How the NFL Union Can Teach You To Make More Money

As many of you know, I am not a sports fan but the NFL strike is being discussed on many of the podcasts I listen to.

One of the big questions coming out of this is “How do you negotiate on either side without being greedy?”. I do not have the answer, but I have seen these discussions from both sides. I have worked for the UAW and I with management working with the USW. I am not for either side, but in my experience, both sides make great and poor points to bargain on.

This leads me to discuss how much you should be paid.

First thing, your pay should not be based on the bills you have. Your company did not force you to take on your expenses. Your pay should be based on what you produce. What you produce can be something physical (a car seat) or something intangible (a new process) or a mix of the two.

Your company pays you because you make something they can sell for a profit (another reason I think you should consider working for yourself).

Do you want to get paid more? Then you need to do more. You need to produce more for your company. I do not mean you need to work more hours (though you can usually make more money this way) but long term you need to learn how to be more effective.

You might say “I’ll work harder when they pay me more” but it doesn’t work that way. No one is going to start throwing more money at you wishing you to work harder. You have to prove it to them first.

Also, you cannot say “I will take the lead when they make me a manager”. You will never get a role to be the lead if you think this way. You can be a leader without being a manager (click this link to see my video on this)

Finally you can never say “it is not my job”. No one respects this statement. If it is not your job then help find a way to get the work done. You may not do the work but can help get it done.

If you want to be more effective then you need to learn how to be more effective. Go and read, there are tons of books to teach you how to be more effective. Start with Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, yes it is old but it is full of info on being more effective.