In the past week there have been two major reports describing how to fix executive compensation. The first is from the UK report and comes at the end of a project by the “Executive Remuneration Working Group” (those Brits love their whimsical names) This project was publicly announced September 8, 2015 as an effort by...
I just had someone send me an article titled “REASON BEHIND THE MICROSOFT-LINKEDIN DEAL”. The premise behind that article is that stock-based compensation (the accounting term for this piece of the compensation pie) was a major driver behind LinkedIn’s decision to be acquired by Microsoft. LinkedIn did use stock-based compensation more heavily than many companies,...
This is not the article I intended to post today. I had something else ready to go, but realized this was more important. I am sitting in my hotel room in San Diego, California getting ready to head over for the second day of the annual WorldatWork Total Rewards Conference. Total Rewards is a BIG...
This February, the Harvard Business Review published Stop Paying Executives for Performance” by Dan Cable and Freek Vermeulen. The basis of the article is that we do away with all executive incentive pay and replace it with high (in cases much higher) salary. Their argument is that there is no evidence that pay for performance...
Let me start this by saying that there is little new in this post. If you have been a senior compensation professional during a market downturn, this should sound familiar. If you have not had this exciting and seldom pleasant experience, buckle up and let’s go! The main selling point of equity compensation is that...
A report from 24/7 Wall St. touting the “25 highest paying companies in America” is being passed around the internet as factual news. Unfortunately, like so many compensation stories, the report is all sizzle and no meat. People love to cheer or complain about pay. The list that was provided makes it easy by using...
We all know that equity compensation is the driver behind the astronomic growth in executive compensation. We all know that it is also the reason that tech lords make millions before the tenth year of their careers. It is the reason that the average home in San Francisco and San Jose is more than $1...
Question: (org. on Quora) Answer (by Dan Walter) Hi Alex. Thanks for the A2a. And thanks to Shriram Bhashyam for also recommending me. The first thing to clarify is the difference between “best practices” and most common practices. In the realm of equity compensation the most common practices are seldom the best. I will try and...
The first article in this “Stock Options on the Precipice” series covered some of the main issues that are currently impacting employee stock options (check it out here). This article will discuss some of the paths you might take if you are having stock option concerns. For many executives, human resources and compensation professionals, this...
We have all been to the gym or have seen this guy walking down the street (here’s an example). He’s the guy with those big arms, broad chest, and a narrow waist looking like a cartoon superhero. The guy is impressive in a t-shirt but carried around by skinny chicken legs. It’s obvious he puts...
