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Lessons you can learn from TV business shows
Lessons you can learn from TV business shows
October 29, 2009
Reality TV has taken a big role in raising the profile of entrepreneurship in the UK. But does watching a bunch of self-important investors smugly tearing strips off some poor first-time entrepreneur really show us what it takes to set up and run a small business? Are they conveying sound business lessons or simply mugging for the camera before striding off to negotiate another well-paid advertising contract?
Ok, I’m being deliberately cynical. But I think the major attraction of shows like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice is the in-built ritual of humiliation. It’s sadism as entertainment. Having said that, I reckon there’s plenty a business owner can learn from watching these shows - even if it’s what not to do in business (eg, don’t pitch to Peter Jones unless you’re REALLY sure of your figures; don’t EVER answer back to Alan Sugar, that sort of thing).
Anyway, we’d like to know what you’ve learned from watching TV business shows. Do they contain proper business lessons that entrepreneurs can draw on? Or are these programmes just pure popcorn entertainment where the lesson for business owners is ‘Don’t ever do it like this’?
Let us know! We'll compile the best responses into an article for our newsletter and credit the contributors.
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Comments
I am always shocked by lack of the attention paid to the financial potential; projected turnover and profit forecasts by the show's entrepreneurs as opposed to the marketing, branding and communications, which is where so many of those great ideas we see come a cropper! http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/come-a-cropper.html
I also think that they tell us a lesson about the power of negotiation...many of the entrepreneurs don't negotiate hard enough to get the best result for themselves...if it's a great idea...why give it away?
I must admit now that I run my own business watching the shows has taken on a different significance for me; although I do agree there is still an element of humiliation to the participants I would say that at least 75% of the show contains an insightful flance into what a real business investor would be looking for in a business no matter what level you are at. The rudimentary basics of cashflow - target market - product growth etc are still what the Dragons push home week after week. I find their analysis of the businesses on show insightful and their advice has lead to a change in business strategy for my own company which so far has paid off.
These shows resemble casinos. If you fancy yourself an entrepreneur and find the doors to success remain stubbornly closed why not take a gamble? - you never know it might pay off. But beware, as everyone knows the house carefully guards its built in edge over the punters. A few winners may emerge from the ranks of the hopeful but most will rue the day they ever stepped foot on the casino floor.
Tthe really big winners are the casino operators - without the Apprentice would Alan Sugar ever have found his way to the Lords, without Dragons Den would Simon Jones have ever secured his irksome role as TV pitchman? The lesson from these shows is the seductive power of TV to transform lives and create fortunes. So if you have Sheryl Cole's knack of shameless self promotion and Simon Cowell's bullet-proof self-confidence step up to one of the tables and roll the dice.
We may not learn how to do cash flow projections or spot a good investment from watching these shows, but observing how the participants operate can throw up some useful lessons.
For example, watching Dragons' Den teaches us how easy it is to spot a nervous pitch and helps us avoid some of the telltale gestures that give this away. It also teaches us that preparation and practice are vital if you're going to make a solid pitch and survive under fire.
Similarly, The Apprentice reminds us that even when working in a team, people are usually primarily concerned with their own success. We can observe how these often conflicting concerns are best managed, and how it manifests when one goal overrides the other.
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