The contrast between success and failure on BBC’s The Apprentice Episode 2 could not be more clear.
Head girl Stella led the boys to victory, while Laura led the girls of St Trinians to nothing.
Stella’s team won the task of designing a beach accessory and marketing it to retailers.
To me, her greatest success was winning the public and unanimous endorsement of her teammates. Dan Harrow did the opposite last week.
Stella faced a personal challenge. She had the dilemma of whether to strip off and model the beach product, or play the “I’m in charge, I set the tasks” card. She also risked offending her gender dignity.
The men might have seemed to be playing the old scratched record “take one for the team luv”, with its hideous sexist overtones. Initially she refused.
But she holds her composure, refuses to think of herself as less than a talented manager of men, changes her mind and uses the change to lead from the front.
And wins. Just.
Stella draws on her obvious experience as well as her talent.
Laura Moore has rather less experience. She is unprepared for each decision she has to make.
First, anxious not to fail with the wrong choice of product, she leaves it far too late and ends up with a dud.
Next she dithers on a product-exclusivity offer from Boots. There were no other offers.
Finally she can’t work out whom to take back to the boardroom. She changes her mind choosing two different candidates.
So how did she avoid getting fired?
Lord Sugar saves her for two reasons;
1. Joy was worse. She did nothing.
2. the St Trinians were really naughty.
Whilst Stella had risen above gender differences to be at her best, the girls were so badly behaved that female advisor Karren Brady had to give them the “you’ve let the side down girls” pep talk.
I wanted to look away to spare their blushes. You could see the panel also cringing with embarrassment at the shambles.
Next time girls, watch Stella!
See Also The Apprentice: How to get fired;
Dr Steve Lewis's Blog 
I think it’s easy to underestimate how good a job Stella did with what had been a shambolic boys’ team the previous week. And she managed it despite what was essentially insubordination, bullying and sexual harassment by the pre-pubescent trio of Alex, Chris and Christopher. In a real workplace, they would each be facing multiple disciplinaries.
At least the girls stopped short of hair-pulling in the boardroom … but Karren was right to pull them up. Mind you, no one said the same to the boys last week about their testosterone-fuelled antics casting men in the workplace in a bad light too.