The Sideline Seat

1 Mindset Shift. 1 Sideline Story. 3 Actionable Takeaways.

Sent every Tuesday to help you build a better team.

The Mindset Shift:

We have to move away from justifying advancement or compensation solely on seniority. The modern business environment and culture rewards adaptability, innovation and continuous improvement. We need to shift from tenure-based systems to performance-driven cultures.

Sideline Story: The NFL Officials CBA

The NFL and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) are at an apparent impasse in their Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, with their current agreement expiring May 31, 20216. The primary sticking points are:

​
Not surprisingly, compensation. The league is offering ~6.45–6.7% annual raises versus the union's demand for over 10%

The NFL seeking stricter accountability measures for performance and have a focus more on how the officials perform and less on how long they have been doing their job.

With talks currently stalling and no deal in sight, the NFL is actively searching to train replacement officials. The last thing they want is a repeat of the 2012 fiasco that drew widespread criticism as well as bad calls that cost a lot of people both money, gray hair, and probably some sanity.

3 Actionable Takeaways:

1. Your Succession Plan is your Insurance Policy. Create one.

Most businesses don't think about succession until a critical role is vacant. That's not a strategy. For every key position in your organization you should know who can fill it.

2. Operationalize Performance, Don't just Talk about it.

Most companies say they value performance—but lack consistent mechanisms to measure and reward it. Align compensation, promotion, and visibility to measurable results.

3. Design systems that ensure resilience and scalability.

Build and maintain systems where institutional knowledge and capability isn't concentrated in a few long-tenured individuals. Ensure that documentation and cross-functional training becomes built-in rather than personnel dependent.