“Have you ever lied or cheated to get what you wanted?”

“Yes, To get someone else’s husband because I wanted him.”

Said Katie Hopkins on The Apprentice (BBC), she went on to say that on a ruthlessness scale of 1 to 10 that was only an 8. I suppose for the apprentice candidate that’s wished another candidate dead it is short of a 10.

She reminds me of the characters in Working Girl and Wall Street, treating business as a fierce battle in which the competitor should not just be beaten but utterly annihilated. It’s an image of business men and women that we could really do without. Sir Alan Sugars interviewers didn’t help either as they deemed Lohit too soft for business.

Business is and has always been about relationships, sure you can make a quick buck here and there treading on others, but to build a long term successful business you need to build good lasting relationships with your staff, your suppliers, your team (external consultants and contractors), your distributors and your customers.

Burning bridges and savaging everyone you meet will endear you to no one and sooner or later it’ll catch up with you. In Hopkins case it seems to have got her fired for real.

To see how a successful business woman really behaves just look at the likes of Michelle Mone who has far surpassed Hopkins level of success in business. Mone was on the panel of The Apprentice You’re Fired when Hopkins was fired and recognised Hopkins for what she is. Mone also made it clear that Hopkins would not be welcome in any self-respecting business environment.

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