Having to cough up is, I agree, excessive. But having a CEO's compensation tied to performance is the same as all the schmucks under him have to deal with. Only

Having to cough up is, I agree, excessive. But having a CEO's compensation tied to performance is the same as all the schmucks under him have to deal with. Only, while they're on the hook for delivering, he's on the hook for providing vision. So making it take 5 years to vest or similar, so the effects of his decisions can be seen, and he has to plan long term, seems sensible. In the same way that tying a worker bee's bonuses to the delivery of a project seems sensible.