Good luck Viveza!
The Digital Spy Apprentice - Series 2 - Task Eight Boardroom
2 of 3
Viveza, your concept was widely praised as being realistic and having longevity; however, it was also seen as not having much originality behind it, and one viewer was strongly dissatisfied with your responses.
Reflections, your concept was seen as being original, and viewers praised the level of detail that you went into, but several people were concerned about the realism of it, and found it hard to picture a 'festival-wear' label succeeding throughout the year.
Reflections, your concept was seen as being original, and viewers praised the level of detail that you went into, but several people were concerned about the realism of it, and found it hard to picture a 'festival-wear' label succeeding throughout the year.
Reflections, however, earned a total of £3350 in buyer investments, ending up with a lead of £1000 over the competition.
So, congratulations to Reflections! You did an excellent job on this task, and both of you will be returning for the upcoming interviews round.
For Viveza, however, this isn't such good news, as one of you will be fired today.
For Viveza, however, this isn't such good news, as one of you will be fired today.
All right, Zak and Jess, as Carlisle is currently absent, I'm going to post his defence in full before anything else.
Part One:
Quote:
“Of everybody in the process, I would say, without doubt, that I have brought the most passion to the table in every single task I have been in except this one, which I will explain in further detail later on. Not only this, but I have continuously proved that I am willing to work super-hard on any task I have been asked to do, and then produce the work asked for to a high standard. Furthermore, I have consistently been praised in the feedback that the watchers give to us; or given only slight constructive criticisms and am definitely not one to take a backseat approach or shy down to things when we hit a problem. In past tasks I have shown that if I am to blame for anything, I will happily take the blame because in my opinion; pretending that you are not to blame when you are is one of the worst atrocities that you could commit in the boardroom. Even if it puts you in risk of being fired, you should admit your faults and then, if you survive the firing line, work on them for next time.
At times, my passion has turned in to aggression and that is something that I definitely need to work on, and although the previous task was a poor showing for me on this front, I have definitely tried my hardest to lessen my aggressive & rude nature when I come under pressure and/or get blamed for something that isn’t my fault in the boardroom – or, perhaps even worse, disagree with a decision. I can’t go back in time and redo what I did differently; but if I could I can assure you that the mistakes I made when I have faltered in the Boardroom would not be repeated.
In the tasks themselves, I never shy away from work and have proven myself time after time that I am a dedicated, hard working and loyal team player – something that cannot be said about some of the other people in this process… On top of this, I have always completed my work to a high standard, and a standard that has been recognised by nearly every other candidate still in this process at sometime during the process where I have worked with them. I’ve been named strongest member of the team countless times by other people and although I have a poor track record in the win/loss ratios, I have still been praised for my work or decision-making acumen in these tasks. Here is a full explanation of why I should stay going by my past tasks:
Task One:
In Task One I missed the initial idea being created but I suggested the market research (although I didn't actually end up doing it because it was delegated to Gav & Amroussi) which led to the changing of the idea which would've been a massive failure had we stuck to the original - primarily because everybody hated it. On top of this, I made sure I was around as often as I could be and did any work that was asked of me – even when my delegated amount of work wasn’t as much as other people were given. I didn’t cause arguments or problems due to an unfair share of work and I was around on the entire final day leading up to the presentation offering my assistance and helping the others with anything that still needed to be done. This was noted by my watcher at the time and was brought up in the feedback we were given.
Task Two:
I won as Project Manager as well as came up with the winning idea. I was fully composed for the entirety of the task and was praised by the entirety of my team as being an absolutely brilliant PM. Nobody, except Tyjet, could fault my work on that task and without me the end-result would’ve been vastly different. Although it was Gav who delivered the winning pitch – my pitch (with Jess) was praised by the person we pitched to, however it was the product itself that they had a problem with and that was the reason they didn’t order anything. The only criticism I received as a Project Manager was not going out of my way to change dates to meet Amroussi, and even won with a very difficult member of the team who had caused quite a stir for having destroyed one of our three pitches.
Task Three:
The first task that I lost, task three was one of the times in this process where I really rose under the pressure. I had quite a lot of criticism for the Project Manager in this task, which seemed to be shared by the majority of the team, however it was my handling of the discussion that really allowed us to move on. As was noted by my watcher, who also praised me numerous times in the Boardroom throughout for my contribution throughout the task. I settled many problems on the first night, which lead to us eventually picking an artist. I expressed the same concerns that some of the viewers had, with an act like Katy B perhaps not being famous enough to do a successful world tour. I also, according to the watcher, had some of the best ideas in the brainstorming process, with one including One Direction who would’ve, if executed well, had won us the task (according to the watchers opinions) – however was shot down by the rest of the time due to unfair personal opinions and bias; something I outlined firmly before we began the brainstorming process to not take in to account because perhaps we would do best with somebody that we might not all actually like. On top of this, I completed anything that was asked of me and was quite clearly the strongest member of the team.
Task Four:
Probably one of my weakest tasks – the item finding task is a very hit and miss task when it comes down to the number of items you find because you could get great prices but then a second member of the team could outdo you at the last minute. Regardless, I found a number of the items which had the biggest differences between our price and theirs, meaning that some of our items were responsible for our win. Furthermore, in the evaluations I was the ONLY person to be a team player and not say that I had done the best and found the most items; being 100% honest and respectable throughout – something that was mentioned in the feedback we were given.
Task Five:
This was almost certainly my Yasmina massive cock-up moment. I worked flawlessly throughout the task, doing a large share of the work as well as being the only person to present a proper idea in the brainstorming. I presented an idea, albeit the losing one, that everybody else took to immediately and ended up having a bit of a streak with a similar occurrence happening with the name of the product too. I had a large contribution to the task throughout and even fought my own battle against the entirety of the team who thought it would be easy to scapegoat me and save their own skins. Whilst this was, definitely, a moment where I let my anger take the better of me when it came to the way I composed myself in the boardroom, I had many fair arguments in the boardroom and was saved for this reason. I had, without a shadow of a doubt, done the most work in this task and was praised before the boardroom endlessly for this very fact. Whilst my idea was not that great due to the lack of originality we were asked for, the fact I was the only one creative enough to actually come up with an idea on my team speaks for itself.
