When I set out to write this book, my topic was stock options. Specifically, my intent was to explore the much debated issue of expensing stock options. While that remains an essential theme of this book, it is impossible to address stock options without looking at the broader picture. Put another way, stock options are the trees; executive compensation and effective corporate governance are the forest. | 00_200295_FM_Delves 8/20/03 11:07 AM Page i “Don Delves is one of the industry's most knowledgeable compen- sation consultants. His book makes an important contribution to the stock option dialogue.”—Larry Hirsch, Chairman & CEO of Centex Corporation “This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the important discussion of stock option expensing and, more significantly, the optimal use of stock options in compensation plans. It is written from the point of view of an experienced and knowledgeable com- pensation consultant who has advised board compensation com- mittees and talked with many people outside the field considering the economic and incentive effects of the overuse of stock options in the 90s.”—John M. Biggs, former Chairman & CEO of TIAA- CREF “This book is very thoughtful and insightful. There are no right answers– only degrees of balance. The author has achieved that well.”—John Rau, President and CEO of Miami Corporation; for- mer CEO of Chicago Title & Trust Company “If you are on the Compensation or Finance Committee of a Board, this is a must read. With the portfolio of executive compensation Don Delves assisted us with, BorgWarner has risen to the top with- out megagrants of stock options.”—John F. Fiedler, former Chair- man and CEO of BorgWarner “Don Delves has given us a clear, lively exposition of multiple issues and variables to be considered in formulating incentives to improve corporate and executive performance. Along with his unequivocal advocacy of expensing stock options, he calls for a more balanced approach to compensation, one that blends a variety of elements to engender more attention on the long-term health of the enterprise. His interviews with thought leaders such as Paul Volcker and Myron Scholes and the incisive questions he poses help frame a robust debate on the proper use of options.”—Ronald L. Turner, Chairman, President, and CEO of Ceridian Corporation This page intentionally left blank. 00_200295_FM_Delves 8/20/03 .
