There seems to be increasing shareholder activism on the subject of tying executive compensation to performance. The motion to vote against the election of the directors who participated in Pfizer's compensation committee gathered 22% of the votes. A clear signal to the management I would say. The obligation to tie executive pay to performance passed by 54% at Lucent (second try, they did not quite get the needed amount of votes last year). More afoot at Merrill Lynch & Co, Black and Decker Corp., and Morgan Stanley. This does not seem to be a fad, but a groundswell - the shareholders feel that management is overpaid. More in this article in the Washington Post by Brooke A. Masters entitled: "A Campaign to Tighten Executive Pay".