Task Six:
This one was a weird task for me, actually. I did the work I was asked for, and the fact it was unedited at all suggests that it was to a high standard. I was also a key member of the discussion, coming up with an idea that actually won it for the other team. This was a bit of a shame, actually, because had we executed it as well as we had done for the ‘Best of British’ theme we eventually went for; we probably would’ve won as our pitch was deemed stronger than the other one. I was absent, unfortunately, for the last day of this task (but it was Bank Holiday and I couldn’t not make plans to go for a day out to Thorpe Park because I had to be there to post in the Digital Spy Apprentice) however everything I had done I handed in with good time for any edits or changes to it to be made.
Task Seven:
I decided to step up to the table and Project Manage once again in this task. Although we lost, our twitter received quite a bit of success. I actually visited our twitter earlier today and we’re STILL getting followers (having almost hit 50 now – despite having tweeted about twice since the end of the task where we had 25) – including being re-tweeted by the French Eurovision entrant for this year! I did SO much work, and was literally online for almost 48 hours writing & making sure everything was in order. My team was very split about my PM’ing – with one saying I didn’t do as much as the others (which, he ended up being fired & most people disagreed with him, so…) whilst the other coherently defended me as a great Project Manager. The actual result was very close; as mentioned a lot in the Boardroom leading up to the result – with even our losing effort being praised. I kind of flipped out again, which I am definitely not proud of, and feel quite ashamed looking back in hindsight however I think that the fact that the entirety, bar one, of the public audience watching agreed that ours was better does lend itself some merit to the effort I fronted.”
“Of everybody in the process, I would say, without doubt, that I have brought the most passion to the table in every single task I have been in except this one, which I will explain in further detail later on. Not only this, but I have continuously proved that I am willing to work super-hard on any task I have been asked to do, and then produce the work asked for to a high standard. Furthermore, I have consistently been praised in the feedback that the watchers give to us; or given only slight constructive criticisms and am definitely not one to take a backseat approach or shy down to things when we hit a problem. In past tasks I have shown that if I am to blame for anything, I will happily take the blame because in my opinion; pretending that you are not to blame when you are is one of the worst atrocities that you could commit in the boardroom. Even if it puts you in risk of being fired, you should admit your faults and then, if you survive the firing line, work on them for next time.
At times, my passion has turned in to aggression and that is something that I definitely need to work on, and although the previous task was a poor showing for me on this front, I have definitely tried my hardest to lessen my aggressive & rude nature when I come under pressure and/or get blamed for something that isn’t my fault in the boardroom – or, perhaps even worse, disagree with a decision. I can’t go back in time and redo what I did differently; but if I could I can assure you that the mistakes I made when I have faltered in the Boardroom would not be repeated.
In the tasks themselves, I never shy away from work and have proven myself time after time that I am a dedicated, hard working and loyal team player – something that cannot be said about some of the other people in this process… On top of this, I have always completed my work to a high standard, and a standard that has been recognised by nearly every other candidate still in this process at sometime during the process where I have worked with them. I’ve been named strongest member of the team countless times by other people and although I have a poor track record in the win/loss ratios, I have still been praised for my work or decision-making acumen in these tasks. Here is a full explanation of why I should stay going by my past tasks:
Task One:
In Task One I missed the initial idea being created but I suggested the market research (although I didn't actually end up doing it because it was delegated to Gav & Amroussi) which led to the changing of the idea which would've been a massive failure had we stuck to the original - primarily because everybody hated it. On top of this, I made sure I was around as often as I could be and did any work that was asked of me – even when my delegated amount of work wasn’t as much as other people were given. I didn’t cause arguments or problems due to an unfair share of work and I was around on the entire final day leading up to the presentation offering my assistance and helping the others with anything that still needed to be done. This was noted by my watcher at the time and was brought up in the feedback we were given.
Task Two:
I won as Project Manager as well as came up with the winning idea. I was fully composed for the entirety of the task and was praised by the entirety of my team as being an absolutely brilliant PM. Nobody, except Tyjet, could fault my work on that task and without me the end-result would’ve been vastly different. Although it was Gav who delivered the winning pitch – my pitch (with Jess) was praised by the person we pitched to, however it was the product itself that they had a problem with and that was the reason they didn’t order anything. The only criticism I received as a Project Manager was not going out of my way to change dates to meet Amroussi, and even won with a very difficult member of the team who had caused quite a stir for having destroyed one of our three pitches.
Task Three:
The first task that I lost, task three was one of the times in this process where I really rose under the pressure. I had quite a lot of criticism for the Project Manager in this task, which seemed to be shared by the majority of the team, however it was my handling of the discussion that really allowed us to move on. As was noted by my watcher, who also praised me numerous times in the Boardroom throughout for my contribution throughout the task. I settled many problems on the first night, which lead to us eventually picking an artist. I expressed the same concerns that some of the viewers had, with an act like Katy B perhaps not being famous enough to do a successful world tour. I also, according to the watcher, had some of the best ideas in the brainstorming process, with one including One Direction who would’ve, if executed well, had won us the task (according to the watchers opinions) – however was shot down by the rest of the time due to unfair personal opinions and bias; something I outlined firmly before we began the brainstorming process to not take in to account because perhaps we would do best with somebody that we might not all actually like. On top of this, I completed anything that was asked of me and was quite clearly the strongest member of the team.
Task Four:
Probably one of my weakest tasks – the item finding task is a very hit and miss task when it comes down to the number of items you find because you could get great prices but then a second member of the team could outdo you at the last minute. Regardless, I found a number of the items which had the biggest differences between our price and theirs, meaning that some of our items were responsible for our win. Furthermore, in the evaluations I was the ONLY person to be a team player and not say that I had done the best and found the most items; being 100% honest and respectable throughout – something that was mentioned in the feedback we were given.
Task Five:
This was almost certainly my Yasmina massive cock-up moment. I worked flawlessly throughout the task, doing a large share of the work as well as being the only person to present a proper idea in the brainstorming. I presented an idea, albeit the losing one, that everybody else took to immediately and ended up having a bit of a streak with a similar occurrence happening with the name of the product too. I had a large contribution to the task throughout and even fought my own battle against the entirety of the team who thought it would be easy to scapegoat me and save their own skins. Whilst this was, definitely, a moment where I let my anger take the better of me when it came to the way I composed myself in the boardroom, I had many fair arguments in the boardroom and was saved for this reason. I had, without a shadow of a doubt, done the most work in this task and was praised before the boardroom endlessly for this very fact. Whilst my idea was not that great due to the lack of originality we were asked for, the fact I was the only one creative enough to actually come up with an idea on my team speaks for itself.
