Claire is almost scientific in understanding what motivates people and getting the most from her team. It seems she has studied the magic buttons for different types of personalities. She has a track record of troubleshooting poorly performing stores and improving those people who were once underperforming. She described the strategy behind it with authority and enthusiasm. Claire didn’t appear to be as much of a stickler for numbers as some of her rivals in the competition, taking the attitude that if she puts in the critical work in training and motivating her team, the sales and results will take care of themselves. The judges found Claire’s thinking and management style ‘a breath of fresh air’, but their one nagging concern was whether she was tough enough to get results when necessary.

For her task, Claire was asked to make Piccadilly Circus landmark the Trocadero a success. Claire was probably the most successful at the task, with a comprehensive business plan that was professionally presented. Her ideas to rebrand the amusement and shopping centre were sharp. She set about identifying the problems: no real character and not welcoming to the most obvious target market – tourists. Her plan was to inject the ‘London’ back into the Trocadero, giving it a stronger feel with more associations to ‘authentic’ London. Her strategy to attract locals was by looking at ways to make it a ‘date destination’. Claire said every improvement and idea should feed back into the bigger goal: making it the place to meet. Her ideas included a big relaunch party and getting people to send text messages to the advertising screens of Piccadilly Circus stating who they would like to meet at the London Trocadero.