When the Minneapolis Public Schools first set out to hire turnaround school principals, administrators followed their usual process--which focused largely on reputation and anecdotal support and considered mainly internal candidates. Yet success at the complicated task of turning around the fortunes of a failing school depends on exceptionally strong leadership, someone with a clear vision and ability to make that vision a reality. When one of the school district's associate superintendents, Mark Bonine, took over the hiring process, he knew how to identify excellent leaders. This article describes a process for hiring the most skillful leaders for changing the fortunes of the most-troubled schools.