Directors: Myth and Reality

Under a title which I feel belongs to my friend and colleague Professor Myles Mace of the Harvard Business School,1 I am called upon to introduce three different views of boards of directors; the general public's, the business community's and the legal world's. Which of these represents myth and which reality is a question I prefer to postpone indefinitely. The questions raised in this introduction are basic ones that will be with us for some time; technical questions of directors' responsibilities should be approached in the light of these fundamental concerns. The practitioner should also keep his eye on proposed basic changes in the corporate management system which arise from them and are being put forth with increasing vigor.