Technology Executives Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Google CEO Eric Schidmt, and now Yahoo CEO Terry Semel are all getting $1 annual salaries in return for higher stock options.

In theory, that ties the CEO to not receiving any compensation unless the company does well - in the stock market.  This is a good step forward in preventing embarassment of CEOs receiving huge payoffs even if the company is not doing well. 

I have dealt with many publicly listed companies, and yes, the tendency of many forces them to focus solely in their numbers for the quarter and for the year in order to keep their jobs …. Nothing wrong with that as long asit does not force them to exchange long term viability of the product in exchange for short term numbers.

As an entrepreneur and owner of the company which I know I will still be managing after five years or ten years, I have the luxury to sacrifice short term gains for long term growth potential.  However, that is not the luxury of many corporate people — they may have the best ideas, but if they don’t meet the numbers of the quarters, there was a big chance they won’t be around to see through their vision.

What are the plans that would enable a company to tie or compensate executives also who are able to build up the brand and the stock for the long term?

Yahoo’s Semel gets a nice bonus - Mar. 2, 2007

Yahoo announced last year that Semel would receive an annual salary of just $1 a year for 2006 through 2008 and the right to receive up to 1 million stock options as a bonus.

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