> ...Whole Foods has never lost to a competitor a top executive that we wanted to keep...<p>No true Scotsman.<p>> In "Corporate Executive Salaries – The Argument from Economic Efficiency", Scott Elaurant writes "The single most prevalent argument for high executive salaries has been the argument based on economic efficiency. In this argument, high salaries for corporate executives are justified as they form an incentive that motivates them to high performance." Wow - how depressing and disgusting. The primary motivation for high performance, for working to give your customers the best product, is simply how high your salary is?<p>All things being equal, would you not take a higher salary if it was offered?<p>What is perhaps more surprising is that there seems to be a lot of demand for people who can create value as CEOs yet little in the way of an influx of talent.