I know I say it over and over again: It’s all about the talent.

And when it comes to hiring, the secret formula is:

Great Hire = A lot of candidates + A rigorous interview process

Once again I see evidence of that, this time from Ron Johnson, who oversaw the creation of the Apple Stores, and who is considered the greatest retail mastermind of all time.

In a recent interview conducted with Harvard Business Review, Johnson explained that to get hired as an Apple Store associate, you need to get through six to eight interviews.

As he puts it, this is a very different process than most retailers who, “…find somebody at the lowest cost who’s available on Saturdays from 8 to 12.”

With this rigorous hiring process, not only do you get great talent, but the ones who make it through feel honored to be part of an elite team, and the existing associates respect them from day one because they know the newcomer has survived “the gauntlet.”

It’s a crude but memorable aphorism: Be slow to hire and quick to fire.

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Kevin Kruse is a NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. Get more success and tips from his newsletter at kevinkruse.com and check out keynote video clips. His new book, Employee Engagement 2.0, teaches managers how to turn apathetic groups into emotionally committed teams.