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• Recruiter Reflections

Roller Coasters Are Dumb

October 6, 2026

Last week I did a presentation for a recruiting industry conference called “Roller Coasters Are Dumb.”

Obviously, a ridiculous title because roller coasters are super fun. It’s a sound premise though… roller coasters give us huge emotional ups and downs. Big highs. Big lows. Adrenaline. Fear. Excitement. Uncertainty. But… not consistency and definitely not stability.

A great way to spend an afternoon. A terrible way to spend a career. Pretty dumb really.

No need elaborating on the presentation details because unless you are a recruiter, recruiting stories aren’t that exciting.

What I thought was sort of interesting though was the audience, and their reaction to my presentation.

The audience was an assembly of some of the biggest billing recruiters in the world. Basically, Olympic level recruiters. And, while I’ve been in the recruiting industry for over 30 years now, and have had a decent amount of success, at no point have I ever approached their level of production.

Yet there I was, microphone in hand, with their rapt attention. But why?

The group I presented to was, and I say this in the most loving way possible, a bunch of freaks. Basically a roomful of statistical anomalies turning impossibly massive amounts of brainpower, work ethic, creativity, focus, and drive into an incredibly lucrative way to make a living.

And, while they were clearly more successful recruiters than me, they were somehow VERY interested in MY take on recruiting.

Again the question…why?

Because, my talk wasn’t about world class billings. My talk was about building world class systems and processes. It was about developing and using a consistent plan to build a stable and predictably growing company…. not living your life on a chair, which constantly feels like it’s just about to tip over backwards.

Turns out, while this group was a thriving rocket ship of speed and horsepower, it was also incredibly challenged by inconsistency, turnover, inability to scale, and ultimately burnout as they struggled to constantly keep so many plates spinning at one time.

So… can you please tell me again Monte why we’re exploring the feelings of these incredibly successful, but apparently tortured souls?

Yes. Can do… What I’m hoping to do is paint a clear picture of some of the fears and frustrations of the ultra successful, so you can project their story to inform your own.

I think any successful person whose natural talent has outgrown their systems might benefit by inserting themselves into this thought process…..

Raw talent is amazing. Drive is amazing. Intelligence, creativity, competitiveness, charisma, work ethic… all amazing.

But none of those things are systems.

And eventually, if everything depends on you being extraordinary every single day, success starts to become surprisingly fragile.

You have to keep pushing. Keep producing. Keep solving. Keep motivating. Keep catching the plates before they hit the ground.

At some point, what looked like freedom starts to look a little more like being trapped by your own success.

The goal shouldn’t just be to become really good at what you do. The goal should be to become really good at building something that works even when you aren’t operating at 100%.

Something repeatable. Something teachable. Something predictable.

Something that doesn’t require a heroic effort every Tuesday.

That might be the biggest difference between talent and sustainability.

Talent can create spectacular results, but process and consistency allow you to repeat them.

Monte Merz

Founder / Managing Partner

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