Why we send four names, not forty

A shortlist of twenty tells you the search has not formed a view. Someone has run a query and forwarded the results.

We put forward four or five people, and each one arrives with a written argument measured against the brief that names the risks as plainly as the fit. A client should be able to read three pages and know both why this person is on the list and what could go wrong if they hire them.

This is slower to produce and much faster to decide. Clients who get a short, argued slate tend to close weeks ahead of clients who get a long list and a phone call.