, ... it's a cheap trick. So, instead of people who trust the proven professionals around them to do their job you get people scared of heights or averse to physical risks (who could be perfectly happy taking massive financial risks)? Do you really think it shows anything useful? [Where, when, which channel was this series shown, please?]
  - nullandvoid 4y ago
    100% this, as if Branson would have been in any danger at all. That's really shitty if they genuinely kicked off contestants for that reason, if that's the correct story.
  - awb 4y ago
    I must have seen it ~20 years ago on FOX I think. It was certainly a “made for TV” / theatrical way of making a point. But the point stuck with me as it was pretty diametrically opposed to the other Apprentice show which rewarded people for following instructions. Looks like it was Victoria Falls: https://youtu.be/BrA__e6s1kg https://youtu.be/BrA__e6s1kg Clip starts at 4:38 > you know you're on a TV show where the utmost care is taken by a whole team of professionals I think that’s kind of the point though, is if you’re saying you’re capable of being President of Virgin (the prize I believe), then there is little to no safety net. You are the professional in charge responsible for everyone else’s safety. If you just assume that Branson’s prepared and thought of everything already then you’re not adding the value he’s looking for. He wants people that are skeptical of every detail and proposition (even his). But granted it’s not the actual way he’d vet for this quality. It was spiced up for TV. I just found it impactful that he valued that skeptic quality in his team.
    - FeepingCreature 4y ago
      > I think that’s kind of the point though, is if you’re saying you’re capable of being President of Virgin (the prize I believe), then there is little to no safety net. You are the professional in charge responsible for everyone else’s safety. But you're not, in that situation. That's sort of the point. This isn't hiring for prudence, this is hiring for ability to guess Branson's gotcha.
      - awb 4y ago
        Well the contestant believed they were in charge of the drop. Common sense tells you that a 350’ drop will kill you, but they assumed it was safe because Branson was there. So, he wants people who will view a scenario objectively and not be biased by his presence or opinions. As a control it would have been interesting to have half the contestants in a capsule by themselves and see how many were willing to drop without him there. I bet many would have still pressed the button. Some people are blinded by winning and take huge, inappropriate risks to try to win. It’s a skill to be able to not play the game when the risks are too high. Or, it could have just been a test to see who’s brave enough to call bullshit when things get absurd.
- LeonB 4y ago
  Yes that’s the episode I saw. I’m not sure if they were kicked off for pressing the button - they were definitely punished and “taught a lesson”. Maybe they had less points or dollars going into the next challenge or something. Edit: someone linked to a summary of the episode, below, and they did kick the person off for it. Harsh!
- ffmpegy 4y ago
  > Branson said he couldn’t afford to have people around him that were afraid to tell him no. So the lesson here is even for a decision that will kill him and everyone around him, he would still rather not entertain debate and challenge from his subordinates?
  - lhoff 4y ago
    I think you understood the statement wrong. It also took me a second read to get it. Written differently the sentence could also be phrased the following: > Branson said he want's to have people around him that dare to tell him no.

by LeonB 4y ago

awb 4y ago

One lesson from Branson’s Apprentice that always stuck with me: He was hoisted up in a capsule with different contestants above Angel Falls. Branson encouraged the contestants to abandon their fears and press a button that would release the cables and send the capsule plunging to the water below. Whoever pressed the button was kicked off the show. The drop was high enough to kill them both and Branson said he couldn’t afford to have people around him that were afraid to tell him no.

pbhjpbhj 4y ago
Seems more of a TV gimmick than a test for sycophants. You know Branson does daring activities, you know you're on a TV show where the utmost care is taken by a whole team of professionals, ... it's a cheap trick. So, instead of people who trust the proven professionals around them to do their job you get people scared of heights or averse to physical risks (who could be perfectly happy taking massive financial risks)? Do you really think it shows anything useful? [Where, when, which channel was this series shown, please?]
- nullandvoid 4y ago
  100% this, as if Branson would have been in any danger at all. That's really shitty if they genuinely kicked off contestants for that reason, if that's the correct story.
- awb 4y ago
  I must have seen it ~20 years ago on FOX I think. It was certainly a “made for TV” / theatrical way of making a point. But the point stuck with me as it was pretty diametrically opposed to the other Apprentice show which rewarded people for following instructions. Looks like it was Victoria Falls: https://youtu.be/BrA__e6s1kg https://youtu.be/BrA__e6s1kg Clip starts at 4:38 > you know you're on a TV show where the utmost care is taken by a whole team of professionals I think that’s kind of the point though, is if you’re saying you’re capable of being President of Virgin (the prize I believe), then there is little to no safety net. You are the professional in charge responsible for everyone else’s safety. If you just assume that Branson’s prepared and thought of everything already then you’re not adding the value he’s looking for. He wants people that are skeptical of every detail and proposition (even his). But granted it’s not the actual way he’d vet for this quality. It was spiced up for TV. I just found it impactful that he valued that skeptic quality in his team.
  - FeepingCreature 4y ago
    > I think that’s kind of the point though, is if you’re saying you’re capable of being President of Virgin (the prize I believe), then there is little to no safety net. You are the professional in charge responsible for everyone else’s safety. But you're not, in that situation. That's sort of the point. This isn't hiring for prudence, this is hiring for ability to guess Branson's gotcha.
    - awb 4y ago
      Well the contestant believed they were in charge of the drop. Common sense tells you that a 350’ drop will kill you, but they assumed it was safe because Branson was there. So, he wants people who will view a scenario objectively and not be biased by his presence or opinions. As a control it would have been interesting to have half the contestants in a capsule by themselves and see how many were willing to drop without him there. I bet many would have still pressed the button. Some people are blinded by winning and take huge, inappropriate risks to try to win. It’s a skill to be able to not play the game when the risks are too high. Or, it could have just been a test to see who’s brave enough to call bullshit when things get absurd.
LeonB 4y ago
Yes that’s the episode I saw. I’m not sure if they were kicked off for pressing the button - they were definitely punished and “taught a lesson”. Maybe they had less points or dollars going into the next challenge or something. Edit: someone linked to a summary of the episode, below, and they did kick the person off for it. Harsh!
ffmpegy 4y ago
> Branson said he couldn’t afford to have people around him that were afraid to tell him no. So the lesson here is even for a decision that will kill him and everyone around him, he would still rather not entertain debate and challenge from his subordinates?
- lhoff 4y ago
  I think you understood the statement wrong. It also took me a second read to get it. Written differently the sentence could also be phrased the following: > Branson said he want's to have people around him that dare to tell him no.