Amazon has many leadership principles. One philosophy related to hiring and nurturing a team is: 'Hire and Develop the Best.' Amazon describes this principle as, 'Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take their role in coaching others seriously. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.'

Some great reasons to hire someone smarter than you:

- Your team's problem-solving abilities become stronger
- It helps the company progress at a faster pace
- Your team's productivity levels will be stronger
- You and other team members have a better chance of learning from each other

The interviewer wants to know if you are confident enough to hire a person who you perceive to be smarter than you. This question has many layers, however. First, the term 'smarter' is relative. Where one individual may have stronger knowledge in a particular topic or task than you, they may not be more knowledgeable in another area. Be prepared to give a thoughtful answer that shows you are invested in making smart hiring decisions based on the company's betterment rather than on your own ego or feelings of security.