Name the game
A lesson from improv comedy that will make you a higher performer at work.
Longtime listeners know that I’m a big improv nerd. (If that confession hasn’t immediately led you to unsubscribe, you can read more here.)
A core principle of improv is that magic happens when you “find the game”, which means you identify the unusual, funny, or interesting pattern in a scene. Once you find that thing that’s fundamentally weird and interesting it becomes the comedic engine that propels everything else you do, and all of a sudden almost anything is funny.
In Curb Your Enthusiasm, the “game” is “don’t give Larry David what he wants.” Put Larry in any context and simply prevent him from getting his way. You have unlimited possibilities.
In The Office, the “game” is “Michael Scott cares too much, enthusiastically and earnestly misunderstanding all social and professional norms.” From inclusion training to running a 5k, neutral activities get consistently misinterpreted, with a lot of heart. Hilarity ensues.
In Veep, the “game” is “create the biggest possible gap between your public image and private behavior.” The show’s extreme (and amazingly written) vulgarity works because it’s such a shocking contrast to how politicians present themselves in the public eye.
Once you identify the game, your life becomes a lot easier because you’ve uncoded the formula for success. All of a sudden you don’t have to work so hard to succeed; you have a clear algorithm to guide you.
So when you’re feeling stuck at work, ask yourself: what’s the game, here?
In other words: what’s the simplest, most fundamental way of describing how to be successful in this context?
The ‘game’ might be:
Stay calm and focused, even in the midst of chaos
Present information concisely and without frills
Invest in relationships by getting to know people as people
Document everything
Speed is more important than quality
Always come with a solution or POV
These are just examples…the ‘game’ could be anything.
And there’s not a single game that applies to everything in your life at work. (In The Office, for example, each character has their own game-within-the-game. Stanley’s game is to be bored by and disinterested in everything. Angela’s is to follow every rule as literally and humorlessly as possible. You get it.)
So ask the question again and again: “What’s the game, here?”
And if you’re a manager, set your team up for success by identifying the game for them, whenever you know what it is:
“They key to this presentation will be a strong executive summary. We should spend 80% of our effort getting that right.”
“The trick to working with our CEO is making sure that everything is presented in a visually beautiful way.”
“This week is all about inspiring the team. Everything should ladder back up to that.”
“The secret to working with me is that I know I’m much easier to work with when I get materials to review 24 hours in advance.”
While it might not solve everything, it can be helpful to reflect on — and name — the fundamental formula for success in this way.
Because once you know the game, you can play it well.