Not to mention the potential for share buybacks. It's a rule of thumb in investment texts that if you're not an executive or on the board, your shares are worth

Not to mention the potential for share buybacks. It's a rule of thumb in investment texts that if you're not an executive or on the board, your shares are worth less because of fewer liquidity options. See the recent Facebook share buyback, for example. If you were a former employee (i.e. not someone the executives cared to compensate) you were out of luck. For the vast majority of employment decisions, it's my opinion you should basically just ignore stock or option grants.