Media Icon Al Roker Brings Laughter, Advice During Keynote

In a freewheeling discussion peppered with laughs and reflections on curiosity, kindness, and civility, beloved Today Show weatherman Al Roker took the opening general session by storm June 23 at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 (SHRM24).

Attendees jumped to their feet in a standing ovation for Roker. Betty Thompson, SHRM-SCP, Booz Allen Hamilton chief people officer and chair of SHRM’s board of directors, led the chat.

Roker, who co-anchors the third hour of the Today Show, is considered one of the country’s most trusted TV anchors, according to a poll for The Hollywood Reporter. He has received 14 Emmys during his more than 40 years on TV.

That trust may come from his openness with the public about personal joys and tribulations, such as noting that early cancer detection in 2020 helped save his life. After learning he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer, Roker underwent surgery to remove his prostate, lymph nodes, and surrounding tissue.

He also has gushed about, and posted Instagram shots of, his granddaughter Sky and shared how the recent death of family dog Pepper hit him hard. He has chronicled his struggle with his weight; gastric bypass surgery in 2002 resulted in a 100-pound weight loss, but he’s also stressed that it’s important to him to maintain a regimen of daily walks and adhere to a low-carb keto diet.

He touched on some of those topics—and others—during the general session.

Career

“One thing I think my career has been built on is lowered expectations,” said Roker, who studied radio and television production in college. His early interest was in working behind the scenes as a producer and writer.

“I never planned on being on TV,” but a job opportunity opened up when he was in college and that led to his eventual return to his home state of New York to appear on camera.

“Follow your opportunities,” not your dreams, he advised. “When the opportunity comes up, grab it.”

Curiosity

“Just be curious. You think you know what you want to do. You have no idea. Explore as much as you can,” he said he advises young people. “You can have an idea of what you want but you never know” where life will take you. “Does anyone play Trivial Pursuit anymore?” he asked rhetorically. “If you know a little bit about a lot, you do well.”

Cancer

“We all, to a certain extent, have a sense of invincibility,” he said. “If it’s caught early enough, it’s curable. It’s all about getting checked and getting tested.”

Men of color are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer for a variety of reasons, he noted, including a lack of awareness and access to health care, as well as a genetic component.

“The easiest thing to do is get tested. It’s very important.”

Civility

SHRM’s ongoing effort to highlight the need for respectful, civil dialogue is part of its “1 Million Civil Conversations” campaign, an initiative launched in March that is highlighted throughout SHRM24 in concurrent sessions, a special “Cafe Civili-Tea” kiosk, and messaging during the general sessions.

“I remember what it was like during the Civil Rights Movement, during Vietnam,” Roker recalled. “Those were really tough times. There was a lot of polarization. I remember my grandmother during Vietnam [saying], ‘This country is going to hell in a handbag.’ I remember thinking, ‘What’s in your handbag?’

“We’re in a time [that] feels worse because of our social media information overload between the 24-hour news cycle and social platforms. … It’s amplified. When it bleeds into the workplace and these are people you see every day, it’s crazy.

“We are more the same than we are different. It’s easy to find what we feel different about. It takes some work to find out what unites us. Anything worth doing may be hard, but it’s worth doing. It comes down to treating others the way you want to be treated. How do I treat you as a human being? How do you treat me as a human being?”

Advice to HR

“We’ve got some really great HR people at NBC News. One of the things I appreciate about them: They don’t just show up when there’s bad news, when there’s an issue,” Roker said.

“Just be there,” he advised HR professionals. “Be part of the fabric of things. Just know most people want to do good … and get along. But I think we’re in a time when there’s a lot of stress and it’s harder for people to get along.”

Retirement

“I enjoy what I’m doing, and I do think for the most part, as long as you’re enjoying work, I think it helps keep you alive. Literally. As long as I’m healthy and somewhat cogent, I want to keep going.”