Stop Building Sinking Ships

May 23,2017May 23, 2017
By In Articles, Bonus, Equity Compensation, ESPP, Executive Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Pay For Performance, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Say on Pay, Short-Term Incentives - STI, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last week esteemed fellow Comp Café writer, Stephanie Thomas, Ph.D., wrote an article asking, “Should You Scrap Your Long-Term Incentive...

Entertaining Ways to Apply Executive Pay Rules

May 03,2017May 3, 2017
By In Articles, Equity Compensation, ESPP, Executive Compensation, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Say on Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , , ,

Executive compensation is always in the spotlight. The pay levels for the highest paid executive can truly be astounding to...

Compounding Our Pay Problems

Apr 18,2017April 18, 2017
By In Articles, Base Pay / Salary, Bonus, Communication, Compensation Philosophy, Equity Compensation, ESPP, Executive Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Say on Pay, Short-Term Incentives - STI, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The pay ratios between CEOs and average employees are once again in the news. This is partly because proxy season...

Startup Equity: Staying Private in a Public World (Part 11 in an n part series)

Feb 13,2017February 13, 2017
By In Articles, Compensation Plan Design, Equity Compensation, Executive Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Pay For Performance, Performance Units, Private Companies, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Start-up Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , ,

It is readily accepted that an IPO is Nirvana to a startup. Of course, a fantabulous acquisition will also work...

Startup Equity: What About Performance? (Part 10 of an n part series)

Feb 02,2017February 2, 2017
By In Articles, Compensation Planning, Equity Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Pay For Performance, Performance Units, Private Companies, RSU, Start-up PayTags , , , , , , , , , , ,

“But, how do I make sure that the person is a great performer before I am forced to give them...

Startup Equity: Three Crucial Variables (Part 9 of an n part series)

Jan 23,2017January 23, 2017
By In Articles, Communication, Compensation Philosophy, Compensation Plan Design, Equity Compensation, Executive Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Performance Units, Private Companies, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Start-up Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , , ,

Startup equity has approximately a gazillion moving parts. But three of these variables are far more important than all of...

Startup Equity: No. They Don’t Get It. (Part 8 of an n part series)

Jan 11,2017January 11, 2017
By In Articles, Communication, Compensation Plan Design, Equity Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Pay For Performance, Performance Units, Private Companies, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Start-up Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , ,

During a recent presentation I did for industry professionals, an attendee claimed that his employees didn’t need additional education on...

Startup Equity: The Most Common Mistake (Part 7 of an n part series)

Jan 03,2017January 3, 2017
By In Articles, Bonus, Compensation Philosophy, Equity Compensation, ESPP, Executive Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Say on Pay, Short-Term Incentives - STI, Start-up Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , , ,

Here is my 2017 gift to you. I truly believe that equity compensation helped build the technology industry, and therefore...

Startup Equity: Isn’t It Refreshing? (maybe not) – (Part 6 of an n part series)

Dec 14,2016December 14, 2016
By In Articles, Compensation Philosophy, Equity Compensation, ESPP, Executive Compensation, Other Rewards, Pay For Performance, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Say on Pay, Start-up Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , ,

The historically long periods between the startup and “big event” for companies has given rise to many issues that were...

Startup Equity: Synthetic Equity or Sharing Without Sharing (Part 5 of an n part series)

Dec 06,2016December 6, 2016
By In Articles, Bonus, Equity Compensation, ESPP, Executive Compensation, Long Term Incentives, Pay For Performance, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, RSU, SAR-Stock Appreciation Rights, Say on Pay, Short-Term Incentives - STI, Start-up Pay, Stock OptionsTags , , , , , , , , , ,

When you hear “equity compensation” and startups, you immediately think of stock options. More recently RSUs (restricted stock units that...