In his best-selling book, Ron Friedman demonstrates that creative geniuses tend to be people who understand the importance of high repetitions and common failures.

What do Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoy, Picasso, Monet, Bach, Mozart, Wagner, Schubert, Brahms, and Dostoyevsky all have in common?

They produced far more content than their contemporaries.

Dr. Friedman points out:

Today, these high performers are remembered for a mere fraction of their complete body of work.

Creative geniuses don’t generate masterpieces on a regular basis.

Yet the quality that distinguishes them would be impossible without the quantity of attempts.

The connection between high repetition of failure and success shows up in recruiting as well.

This is especially true if you want to hire high performers.

You’ll have to interview and engage dozens of individuals (most of whom will not successfully complete the hiring process or choose to affiliate with your organization) to capture just a few agents who will perform at a high level.

Since most recruiters and hiring managers are not comfortable with this reality, they destine themselves to hiring mediocre players.

To set yourself apart, increase your number of interviews and say “no” more often.