Task Six:
This one was a weird task for me, actually. I did the work I was asked for, and the fact it was unedited at all suggests that it was to a high standard. I was also a key member of the discussion, coming up with an idea that actually won it for the other team. This was a bit of a shame, actually, because had we executed it as well as we had done for the ‘Best of British’ theme we eventually went for; we probably would’ve won as our pitch was deemed stronger than the other one. I was absent, unfortunately, for the last day of this task (but it was Bank Holiday and I couldn’t not make plans to go for a day out to Thorpe Park because I had to be there to post in the Digital Spy Apprentice) however everything I had done I handed in with good time for any edits or changes to it to be made.
Task Seven:
I decided to step up to the table and Project Manage once again in this task. Although we lost, our twitter received quite a bit of success. I actually visited our twitter earlier today and we’re STILL getting followers (having almost hit 50 now – despite having tweeted about twice since the end of the task where we had 25) – including being re-tweeted by the French Eurovision entrant for this year! I did SO much work, and was literally online for almost 48 hours writing & making sure everything was in order. My team was very split about my PM’ing – with one saying I didn’t do as much as the others (which, he ended up being fired & most people disagreed with him, so…) whilst the other coherently defended me as a great Project Manager. The actual result was very close; as mentioned a lot in the Boardroom leading up to the result – with even our losing effort being praised. I kind of flipped out again, which I am definitely not proud of, and feel quite ashamed looking back in hindsight however I think that the fact that the entirety, bar one, of the public audience watching agreed that ours was better does lend itself some merit to the effort I fronted.”
Part Two:
Quote:
“This leads to this task…
This task I have been absolutely blindsided my the rest of my ‘team’ – who I’m almost positive have schemed that if we were to lose, they could turn on me – who have now been in the Boardroom (albeit twice by default) for the past three tasks in a row now; clearly deeming me a weak candidate.
As some of you know, it was my 18th birthday on Wednesday. As a milestone birthday, it’s pretty apparent that I would be considerably busy throughout the latter half of the week and everybody knew this by at least Thursday night; when I got back from a meal with my friends. I did ask for the task to be pushed back to a Friday (or Saturday) start, however due to other peoples time restraints this wasn’t an option and so I had to roll with it – which I did. Many of you probably know that I hate playing the victim, so the fact I’m actually openly admitting this is quite a big deal for me.
I laid out the times, admittedly which weren’t great, that I would be around due to birthday activities (like going to the pub on Friday night for the first time, and having family from Kent come to see me on the Saturday morning & afternoon) and this was known by the rest of my team (Anactoria has screenshots of chatlogs if anybody wants to see it was definitely mentioned) by Thursday night. On the Friday, I arrived earlier than I expected to the 3:30 meeting (I was expecting to be on at about 4 due to school commitments) but got back at about 3:50ish, which might not be a big deal but it was still a ten minute advantage – or so I thought.
I was presented with our chosen theme and concepts, of ‘Nocturnal’ Friday night clothing – however, when I asked a simple question about it; the rest of my team (Jess in particular) began to act as if I was stupid. This was when things started to go downhill, to be honest. I then queried the fact that the Friday Night market was a bit broad – suggesting we targeted something a bit more niche such as plus sized clothing – something that one of the watchers, whom I told at a later time, thought was a good idea. I thought this would be a good idea because using my mother as a case study, she isn’t skinny (but not obese either) and she finds getting clothes that fit her and don’t look terrible on her a huge ordeal and hassle. With this in mind, and also a quick research online to see that male plus sized clothes are even harder to come across, deemed it in my mind a strong idea. It was shut down by the project manager (and Jess had already mentioned it, in her defense, the night before when I wasn’t around) unfortunately; so I settled for the Friday night theme which I then backed 100% and wasn’t about to sabotage it, despite a ridiculous & petty argument over the inclusion of a coat (once again, Anactoria has screenshots if other people want to see this argument).
I was delegated my amount of work, and had already set out a time that I would be available on the Saturday afternoon (I said 5, but in reality I was online and available at 3:30 – giving me plenty of time to complete my work). However, upon return I discover that all of the work I was set has already been re-delegated and completed; in my absence – leaving me with nothing to do. Then, when I argued that I had nothing to add to the huge amount of work I have completed over the past 8 weeks, Zak was kind enough to delegate me a tiny amount of work that still needed completing. Having got straight to that, cooperatively, I was writing away for about 20 minutes and then I received a 1on1 msn conversation pop-up with Jess. In this, which has also been screenshot, Jess goes out of her way to try and wind me up and bait me – basically suggesting that my ideas are so great that I would be writing about a Dalmatian onesie… Yeah, go figure. This, understandably, frustrated me and in hindsight I definitely did not react the way I should’ve done! I ignored her childish comments, however I did close the word document I had been using – losing the past 20 minutes of work. Whilst this was definitely childish, I feel as if the fact another member of the team would actually go out of her way to cause trouble (which she has been reported of doing in the past) says it all, really! I have stuck to my guns throughout this and remained a team player, even when being scapegoated – but this task was my climax to be honest.
I have absolutely nothing to show for myself, however I declined an offer to go out for tea with the rest of my family (call me an idiot) so I could get back at the time previously arranged to be able to do work. This just highlights my passion for this show and proves that even though I shouldn’t, I have put it before real life – making me a massive idiot, sure. However, the reasoning behind it in my head was that throughout the process I have always been one of the most reliable candidates in a team and have never ever not showed up, or not delivered the work I was asked to complete and I did not want to start now!
I’ve let myself down bigtime this task; however I’m afraid it was unavoidable. I know that in the past inactivity has been used to fire people; but I swear to god I will not repeat it if you let me through to the interviews stage. It was my 18th birthday, the one time in my life where I gain independence and the ability to drink out in public – of course I was going to celebrate; just like all of you will have celebrated your 18th birthdays (or will, if it hasn’t happened, yet).
