(f) Discretion to Determine Criteria. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Plan, the Committee, in its sole discretion, will determine the performance goals, quotas, or other criteria applicable to any Target Award or commission which requirement may include, without limitation, (i) annual recurring revenue (including growth, by geography and by product), (ii) attainment of research and development milestones, (iii) billings (including growth), pipeline, and/or conversion, (iv) bookings (including growth, by geography, and by product), (v) business divestitures and acquisitions, (vi) cash flow, (vii) cash position, (viii) churn rate, (ix) customers, (x) dollar based net retention, (xii) earnings (which may include any calculation of earnings, including but not limited to earnings before interest and taxes, earnings before taxes, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and net earnings), (xiii) earnings per share, (xiv) free cash flow (xv) headcount growth and/or attrition rate, (xvi) net income, (xvii) net profit, (xviii) net sales, (xix) new annual contract value, (xx) new annual contract value growth, (xxi) operating cash flow, (xxii) operating expenses, (xxiii) operating income, (xxiv) operating margin, (xxv) overhead or other expense reduction, (xxvi) product defect measures, (xxvii) product release timelines, (xxviii) productivity, (xxix) profit, (xxx) renewal rate, (xxxi) return on assets, (xxxii) return on capital, (xxxiii) return on equity, (xxxiv) return on investment, (xxxv) return on sales, (xxxvi) revenue (including growth, by geography and by product), (xxxvii) sales growth, (xxxviii) sales productivity, (xxxix) sales results, (xl) stock price, (xli) time to market, (xlii) total stockholder return, (xliii) working capital, and (xliv) individual objectives such as peer reviews or other subjective or objective criteria. As determined by the Committee, the performance goals may be based on generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) or non-GAAP results and any actual results may be adjusted by the Committee for one-time items or unbudgeted or unexpected items when determining whether the performance goals have been met. The goals may be on the basis of any factors the Committee determines relevant, and may be on an individual, divisional, business unit, segment, or Company-wide basis. Any criteria used may be measured on such basis as the Committee determines, including but not limited to, as applicable, (A) in absolute terms, (B) in combination with another performance goal, goals, or other criteria (for example, but not by way of limitation, as a ratio or matrix), (C) in relative terms (including, but not limited to, results for other periods, passage of time and/or against another company or companies or an index or indices), (D) on a per-share basis, (E) against the performance of the Company as a whole or a segment of the Company, and/or (F) on a pre-tax or after-tax basis. The performance goals or other criteria may differ from Participant to Participant and from award to award. Failure to meet the goals will result in a failure to earn the Target Award, except as provided in Section 3(e).
4. Payment of Awards.
(a) Right to Receive Payment. Each Actual Award will be paid solely from the general assets of the Company. Nothing in this Plan will be construed to create a trust or to establish or evidence any Participant’s claim of any right other than as an unsecured general creditor with respect to any payment to which he or she may be entitled.
(b) Timing of Payment. Payment of each Actual Award will be made as soon as practicable after the end of the Performance Period to which the Actual Award relates and after the Actual Award is approved by the Committee, but in no event following the later of (i) the fifteenth (15th) day of the third (3rd) month of the Fiscal Year immediately following the Fiscal Year in which the Participant’s Actual Award is first no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, and (ii) March 15 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which
3