SINGPOST~ QUEST FOR AMUSEMENT: Apprentice Asia Finale - The first Apprentice Asia Winner Is... Jonathan Yabut from the Philippines

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Apprentice Asia Finale - The first Apprentice Asia Winner Is... Jonathan Yabut from the Philippines

At long last, Tony Fernandes has chosen his apprentice.

During the Apprentice Asia Finale (30 July 2013), Tony was left with the final 2 contenders:
Andrea from Singapore and Jonathan from the Philippines.

And the first Apprentice Asia Winner Is... Jonathan Yabut from the Philippines

I believe Jonathan's win was well deserved.
He delivered a very well-rounded and good answer or speech during the last showdown

on why he deserved to be "The Apprentice".

Winner Announcement Video

Video Excerpt of their last debate and Jonathan's superb delivery:

It was well prepared, thorough and convincing.

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Here's Jonathan Yabut's epic delivery transcribed:

"Tony: Jonathan? (Tony had earlier asked them to talk about their honest opinion about their opponent. Which led to Andrea going on about Jonathan's weaknesses. )

Jonathan:
I have 2 things.

One, I think it's all about positivity.
When there's an idea that she doesn't like, she shoots them down.
And ultimately may not entertain that idea.
Her strength may be about decisiveness.
But I think that is more about her dismissiveness as well.

The second thing I would probably look at is:
Does Andrea really know what she wants right now?
Is she here because she is here for something else outside of law school?
Or is she here because she wants to prove that she is simply good?
And she gets a high out of proving to the rest of the world that she's at the top of it?

I'm not sure about the kind of leadership that Andrea wants.
Does she only wants to get the job finished?
Or does she wants to get it finished, together with her own people?

Tony: Why do you think that you're a better candidate than Andrea?

Jonathan:
More passion. More flame from Jonathan.

The reason why I see my vision in you, Sir, is the reason why you're successful in your businesses is because you love doing these things.
You don't invest in things that you don't like.
And that's the same thing that I do with my own life, Sir.

You want people who want to work for you because they share the same passion.
This kind of passion is not something that you force into anyone.

I'm not sure if that's the same thing with Andrea.

You don't force these things into me.
I was born that way, Sir.

And that for me is unmistakeningly, Jonathan.
In this process.

Second thing is leadership.
Andrea and Alex would always conive with this theory that I always
did't try to, you know, hide around even in marketing tasks.

But a great leader is someone who doesn't force himself to say that
"I should be the best" and "I should be the one to sit on the throne".

A great leader is someone who steps back and says
"There might be someone out there, who's waiting to do this job.
Who's passionate about this job."

You take a step back and you tell them:
"I want to bring the best out of these people."

And the reason why I never challenged or voice out for those kind of tasks is
because it was a waste of time.

I felt that I didn't have to prove to these people that I am the best in marketing.
Even if I knew I was.

Just to waste 15 minutes of my time, and say "Hey I should be the PM".
Why would you waste your time with that if you want your team to win?

The last thing is all about adaptability and resilience.
You can throw me at anything.
Not only because I'm passionate.
But because even if things go wrong, I never lose it.
And I never lose it because I have all the inspirations to back me up.

And as I've always said, I'm inspired by my people.
I'm inspired by my parents. I'm inspired by my family.
I'm inspired by the things I've gone through from my humble beginnnigs and my life.

Those things never die.

You want an apprentice.
Who will always hold on dearly to those values and ideas.

Tony: Thank you, Jonathan."

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Besides the final showdown, throughout the show, he came across as a more amiable person.
His leadership style was not as harsh as Andrea's.
And came across more as a people person.
He also had an impeccable resume and background to boot:

Source: https://www.facebook.com/AAJonathanYabut/info
"He successfully launched a new pharmaceutical brand,
achieving market leadership in terms of volume and sales in just eight months,
a world record in the company’s history across 30 countries.

Jonathan was also the
recipient of the 2012 Mansmith Young Market Masters Award,
as one of the top seven marketers in the Philippines under the age of 35."

I also wondered if sometimes Andrea's facial expressions during close-ups were too severe.
They did not look too favorable on screen.
Wished she remembered that she was on camera and kept her expressions toned down.
But I think she really put herself out there. And that was rather commendable.