This is really relevant from the employee point of view. When the first company I worked for gave me stock options I was content to just know the number of shares I was getting because I did not know any better. Had I know enough to ask I would have found the shares I was given were close to worthless. I'm still amazed how often people don't ask this sort of stuff; without asking a bunch of questions about a company's financials knowing the number of shares you are getting is worthless.

It worries me that this is important. It's like saying "When you go to a restaurant, don't concentrate on how many menu items you order, or on how big the kitchen is. Make sure you get the food you want in a portion size that's big enough."

I mean, ownership is wealth and control -- how can you consider it wealth if you aren't translating it into dollars?