Those of us old enough to remember the popular CBS television program Gilligan’s Island probably equate the show with the humorous antics and unlikely situations the castaways found themselves in each week. I vividly recall watching reruns of the show quite often after returning home from grammar school. Based on my past recollections, and because Gilligan’s Island is such a mainstay in our culture, I’ve always assumed the show was a long-running, successful sitcom.

However, after buying a 3-season DVD box set of the show, I was surprised to learn that 3 seasons was all there was. It turns out Gilligan’s Island was cancelled unexpectedly prior to the 4th season. CBS’s founder and owner William Paley decided to move Gunsmoke to an earlier timeslot in order to gain a larger audience, which in essence eliminated the production of Gilligan’s Island.

Interestingly enough, the show remained number one in its timeslot each of the 3 years it aired in prime time, even though it had been moved to a different time slot every season. The show became a cult success in syndication and still resonates today. Even this tech-tainted generation of kids still laugh at the show’s brilliant comedy (my son is proof of that). By all standards of broadcasting success, Gilligan’s Island was and still is a WOW leader in the world of entertainment.

This goofball comedy with a heart is not just a piece of entertainment history–it’s a model for leadership and group dynamics. Really. The seven castaways–The Skipper, Gilligan, The Professor, Ginger, Mary Ann, and Mr. and Mrs. Howell–are humorous examples of a group of eclectically different and divergent personalities who are thrown together and forced to interact and thrive under the most challenging conditions.

When you think about it, the experiences of this marooned group closely resembles the challenges of leading a business or organizational group. Sherwood Schwartz, the show’s creator, commented that the diversity of the group’s personalities is what allowed for the success of the comedy.

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll begin discussing how each of the castaways of Gilligan’s Island embodies a familiar persona or possesses characteristics found in almost any leadership situation.