If you’ve ever complained about a long hiring process, just be grateful your boss isn't picked by a group of men locked in a room with a wood-burning stove and a pile of wet straw. Today, we’re looking at the ultimate executive recruitment strategy: the Papal Conclave. It’s a 2,000-year-old HR manual that involves smashing rings with hammers, chemical pyrotechnics, and a three-year deadlock that only ended because the locals literally took the roof off the building. Let’s talk about how the world’s oldest corporation picks its next CEO.