Although my contribution was practically nothing, except a few inputs in discussions and answering a question in the team thread; I hope you can at least partly excuse me for my lack of being around. I know it looks really bad, but it’s a once in a lifetime occurrence and there was no way I going to put DSA infront of my 18th birthday – on top of that I actually passed my driving test (first time around) on my birthday, too, meaning that I had even more to go out and celebrate! The rest of my team knew that due to my absence in this task, I opened myself up to being an easy target in the boardroom and they took full advantage of that. Yesterday when I mentioned about me being scapegoated to them, they both came up with so many justifications or wishy-washy reasons as to why it happened that it just goes to show that they ARE guilty of doing it.
They saw the opportunity to dispose of me if we happened to lose – as well as ensuring that both of them could get through. Jess has been exposed as a liar, as well as being as sly and cunning as a fox throughout this process and I honestly, in this sort of circumstance, wouldn’t trust her at all – especially not for going in to business.
I hope that my past accomplishments and attendance, as well as the clear passion & drive I have for this competition plays at least a small part in keeping me around; because honestly, I feel as if I have been amongst the top 4 strongest candidates throughout this process and whilst being so inactive at such a late stage of the competition is inexcusable, the entire process has to be taken in to account when it comes to the decision – I’m SO reliable (when it’s not my birthday – but you don’t have to worry about that for another year), so you should definitely pick me to be in the final 4!”
“This leads to this task…
This task I have been absolutely blindsided my the rest of my ‘team’ – who I’m almost positive have schemed that if we were to lose, they could turn on me – who have now been in the Boardroom (albeit twice by default) for the past three tasks in a row now; clearly deeming me a weak candidate.
As some of you know, it was my 18th birthday on Wednesday. As a milestone birthday, it’s pretty apparent that I would be considerably busy throughout the latter half of the week and everybody knew this by at least Thursday night; when I got back from a meal with my friends. I did ask for the task to be pushed back to a Friday (or Saturday) start, however due to other peoples time restraints this wasn’t an option and so I had to roll with it – which I did. Many of you probably know that I hate playing the victim, so the fact I’m actually openly admitting this is quite a big deal for me.
I laid out the times, admittedly which weren’t great, that I would be around due to birthday activities (like going to the pub on Friday night for the first time, and having family from Kent come to see me on the Saturday morning & afternoon) and this was known by the rest of my team (Anactoria has screenshots of chatlogs if anybody wants to see it was definitely mentioned) by Thursday night. On the Friday, I arrived earlier than I expected to the 3:30 meeting (I was expecting to be on at about 4 due to school commitments) but got back at about 3:50ish, which might not be a big deal but it was still a ten minute advantage – or so I thought.
I was presented with our chosen theme and concepts, of ‘Nocturnal’ Friday night clothing – however, when I asked a simple question about it; the rest of my team (Jess in particular) began to act as if I was stupid. This was when things started to go downhill, to be honest. I then queried the fact that the Friday Night market was a bit broad – suggesting we targeted something a bit more niche such as plus sized clothing – something that one of the watchers, whom I told at a later time, thought was a good idea. I thought this would be a good idea because using my mother as a case study, she isn’t skinny (but not obese either) and she finds getting clothes that fit her and don’t look terrible on her a huge ordeal and hassle. With this in mind, and also a quick research online to see that male plus sized clothes are even harder to come across, deemed it in my mind a strong idea. It was shut down by the project manager (and Jess had already mentioned it, in her defense, the night before when I wasn’t around) unfortunately; so I settled for the Friday night theme which I then backed 100% and wasn’t about to sabotage it, despite a ridiculous & petty argument over the inclusion of a coat (once again, Anactoria has screenshots if other people want to see this argument).
I was delegated my amount of work, and had already set out a time that I would be available on the Saturday afternoon (I said 5, but in reality I was online and available at 3:30 – giving me plenty of time to complete my work). However, upon return I discover that all of the work I was set has already been re-delegated and completed; in my absence – leaving me with nothing to do. Then, when I argued that I had nothing to add to the huge amount of work I have completed over the past 8 weeks, Zak was kind enough to delegate me a tiny amount of work that still needed completing. Having got straight to that, cooperatively, I was writing away for about 20 minutes and then I received a 1on1 msn conversation pop-up with Jess. In this, which has also been screenshot, Jess goes out of her way to try and wind me up and bait me – basically suggesting that my ideas are so great that I would be writing about a Dalmatian onesie… Yeah, go figure. This, understandably, frustrated me and in hindsight I definitely did not react the way I should’ve done! I ignored her childish comments, however I did close the word document I had been using – losing the past 20 minutes of work. Whilst this was definitely childish, I feel as if the fact another member of the team would actually go out of her way to cause trouble (which she has been reported of doing in the past) says it all, really! I have stuck to my guns throughout this and remained a team player, even when being scapegoated – but this task was my climax to be honest.
I have absolutely nothing to show for myself, however I declined an offer to go out for tea with the rest of my family (call me an idiot) so I could get back at the time previously arranged to be able to do work. This just highlights my passion for this show and proves that even though I shouldn’t, I have put it before real life – making me a massive idiot, sure. However, the reasoning behind it in my head was that throughout the process I have always been one of the most reliable candidates in a team and have never ever not showed up, or not delivered the work I was asked to complete and I did not want to start now!
I’ve let myself down bigtime this task; however I’m afraid it was unavoidable. I know that in the past inactivity has been used to fire people; but I swear to god I will not repeat it if you let me through to the interviews stage. It was my 18th birthday, the one time in my life where I gain independence and the ability to drink out in public – of course I was going to celebrate; just like all of you will have celebrated your 18th birthdays (or will, if it hasn’t happened, yet).
Although my contribution was practically nothing, except a few inputs in discussions and answering a question in the team thread; I hope you can at least partly excuse me for my lack of being around. I know it looks really bad, but it’s a once in a lifetime occurrence and there was no way I going to put DSA infront of my 18th birthday – on top of that I actually passed my driving test (first time around) on my birthday, too, meaning that I had even more to go out and celebrate! The rest of my team knew that due to my absence in this task, I opened myself up to being an easy target in the boardroom and they took full advantage of that. Yesterday when I mentioned about me being scapegoated to them, they both came up with so many justifications or wishy-washy reasons as to why it happened that it just goes to show that they ARE guilty of doing it.
