Executive pay and salary secrecy

"I'll show you my salary if you show me yours," the corporate vice president told his female colleague. She felt uncomfortable sharing her information -- but was too curious to pass up the chance. They ducked into an empty conference room and closed the door. Like two five-year-olds exchanging notes, they scribbled their secrets on two pieces of paper, folded and swapped them. "I felt awful," she recalls of the moment she unfolded the paper …

…Information Technology Inc. in New York City took his salary in stride. "There wasn't too much grumbling," Mr. Panzer says. "People said, `I'd like to make that.' But it didn't surprise anyone." Mr. Panzer's bosses were similarly unfazed. Jadi Rosenfeld, president of the firm, says, "That kind of information always gets out anyway. Sometimes it forces you to justify things. But the bottom line I tell my people is: Don't count someone else's money."