The president and the board of directors: Generally accepted roles of corporate boards have little relationship to what they in fact do and do not do in actual practice

Boards of directors have been part of our business scene for over 150 years, but their functions have not been clearly defined and generally accepted through practice in the management of corporations. This author, who has served on and worked with boards of directors for a quarter of a century, reports here the results of his research project to measure the gap between the myths of business literature and the realities of business practice. The article not only contributes to an understanding of that layer of management known as the board of directors, but also offers a five-point program to give meaning in practice to the legal language ‘the board shall manage.’