I’m a bit sad this morning because I have to admit, I liked wacky Paula Abdul on American Idol. Her ramblings were sort of endearing.
It was a great gig for her. She was paid millions of dollars and the show helped revitalize her career. But she walked away from it all.
There comes a time in every employee’s life when they have to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to salary negotiations.
Many of you have asked me about the best way to get what you want when it comes to money but often times you’re hamstrung because you really want to keep your job and will probably take what ever an employer offers in the way of raise.
So you basically play chicken — ask for a certain amount and hope your boss pays up. If the boss says no, then what?
Abdul asked for a big raise, reportedly, on top of the $2 million she was making. By contrast Ryan Seacrest the show’s emcee was making $45 million.
I’m sure she saw this as a slap in the face, who wouldn’t. So how does she accept less than what she wanted, and what she thinks she’s worth?
She chose not to.
Turns out she lost this game of chicken because the producers of the show believed it was worth it for them to let her go.
What this situation points out are two key negotiating points:
1. How much negotiating power did Abdul have? She has long been a thorn in the side of producers for her alleged drug, or alcohol induced ramblings on and off the show. She was also accused of deducing one of the young Idol wannabes a few seasons back. And last season the producers brought in a new female, Kara DioGuardi, to join the three judges. It seemed to me at the time they were grooming her to take Abdul’s spot.
2. What was Abdul worth? Based on the buckets of money the show is making, and her growing fan base, it seemed to me she was worth at least as much as Seacrest.
When both these points are in your favor — bingo! When only one or none are working in your favor, expect a big fat “no” to your salary request.
What you do after that is your choice. No career writer can tell you what to do next.
I’m sort of proud of Abdul for sticking to her guns.
Paula even tweeted about her departure:
With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all..Cont’d…
I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1 become an international phenomenon.
We’ll miss you my spunky 80s dance queen.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I agree. It seems like Paula should’ve had more bargaining power given that even her liabilities is a PR booster for the show.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:17 am
That’s a good point Patrice. What is the PR cost to the show if she leaves? That issue is also a key one when it comes to other jobs. How important is what you do to the team? Can the company live without you? Clearly the American Idol machine thought it would be a minor bump in the road.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
It might be a bad PR move in the long term, but for not it can only help drive people to watch the show, to see what they will do without her.
Eve, I’m surprised you didn’t tie this story to the executive-worker wage disparity. Clearly the emcee is more of a front-and-center character (typifying an executive), with abdul and the other judges on the sidelines (typifying workers). While the emcee may be important to the public face of the show, I believe the chemistry between the judges is one of the things that contributed to the show’s success. The judges are, in many ways, representative of the labor force that gets the job done while the emcee just gets stands up and tells everyone how things are going.
Perhaps it’s a stretch, but it still seemed odd that the rates would be that disparate.
August 5th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Interesting observation HikingStick. But I think on this one it was Abdul herself that they were targeting. Supposedly, Simon Cowell, one of the older judges, is going to get over $100 million a year. Clearly, someone thinks the show would be lost if some of the players were gone, but not Abdul.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I really do hate to be a sour puss. I mean Paula Abdul has always been hot and she has aged nicely. As for the likes of a Simon Cowell, please. I’m not sure why he would worth anything redeemable. He should be paid in returnable Pepsi bottles, remember those, 5 cents a piece? What kind of sadistic people like him?
There is not a man on this planet worth $100 million. Except for Jesus, no one ever has.
Can you imagine how many people could go to sleep with full stomachs for $100 million?
It is a shame. He has no redeemable value and he is compensated so tremendously.