CEO PAY: OUT OF CONTROL?

Coaching executives on managing their careers, I hear from those who pledge their lives to their companies, working long hours for barely a six-figure income. I ask them, "Is it worth it?" And they reply," What else can I do?"

I couldn't believe my eyes when I recently read an article in Business 2.0, "Ending CEO Pay Envy." I had no idea that CEOs in the U.S. earn "more than 170 times the average worker's pay." In Great Britain, the article continued, "that multiplier is just 22." So what's up with that? (BTW, CEOs earned only 40 times more in the 1970s - only...)

More stats from the article:

• The median salary for CEOs of the 100 largest U.S. companies hit $17.9 million in 2005 - a 25% jump over 2004
• U.S. workers got a 3% raise in 2005

What's the author's solution to the problem? He advocates that everyone stops writing about it as it just fuels the fires. If not discussed, the CEO pay pendulum will stop swinging and move back to its balanced state. Really? No, seriously, really?

So, think about this picture as you fire up your laptop at your son's next Little League game. Do you think you can become one of the CEOs in the out-of-this-world income levels? How many times have you won the lottery lately?