Perhaps, we need to think outside the box a little and more along the lines of a compromise since I don't believe its realistic to expect that we can garner enough votes to reject the proposal (nor, to be frank, to I think its a good idea). I think a better idea would be to approach management regarding rules and practices that could be put into place to take the sting out of insider sales.
Indeed, I, for one, think its a good idea to continue to tie stock to employee compensation because it creates an incentive to keep the share price inflated and it helps IDCC to maintain top quality employees. We simply need to inform institutions, Wall Street and others that our compensation system is heavily tied to options and make them understand that insider sales take the place of a higher salary. If we can establish this with those who need to know, they will simply shrug off insider sales as a part of compensation. Along those same lines, we should regularly issue press releases describing this system so "joe investor" understands what the sales mean.
Another thing to consider is perhaps some different timing rules (so we dont have sales dragged out over a 2-3 month period), which IDCC has done once in the past with good success re: the 10b-5 plan. Again, the important point to make to investors is that cashing out options is not a sign of weaknesses or lack of confidence, just a large part of employee compensation. Indeed, in many ways, the problem is not the compensation system, but the larger issue of IDCC's PR department.
My point is simply that options are not the "red headed stepchild" of employee and executive compensation. Used properly, they can be quite valuable. Lets not take away this valuable type of compensation, but rather ensure that it is used wisely. This not only makes mores sense, but is more realistic.
