08/26/2026
An Impressive Resume Isn't Enough Anymore
Great article by Brian Dodd this week on 3 new leadership metrics every leader should track.
Montana State just gave Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Logie a 4-year extension through 2029-30. On paper, his resume is impressive: 18-14 last season, 12-6 in Big Sky play, a Big Sky Tournament title and NCAA bid in 2023-24, and his 300th career win this past season.
But that's NOT why he got the extension.
In the NIL era, where the transfer portal has made college rosters a revolving door, Montana State had 100% retention of scholarship players. Not one left. Ten players back. In 2026, that's stunning.
Logie said it perfectly: "...continuity, culture, and retention are more important than ever."
Sound familiar, hospitality leaders?
We have our own NIL / transfer portal problem.
For years in hotels, restaurants, and clubs we've measured success the same way:
RevPAR, ADR, Labor Cost %, Turnover, Guest Scores, Profit.
Those still matter. But if you have great short-term numbers while quietly losing your people, your values, and your institutional knowledge, you're not winning. You're just renting success.
Here are the 3 metrics we should ALL be tracking right now:
1. CONTINUITY MATTERS
When your best managers keep leaving, when every season you have to re-teach service standards, when leaders are constantly starting over - momentum disappears.
Continuity creates trust with guests who see familiar faces. It creates efficiency because the team doesn't have to relearn everything every quarter. Great hotels don't have to re-train their culture every 90 days.
2. CULTURE MATTERS
Culture is not what you put on your careers page. It's what you tolerate, celebrate, and repeat.
It's how your team behaves when the GM is not in the building. A healthy culture is why your best server doesn't leave for $2 more an hour down the street. It gives people a reason to believe their work matters. Our work is deeply human.
3. RETENTION MATTERS
The best leaders I've placed in 30+ years understand: Keeping great people is just as important as finding them.
Every departure costs you relationships with regulars, experience prevents service failures, maintains momentum on the floor, and trust with the remaining team. When good people stay, the culture gets stronger because the people who live it remain to pass it on.
So here's the framework I'm taking to my clients:
Track Continuity: Are your best people and your most important service systems staying consistent long enough to create momentum?
Track Culture: Are the behaviors being repeated on your floor creating the organization you want to become?
Track Retention: Are talented people CHOOSING to stay? And if not, do you know why?
Montana State figured it out. In a world of constant movement, what and who you KEEP is as important as what you grow.
Every leader wants growth. But sustainable growth requires continuity. Continuity protects culture. Culture drives retention. And retention gives you the stability to build something lasting.
The hospitality leaders who win the next 5 years won't just measure how fast they're growing. They'll measure what is worth keeping.
Credit: Inspired by Brian Dodd's leadership framework.
