Being All In

One of the most important things in doing an improv scene is being all in. You can't have a successful scene if you're not committed to the scene and your scene partners.

Because anything you say is right in improv (but, admittedly, not in real life), you need to say things with confidence, even if it's ridiculous. So, if the audience tells you that you are an expert in Apricots, by golly, you speak with confidence about apricots, even if you know nothing about them. "They are the most popular snack in Denmark!" you say confidently.

As I said, this type of message doesn't work in real life. If you don't know anything about Apricots, don't go around saying that you do. But, you still need to be all in at work.

What all in doesn't look like

Last week, I was in Texas for the Texas Association of School Business Officials 's HR BootCamp, and after giving my keynote address on using ChatGPT in HR, I had a bit of free time, so I headed to the George W. Bush Presidential Center . I'd never been to a presidential library before, and several people recommended that I go to one, so off I went!

First of all, two thumbs up, and I will definitely go to other presidential libraries after seeing this one. It was very fascinating. However, what struck me even more was this sign before the exhibit on Pres. Bush's accomplishments:

It states:

"This exhibit is a presentation of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The Bush Center is solely responsible for the content of the exhibit. Nothing in the exhibit is intended to state or imply that the National Archives and Records Administration endorses or takes any position regarding either the exhibit's content or the Bush Center's positions on any subject contained herein."

Now, why they chose to shout this at me using all caps, I don't know, but the message is clear: We didn't do this; someone else did.

And I think this is a critical message in someplace like a presidential library. The National Archives doesn't get to rah-rah a president.

But it also is a spectacular example of being not all in. "Hey, there's an exhibit, and we helped with it, but it's not our idea, and we're not responsible, so DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU DON'T AGREE!"

But how does this apply to HR and improv-ing your HR?

Being All In

Now, imagine you're the CHRO, and the CEO has just announced the new bonus program, which you fought against behind closed doors. You're at an all-hands meeting, and an employee asks, "Can you explain why bonuses this year will be based on company-wide accomplishment and not weighted toward individual department success?"

You wanted things weighted toward the department, but the CEO ultimately decided to go with the flat company-wide basis. And so now, are you all in or are you like the National Archives and going to state that you are totally not responsible for this?

If this new plan is immoral or illegal, then yes, I'd die on this hill, but if it's just different or not ideal, it's important for HR to be all in with the messaging. In that case, you channel your inner apricot expert and confidently give the reasons for the new program. You are all in.

Imagine how divisive and destructive it would be for the company if you said, "This bonus program is purely the brainchild of the CEO and the CFO. I'll administer it, but I totally disagree with it."

Now, if you said this, you should pack your desk before speaking because you'll be fired, but even if you weren't, it's not effective. Will it change anything? No. Will it make things worse? Yes. Are you the decision maker? No. Your job is to be all in.

Now, as I said, if it's immoral (we are only going to give bonuses to people under 40!), you should stand up to this and quit before administering the program. But otherwise, it's critical to the success of the business that you present a united front to the employees. Speak up all you want with the CEO but to the employees? "This is our new program and it's fantastic because of talking points 1, 2, and 3."

This is a function of "yes, and."

Being all in is part of "yes, and" where we accept reality and move forward. The reality is that this is the new bonus program. Our options are to accept it and implement it the best way possible or to leave the stage.

And a side note to the Bush Center. You can get your picture taken behind the desk in the model Oval Office for $35. Way too much money. You'd make more money if you charged something reasonable, like $10. Besides, I can just use ChatGPT to generate an image of me behind the desk in the Oval Office by uploading my picture:

Oops, maybe let's try that again.

Close enough. Or maybe I should have sprung for the $35.