HRevolution - Brought to You By John Madden - I2I

This past weekend I spent a couple of days in Louisville, KY with 50 smart people interested in HR. The program, HRevolution, was billed as an "unconference" - and I can say it lived up to that name. No "standard" powerpoints (I really don't remember seeing one prepared slide,) lots of conversation and participation from the audience. Formal and informal at the same time. In other words - different than most conferences you'd attend. A bit more free-flowing and open. Fun to watch and fun to participate in.

Huge mad props go to @trishmcfarlane, @beneubanks, @steveboese and @crystalpeterson for taking the time and the risk to put this together. Thank you. I enjoyed the meeting, loved the people, was interested in the content, learned some interesting perspectives. 120% worth my time.

But here's the thing (this is where the temperature will go up and the haters will come out...)

I'm not sure where we netted out.

That may not be a bad thing - I'm just conditioned to leave meetings with a "to-do" list of things that I need to work on. I didn't feel that anyone had that. Until I have a to-do list I feel like I'm just cogitating - and I want to be activating.

It can get dangerous in my head when I don't have a to-do list. I need to fill that vacuum and it can lead to neurons making connections that can get me in trouble. This may be one of those times...

HRevolution - Are You Ready For Some Football?

I am not in HR. Never been. I've bumped into it in a few times. Never a hard bump but one that could have drawn an interference flag had someone been watching. My experience has always been that HR was the group in the organization that protected the CEO, other Execs and shareholders. If we were playing football, HR was the offensive line for the muckitymucks. HR kept the bad stuff out - away from the brains behind mahogony doors planning the next big strategic move, the next buy-out, the next financial whatzzit that will drive share price.

But interestingly - for Managers like myself and my employees they also played defense. Every time I'd try to run a new play, one I thought could gain a few extra yards, HR was there cutting it off. Simple things - changing titles, going outside "average" raises, not having "official" office furniture. Every time I'd run the play HR seemed to be in the way - knocking the ball down, hitting me behind the lines.

How is that possible? How can people on your own team play on both sides of the ball. For you AND against you?

Then it hit me. They weren't on my team - they were on the "company" team. The company has a different definition of winning. They didn't care about my playbook, only their own.

And that is the problem - in most organizations, HR is tasked with playing both ways, on both teams.

You can't win that game.

When you play both ways on both teams you can't win, you can't lose, you can only draw. I felt the frustration in the voices at HRevolution. They feel that pain. I truly believe they are conflicted - and I feel for you all.

You Can't Change HR - You Can Only Change Companies

I'll bet if you look at any organization that has a creative, proactive, successful HR department you have a unified team approach to the market. In other words, HR (as the progressives see it) can ONLY work in a company where everyone is on the same team. (Zappos anyone?)

Until you have the executives, managers, shareholders, employees - all agreeing with the mission/vision/values you can't have good HR.

Good HR can only exist within a company run by executives who would rather lose money than lose people.
Good HR can only exist within a company where the lowest employee should have the best parking space.
Good HR can only exist within a company where HR is the most important department - not accounting.

HR has a choice in my book. HR can continue to talk to other HR folks and commiserate about the position they are place in - or they can choose a team and play the game.

Play it hard, play it fast and play to win.

So after listening for two days I net out here...

If you want to provide progressive, important, seat-at-the-table (gah - I said it!) HR, find a good company.

If you can't find a good company, change a bad company by changing the Executive Team (don't try to change HR or the employees - you all know what do to)

If you want average HR play both sides of the ball and live with it.

It's fourth down, 2 yards to the end-zone, 6 seconds left in the game, this score wins it. What do you do?

Me - I'd punt just for sh*ts and giggles.