They saw the opportunity to dispose of me if we happened to lose – as well as ensuring that both of them could get through. Jess has been exposed as a liar, as well as being as sly and cunning as a fox throughout this process and I honestly, in this sort of circumstance, wouldn’t trust her at all – especially not for going in to business.
I hope that my past accomplishments and attendance, as well as the clear passion & drive I have for this competition plays at least a small part in keeping me around; because honestly, I feel as if I have been amongst the top 4 strongest candidates throughout this process and whilst being so inactive at such a late stage of the competition is inexcusable, the entire process has to be taken in to account when it comes to the decision – I’m SO reliable (when it’s not my birthday – but you don’t have to worry about that for another year), so you should definitely pick me to be in the final 4!”
Now, Zak and Jess, I'd like to hear from you. Who do you think should be fired (I think I can guess on this one), and why should it not be you?
I’m going to start off by recalling my contributions to this task with the assumption that it has at least the slightest effect as of who will be fired in this task, I would be fairly surprised if it didn’t. First of all, let’s start from the very beginning, which consists of the brand name and theme of our new fashion line. The theme we went with in the end was based around the idea of going out on a Friday night, which was a theme that I suggested. Then, in this chronological order, we thought of the brand name in which we went for Nocturnal – this was the name that I suggested after suggesting many others, including: ‘Night Life’ and ‘Anticipation’ – but in the end we went for Nocturnal.
Now in terms of my actual standard of contribution in terms of the tasks required for us to do as part of a representative success criterion, I did a lot. In the end, I ended up doing the following tasks:[list][*](The Brand Name);[*](The Brand Theme);[*]Target Audience;[*]Investment Money;[*]The Pitch*;[*]Central Focuses*.[/list]The asterisks are next to the two tasks that were shared between Jess and myself.
However, looking at how the original tasks were originally delegated with this image – this image being clickable – it wouldn’t necessarily take a genius to realise that I did far more than what I had originally delegated myself, and I need to explain why in further detail. The task began at thirteen minutes past six, which when me and Jess were online with no sign of Carlisle appearing – he had told us he won’t be here for “any of the task” and also congratulated Jess and myself for getting to the interviews because of this, this tells me he had planned to not be present. However, this was soon revoked as he stumbled online just after the ‘Never Ending X Factor Game’ had finished at approximately thirty-five minutes past nine and ten minutes after that, we began a conversation where I asked him to read the task and get back to me, ten minutes had passed from then and he still hadn’t read the task – this told me he wasn’t interested, but eventually he read it. He then asked me where we had got up to so far and I sent him an image slightly similar to the one above though not as advanced – at this point, we were about to start delegating the tasks. He (Carlisle) then provoked his opinions explaining that he didn’t like the theme Jess and myself had went with, which was very irritating because we had spent two hours thinking of a theme and a name, so we had to go back to square one until forty minutes later he stops and goes “actually, I like it”, what an absolute waste of time. We then continued and I began delegating the tasks, in the image shown above, which everybody seemed fine with.
Carlisle mentioned to me on that night that he was going to be available “Saturday afternoon”, I am unaware whether or not he specified a time, and he says he said 4pm? This is all well and good, however I had set him two quite large tasks to do and the deadline being 6pm meant we had to post at a reasonable time of around half five to make sure we were on time and didn’t miss the deadline. So, it hit 3:45pm and Carlisle signed on. However, an hour or so before that I had a look at the tasks he was set and took one of them and gave it for Jess and myself to do, which was one third of the central focuses task. This left him to do: the links to demonstrate our clothing style in comparison to other markets and the individual clothing. He asked me “Zak, I’m not sure what emblematic means”, which was his first task and suggested how he hadn’t done anything yet. However, he was on the majority of the night on Thursday, which gives him no excuse to not have completed at least some of his tasks. I then asked him “How much have you done?” and he replied with “Nothing.” This then told me I had made the right decision in completing one of his tasks since he hadn’t done anything, it saved him work to do and since Jess & I had finished our work hours ago, it gave us something to do so we could get ahead and not be hanging around. He then went off in some sort of huff and an argument exploded along the lines of “you two are just trying to scapegoat me”.
This was obviously not the case. In fact, it was more a case of wanting to win, than wanting him to get fired. I then explained to him the tasks he had left to do which we were yet to complete (the links and the individual clothing), and he said “okay”. Twenty minutes later Jess asked him “How are you getting on?” and he replied with “What was I meant to do?” which was excruciatingly irritating. We had an hour and twenty minutes left so I explained it once more and he apparently got to work on it. It got to forty-five minutes past four and he said “You two have probably already done it, so I’m not going to do it”, he chose not to do the work. I asked him to be a team-player and he thought that was hypocritical because we had done some of his work for his benefit, which didn’t make sense. So, Jess & myself did his work. This meant Carlisle has done nothing in this task. That night, after the boardroom, he explained how by 5pm he had done 80% of the work and deleted it because “Jess was baiting him” saying how his “individual clothing designs will probably include a Dalmatian onesie”, so he deleted it. However, there was no evidence he had done the work, so there was no reason for me to believe him.
However, that’s not even the point I was trying to make. The idea that he had only completed 80% of the work by 5pm meant that I made the right decision in taking one of his tasks away, otherwise he would have had to have done the extra 20% of the work he had done and then the whole other task that we had done a while ago. We would not have finished in time, I made the correct PM decision. Jess and myself did everything this task, he did nothing by choice and if Carlisle does not get fired this task, it would be, in DS: Apprentice terms, a ridiculous choice.
Now in terms of my actual standard of contribution in terms of the tasks required for us to do as part of a representative success criterion, I did a lot. In the end, I ended up doing the following tasks:[list][*](The Brand Name);[*](The Brand Theme);[*]Target Audience;[*]Investment Money;[*]The Pitch*;[*]Central Focuses*.[/list]The asterisks are next to the two tasks that were shared between Jess and myself.
