Who Gets the Island?

You are advising Billy and Alice. A real decision needs making — let's work through it.

Name the core tension

The role needs someone capable and someone extraordinary. Write the tension in one line: what does the business need versus what 23,000 applicants are selling?

What's really at stake

If the wrong person is hired and leaves in month two, what breaks — for the business, and for the island's reputation?

Business risk

Heritage risk

Sort the applicant signals

Sort these signals into two zones: genuine indicators of fit versus impressive-sounding noise.

Real indicator

Impressive noise

How urgent is the decision?

Mark where the hiring pressure sits. April is fixed. Does urgency improve or reduce decision quality here — and why?

Low urgency

Critical deadline

The obvious answer

Write the hire most people would make: the candidate with the most relevant experience and the cleanest application. Why is that the default?

Attack it

Now challenge your step 5 answer. What does 'most relevant experience' miss about a role this unusual? Look back at step 3 — does your obvious hire pass that filter?

The hidden trade-off

Name the one quality that no CV or cover letter can prove but that makes or breaks six months on a remote island. Write it as a single word, then explain in one sentence why that word — not the obvious answer — is what Billy and Alice are really hiring for.

Why that word?

Discuss Compare your word with a partner — if you chose different words, which hiring process would actually surface yours?

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