Caution - Apprentice Final Spoiler....

If you haven't watched the final yet, look away now.....

........but if you have.....

.....I can't say I am particularly surprised at the outcome. Tom came into the process as a reasonably successful inventor, having design, manufactured, marketed and sold a product into major retail outlets. His only weaknesses throughout the whole process were his inability to lead and manage, and his lack of focus, both of which Lord Sugar would be providing to the winner. In a normal series of The Apprentice he wouldn't have stood a chance, and Helen would be the obvious winner, despite her shortcomings, but this wasn't a normal series. This process was specifically to find a new startup business for Lord Sugar to partner with, and there was really only one winner from the outset.

What was interesting throughout the process was the disparity between Toms apart lack of ability to manage and control, and his exceptional ability to plan and strategise. These traits are normally considered synonymous or at least closely related, but it appeared, with the use of a notebook and constant referencing of thumbnail sketch business plans and accounts that this attention to detail was a learned response, rather than something that came naturally. It would have been interesting to explore this theory further in the post show interviews since as someone who also has been forced by practical considerations to develop similar strategies I would have benefitted from seeing how he had developed his, if indeed he had.

I would personally love to see a special on how he gets on, as I feel this would be a great insight into developing a new business in difficult economic conditions. The only other thing I would say is that were I Tom, the first thing I would try to do is to headhunt Helen and Jim and bring them on board as sales manager and operations manager. A good series I felt, and some very talented individuals this time once the deadwood was removed.