However, looking at how the original tasks were originally delegated with this image – this image being clickable – it wouldn’t necessarily take a genius to realise that I did far more than what I had originally delegated myself, and I need to explain why in further detail. The task began at thirteen minutes past six, which when me and Jess were online with no sign of Carlisle appearing – he had told us he won’t be here for “any of the task” and also congratulated Jess and myself for getting to the interviews because of this, this tells me he had planned to not be present. However, this was soon revoked as he stumbled online just after the ‘Never Ending X Factor Game’ had finished at approximately thirty-five minutes past nine and ten minutes after that, we began a conversation where I asked him to read the task and get back to me, ten minutes had passed from then and he still hadn’t read the task – this told me he wasn’t interested, but eventually he read it. He then asked me where we had got up to so far and I sent him an image slightly similar to the one above though not as advanced – at this point, we were about to start delegating the tasks. He (Carlisle) then provoked his opinions explaining that he didn’t like the theme Jess and myself had went with, which was very irritating because we had spent two hours thinking of a theme and a name, so we had to go back to square one until forty minutes later he stops and goes “actually, I like it”, what an absolute waste of time. We then continued and I began delegating the tasks, in the image shown above, which everybody seemed fine with.
Carlisle mentioned to me on that night that he was going to be available “Saturday afternoon”, I am unaware whether or not he specified a time, and he says he said 4pm? This is all well and good, however I had set him two quite large tasks to do and the deadline being 6pm meant we had to post at a reasonable time of around half five to make sure we were on time and didn’t miss the deadline. So, it hit 3:45pm and Carlisle signed on. However, an hour or so before that I had a look at the tasks he was set and took one of them and gave it for Jess and myself to do, which was one third of the central focuses task. This left him to do: the links to demonstrate our clothing style in comparison to other markets and the individual clothing. He asked me “Zak, I’m not sure what emblematic means”, which was his first task and suggested how he hadn’t done anything yet. However, he was on the majority of the night on Thursday, which gives him no excuse to not have completed at least some of his tasks. I then asked him “How much have you done?” and he replied with “Nothing.” This then told me I had made the right decision in completing one of his tasks since he hadn’t done anything, it saved him work to do and since Jess & I had finished our work hours ago, it gave us something to do so we could get ahead and not be hanging around. He then went off in some sort of huff and an argument exploded along the lines of “you two are just trying to scapegoat me”.
This was obviously not the case. In fact, it was more a case of wanting to win, than wanting him to get fired. I then explained to him the tasks he had left to do which we were yet to complete (the links and the individual clothing), and he said “okay”. Twenty minutes later Jess asked him “How are you getting on?” and he replied with “What was I meant to do?” which was excruciatingly irritating. We had an hour and twenty minutes left so I explained it once more and he apparently got to work on it. It got to forty-five minutes past four and he said “You two have probably already done it, so I’m not going to do it”, he chose not to do the work. I asked him to be a team-player and he thought that was hypocritical because we had done some of his work for his benefit, which didn’t make sense. So, Jess & myself did his work. This meant Carlisle has done nothing in this task. That night, after the boardroom, he explained how by 5pm he had done 80% of the work and deleted it because “Jess was baiting him” saying how his “individual clothing designs will probably include a Dalmatian onesie”, so he deleted it. However, there was no evidence he had done the work, so there was no reason for me to believe him.
However, that’s not even the point I was trying to make. The idea that he had only completed 80% of the work by 5pm meant that I made the right decision in taking one of his tasks away, otherwise he would have had to have done the extra 20% of the work he had done and then the whole other task that we had done a while ago. We would not have finished in time, I made the correct PM decision. Jess and myself did everything this task, he did nothing by choice and if Carlisle does not get fired this task, it would be, in DS: Apprentice terms, a ridiculous choice.
Well, as you have said it's obvious, it should be Carlisle. He mentions his 'passion' but there is no passion, at all- I don't think not producing a single piece of work in the whole task is passion- it's being lazy. And over the task, Carlisle did a fair bot of baiting as well ''Guys, Tyjet says that my birthday celebrations excuse lack of work' . I'm sorry, but there is a difference between personal life and being online for 2 hours and arguing, being rude and then constant winding me up as though he was some sort of alarm clock. OMG, I'm so annoyed that he's pinning him doing no work on me! Before I even spoke about the onesie (once again joke) he was pretty adamant he wasn't going to do anything.
And I messaged him saying I hated it when he was so angry, and there was still time to do work if he wanted, but no he didn't. Me and Zak were confused when he posted on our thread asking for questions- we were terrified that if he replied a question he would sabotage the task.
I should remain in the competition, because I'm a headstrong individual with great plans for the future, I'm sorry if this isn't a 3200 word reply, but all I can say is that this is the god honest truth. I've grown over the course of the competition, and if I'm asked to do something, I'll do it, I put so much time into this competition, and actually want to remain in the process. In every recent task i have put so much effort in and worked so hard, and I will always, always continue my work with this policy in mind. I understand that I'm an easy target to be fired, my past isn't exactly as clear as glass, but I am dedicated to this competition, and I feel I have so much more to give.
And I messaged him saying I hated it when he was so angry, and there was still time to do work if he wanted, but no he didn't. Me and Zak were confused when he posted on our thread asking for questions- we were terrified that if he replied a question he would sabotage the task.
I should remain in the competition, because I'm a headstrong individual with great plans for the future, I'm sorry if this isn't a 3200 word reply, but all I can say is that this is the god honest truth. I've grown over the course of the competition, and if I'm asked to do something, I'll do it, I put so much time into this competition, and actually want to remain in the process. In every recent task i have put so much effort in and worked so hard, and I will always, always continue my work with this policy in mind. I understand that I'm an easy target to be fired, my past isn't exactly as clear as glass, but I am dedicated to this competition, and I feel I have so much more to give.
As you know, at this stage in the competition I'm not just looking at what has happened in the task itself, but also at what has taken place over the competition as a whole.
Carlisle has obviously gone through each task looking at how he contributed; I'm not asking either of you to go into that level of detail, but could you pick out a couple of tasks that you feel were especially strong for you, and explain why?
Carlisle has obviously gone through each task looking at how he contributed; I'm not asking either of you to go into that level of detail, but could you pick out a couple of tasks that you feel were especially strong for you, and explain why?
I'm in my friends toilet on my ipod so I can't post a massive long post
But Zak - I was about until gone 10pm on Thursday night at my birthday meal? I can screenshot the facebook event later if you'd like.
You were terrified that I wanted to be part of the team? Wow. Whenever I was around I was doing my best to try and help the team until you or Zak did what you could to screw me over.
