Nonqualified deferred compensation plans are one of the most powerful income-planning tools available to senior executives. They're also one of the least understood — and the enrollment window closes before most people have thought it through.

Microsoft is up 800% over ten years. Amazon has made a lot of people very wealthy. But if a single stock represents the majority of your net worth, you have a problem — even if that stock has been very, very good to you.

Thirty years of navigating business transitions in the Pacific Northwest has taught me one thing: the deals that go well aren't always the ones with the best valuations. They're the ones where the seller's financial picture was coordinated long before the listing.