Unrealized gains on stock options are one of the best indicators of pay- for-performance sensitivity. Despite the occasional anomaly, both shareholders and boards should be pleased by the strong correlation between an executive's pay and how well - or poorly - a company's stock performs.

We believe many companies are taking a wait-and-see approach to the proposed rules. While some companies recognize their disclosures are inadequate, most want to see what the final rules entail and how other companies respond.

As companies continue to expense their stock options, we expect to see a growing number of companies embrace other forms of incentives for their executives, such as performance-based stock. Although the vehicles may change, the goal of keeping executives motivated and engaged while effectively tying their pay to performance is as important as ever.

Spoken word poetry is the art of performance poetry. I tell people it involves creating poetry that doesn't just want to sit on paper, that something about it demands it be heard out loud or witnessed in person.

The program is totally performance-based.

Inconsistent performance at a high level -- not because of any one guy or two guys, but as a team. I think [the fast start] gave us a false sense of security, actually. We thought we were already good, as opposed to still working toward being good.