I think it says something that although she has a good record, every time Jess has lost she was taken in to the final boardroom.
But, you have everything I have to say on this matter so by no means was ita my 'choice' to not be around or my 'choice' to not do work as zak would have you believe.
Ill come back to the toilet before we leave my friends house but until then good luck and I hope that you can see past Jess' vicious assassination attempts - something we've all seen her do in the past.
But Zak - I was about until gone 10pm on Thursday night at my birthday meal? I can screenshot the facebook event later if you'd like.
You were terrified that I wanted to be part of the team? Wow. Whenever I was around I was doing my best to try and help the team until you or Zak did what you could to screw me over.
I think it says something that although she has a good record, every time Jess has lost she was taken in to the final boardroom.
But, you have everything I have to say on this matter so by no means was ita my 'choice' to not be around or my 'choice' to not do work as zak would have you believe.
Ill come back to the toilet before we leave my friends house but until then good luck and I hope that you can see past Jess' vicious assassination attempts - something we've all seen her do in the past.
Originally Posted by anactoria:
“
“
As you know, at this stage in the competition I'm not just looking at what has happened in the task itself, but also at what has taken place over the competition as a whole.
Carlisle has obviously gone through each task looking at how he contributed; I'm not asking either of you to go into that level of detail, but could you pick out a couple of tasks that you feel were especially strong for you, and explain why?
”
Carlisle has obviously gone through each task looking at how he contributed; I'm not asking either of you to go into that level of detail, but could you pick out a couple of tasks that you feel were especially strong for you, and explain why?
Okay;[list][*]In task #1, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #2, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #3, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #4, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #5, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #6, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #7, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #8, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[/list]The only reasons I've ever been brought into the boardroom is when I've lost as PM, which is twice, and I don't believe I've been the reason for any of those losses and there must be a reason why I've never been brought back into the boardroom, and the answer is that I've been one of the hardest workers in the team every time and have never really deserved to be brought back in. I may not be the most argumentative person and therefore the most dynamic, but in terms of effort, I exceed. I don't think those who make it through to the interview stage should be determined by whoever is the most 'fun to watch' in the boardroom. I think it should be determined on effort, on the actual standard of work, and on the level of determination. If you are basing your decision on these three things, I deserve to reach the interview stage.
The touring task- Okay, I know that professionally this was not my strongest task, but I think it was definitely a turning point for me. It was in this task where I realized my full dedication to this competition, where I put more effort inot that work than I have ever done before online. I knew I had to make up for my, really really childish actions, and I knew that I had to be 110% for the rest of the competition.
The Golden Jubilee task- This was my second time at PMing, also my second PM win. This task, I had the most lovely people to work with, and I had such a passion for the Royals I spent such a long time working with my team to create the best event schedule possible. This was, by far, the task I loved the most- the people on my team were all very successful, and with my own qualities, we won, and it's definitely a great achievement for me.
The blog task- On this task, I had such a sense of team unity, and we all worked extremely well, we put so much time into the task, and we will definitely carry on with it once the competition is finished. We worked on sustainability in that task, and when we relaunch our campaign, it will definitely be something I will be proud of.
I understand I have weaknesses, I understand that sometimes, views get in the way. But up until this task, since my main two 'rivals' have left the process, I have worked extremely hard and well with my team. This task (as I'm sure Zak understands) made us both completely lose our tether. I didn't know if Carlisle would appear, I don't know if Zak did, but all I know (giving credit to Carlisle from what he told me) is that I came up with a great idea which we could've had great success with. I'm always keen to work hard, and I know that I am an easy target, I'm the person people predicted to leave early, but I have tried so hard to be a great candidate.
The Golden Jubilee task- This was my second time at PMing, also my second PM win. This task, I had the most lovely people to work with, and I had such a passion for the Royals I spent such a long time working with my team to create the best event schedule possible. This was, by far, the task I loved the most- the people on my team were all very successful, and with my own qualities, we won, and it's definitely a great achievement for me.
The blog task- On this task, I had such a sense of team unity, and we all worked extremely well, we put so much time into the task, and we will definitely carry on with it once the competition is finished. We worked on sustainability in that task, and when we relaunch our campaign, it will definitely be something I will be proud of.
I understand I have weaknesses, I understand that sometimes, views get in the way. But up until this task, since my main two 'rivals' have left the process, I have worked extremely hard and well with my team. This task (as I'm sure Zak understands) made us both completely lose our tether. I didn't know if Carlisle would appear, I don't know if Zak did, but all I know (giving credit to Carlisle from what he told me) is that I came up with a great idea which we could've had great success with. I'm always keen to work hard, and I know that I am an easy target, I'm the person people predicted to leave early, but I have tried so hard to be a great candidate.
Originally Posted by Satanel:
“Okay;[list][*]In task #1, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #2, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #3, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #4, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #5, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #6, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #7, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #8, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[/list]The only reasons I've ever been brought into the boardroom is when I've lost as PM, which is twice, and I don't believe I've been the reason for any of those losses and there must be a reason why I've never been brought back into the boardroom, and the answer is that I've been one of the hardest workers in the team every time and have never really deserved to be brought back in. I may not be the most argumentative person and therefore the most dynamic, but in terms of effort, I exceed. I don't think those who make it through to the interview stage should be determined by whoever is the most 'fun to watch' in the boardroom. I think it should be determined on effort, on the actual standard of work, and on the level of determination. If you are basing your decision on these three things, I deserve to reach the interview stage.”
“Okay;[list][*]In task #1, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #2, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #3, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #4, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #5, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #6, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #7, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[*]In task #8, I wasn't brought back into the boardroom.[/list]The only reasons I've ever been brought into the boardroom is when I've lost as PM, which is twice, and I don't believe I've been the reason for any of those losses and there must be a reason why I've never been brought back into the boardroom, and the answer is that I've been one of the hardest workers in the team every time and have never really deserved to be brought back in. I may not be the most argumentative person and therefore the most dynamic, but in terms of effort, I exceed. I don't think those who make it through to the interview stage should be determined by whoever is the most 'fun to watch' in the boardroom. I think it should be determined on effort, on the actual standard of work, and on the level of determination. If you are basing your decision on these three things, I deserve to reach the interview stage.”
