Part of Costco's unique business model is ensuring they earn and retain the loyalty of their customers and employees. They do this by trusting their employees to run their business. So, they only promote from within and rarely hire managers outside the company. As Costco's founder, Jim Sinegal, puts it, "We would never dream of hiring a manager for one of our Costcos from outside the company. It has to be somebody who has worked their way up in our system. Now that doesn't mean we wouldn't hire a manager from outside and train them for two years and develop them, but we would not hire them and put them immediately in charge of a Costco."