I didn't heed this advice, and took a counter offer (doubling my salary at the time). This seemed like a good deal.
What did I turn down? 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock. In 1983.
Oops...
Sorry Jeff, don't mean to rub it in. Just had to do some Googling (ironic, I know) and figured I'd save others the time.
People think there are clear answers to things that in retrospect seem right or wrong decisions after things play out.
Those 10,000 shares of Msft? Well what if you were working for Eagle Computer (I owned one of those and remember that day very well)
People who accept counters are usually gone in a year anyway - they'd already decided to go, management has written them off in their minds, something like that.
Counters rarely make sense. There's probably exceptions, but I've never seen any.
Salary increases are frequently based on your existing base, so doubling salary in 1983 probably translates into an increased income stream since then, which would amount to a fair take (28 years of 100k income is $2.8 million).
Presumably there have been other stock options since.
If some of that income was saved and invested, there'd be some return on that as well. The Dow and NASDAQ are up about 1100% in this time (MSFT is up 29,900%). Interestingly, S&P 500 is up only 817% (greater diversification doesn't mean better returns).
As with most financial comparisons, there are a number of things to consider. On balance, selling his soul to MSFT in 1983 would probably have been the better move.
Coulda-woulda-shoulda's a tough game to play.
And what would have happened to Visix?