Don't you think it's a little arrogant to say that you weren't responsible for your PM losses? In the end, both losses came down to the concepts that your teams came up with, and you were ultimately responsible for these.
Originally Posted by I've Got Class:
“The touring task- Okay, I know that professionally this was not my strongest task, but I think it was definitely a turning point for me. It was in this task where I realized my full dedication to this competition, where I put more effort inot that work than I have ever done before online. I knew I had to make up for my, really really childish actions, and I knew that I had to be 110% for the rest of the competition.
The Golden Jubilee task- This was my second time at PMing, also my second PM win. This task, I had the most lovely people to work with, and I had such a passion for the Royals I spent such a long time working with my team to create the best event schedule possible. This was, by far, the task I loved the most- the people on my team were all very successful, and with my own qualities, we won, and it's definitely a great achievement for me.
The blog task- On this task, I had such a sense of team unity, and we all worked extremely well, we put so much time into the task, and we will definitely carry on with it once the competition is finished. We worked on sustainability in that task, and when we relaunch our campaign, it will definitely be something I will be proud of.
I understand I have weaknesses, I understand that sometimes, views get in the way. But up until this task, since my main two 'rivals' have left the process, I have worked extremely hard and well with my team. This task (as I'm sure Zak understands) made us both completely lose our tether. I didn't know if Carlisle would appear, I don't know if Zak did, but all I know (giving credit to Carlisle from what he told me) is that I came up with a great idea which we could've had great success with. I'm always keen to work hard, and I know that I am an easy target, I'm the person people predicted to leave early, but I have tried so hard to be a great candidate.”
“The touring task- Okay, I know that professionally this was not my strongest task, but I think it was definitely a turning point for me. It was in this task where I realized my full dedication to this competition, where I put more effort inot that work than I have ever done before online. I knew I had to make up for my, really really childish actions, and I knew that I had to be 110% for the rest of the competition.
The Golden Jubilee task- This was my second time at PMing, also my second PM win. This task, I had the most lovely people to work with, and I had such a passion for the Royals I spent such a long time working with my team to create the best event schedule possible. This was, by far, the task I loved the most- the people on my team were all very successful, and with my own qualities, we won, and it's definitely a great achievement for me.
The blog task- On this task, I had such a sense of team unity, and we all worked extremely well, we put so much time into the task, and we will definitely carry on with it once the competition is finished. We worked on sustainability in that task, and when we relaunch our campaign, it will definitely be something I will be proud of.
I understand I have weaknesses, I understand that sometimes, views get in the way. But up until this task, since my main two 'rivals' have left the process, I have worked extremely hard and well with my team. This task (as I'm sure Zak understands) made us both completely lose our tether. I didn't know if Carlisle would appear, I don't know if Zak did, but all I know (giving credit to Carlisle from what he told me) is that I came up with a great idea which we could've had great success with. I'm always keen to work hard, and I know that I am an easy target, I'm the person people predicted to leave early, but I have tried so hard to be a great candidate.”
Jess, I think you have improved throughout the course of the process, but it seems like other participants in this process (both former and current) still see you you as manipulative and divisive. Do you think there's any truth in this?
Originally Posted by anactoria:
“
“
Don't you think it's a little arrogant to say that you weren't responsible for your PM losses? In the end, both losses came down to the concepts that your teams came up with, and you were ultimately responsible for these.
”
My first PM loss: it was Carlisle's concept and that's why he was grilled for it, but yes the entirety of the team agreed and backed it so I can understand why I would be a little responsible, but I certainly wasn't the most responsible for the loss of that task. The second PM loss, this task, the theme and brand name was mine, yes, as was the target audience which was highly-praised by one of your advisors, as was the concept being described as "being realistic and having longevity".
I do think the firing for this task should have a lot more to do with this task than previous tasks. In terms of Carlisle did nothing by choice, and we did everything by choice, which goes to show determination and actually wanting to be here, though I will respect your decision either way and not immediately refer to it as a fix.
Originally Posted by anactoria:
“
“
Jess, I think you have improved throughout the course of the process, but it seems like other participants in this process (both former and current) still see you you as manipulative and divisive. Do you think there's any truth in this?
”
Former candidates have an opinion on me, which I expect, but not agree with. I had a strong relationship with one candidate, and things happened in this process, and outside of it, and our relationship hasn't recovered, and I must admit, the new relationship formed is a very 'point scoring' one, on both accounts.
I think this task, and the way I have acted on this task towards Carlisle, isn't representative of me as a person. I mean, I really like Carlisle, and I know we shouldn't have taken the whole thing seriously- blowing everything out of proportion, but I am here to win, I'm not here to be manipulative- maybe I have been, but I know that's not me, I know I can be such a teamplayer, and I know I have more to come.
Originally Posted by Satanel:
“I do think the firing for this task should have a lot more to do with this task than previous tasks. In terms of Carlisle did nothing by choice, and we did everything by choice, which goes to show determination and actually wanting to be here, though I will respect your decision either way and not immediately refer to it as a fix.”
“I do think the firing for this task should have a lot more to do with this task than previous tasks. In terms of Carlisle did nothing by choice, and we did everything by choice, which goes to show determination and actually wanting to be here, though I will respect your decision either way and not immediately refer to it as a fix.”
This is the question that my advisors and I are having trouble untangling: did Carlisle 'choose' not to work in this task? As you've seen, he claims he was sabotaged, and that he gave you plenty of advance warning of his absences - and I'm not going to penalise candidates for having a life outside of this process.
However, Zak, I do think you're a very strong candidate. Actually, I think you've been a strong candidate the whole way through. And because of this, you will be returning for the interview round.
However, Zak, I do think you're a very strong candidate. Actually, I think you've been a strong candidate the whole way through. And because of this, you will be returning for the interview round.
So, well done to Zak, and good luck to him in the next round.
This means, Jess and Carlisle, that there is only one spot remaining in the interview round.
This means, Jess and Carlisle, that there is only one spot remaining in the interview round.
Carlisle, in previous tasks, you have been aggressive, argumentative, and outright rude on occasion. I have come so close to firing you at least twice now. But whilst we've had our problems in this process, I would never deny that you've been a strong, passionate candidate in almost all tasks - up until this one. And if I'm being honest, I think having a single off task (especially for a birthday) isn't such a negative thing.
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