Richard Branson uses this advice from Sara Blakely to hire remarkable people

Jarle Naustvik and Fortune Live Media/Flickr

Richard Branson and Sara Blakely.

The billionaire founder of Virgin Group has built an empire of companies across a variety of industries.

Much of Richard Branson's success can be attributed to the remarkably talented team of employees surrounding him.

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How does he continually find the superstars amongst thousands of prospective job candidates?

Inc recently reported that one of Branson's three hiring rules comes from a conversation he had with Sara Blakely, founder of the billion-dollar hosiery and apparel company Spanx. She told him, "The smartest thing I ever did in the early going was to hire my weaknesses."

Branson builds strong and diverse teams by searching for talent in areas where he himself does not thrive. Rather than scouring résumés to find more "Richard Bransons," he looks for just the opposite.

"Don't be afraid of hiring mavericks," he wrote in a LinkedIn post from 2013. "Somebody who thinks a little differently can help to see problems as opportunities and inspire creative energy within a group. Some of the best people we've ever hired didn't seem to fit in at first, but proved to be indispensable over time."