A harsh indictment, perhaps, but there's no doubt that short- and long-term management advice is often conspicuous by its absence today. And it is precisely this advice--advice about marketing programs, product development, business strategies and planning, organizational development, and the critically important cultivation of human resources--that should come from the board of directors.
Clearly, the board of directors can be an asset of significant value to any organization, large or small, public or private. Unfortunately, in many organizations, particularly closely held, family enterprises, the board is a cosmetic structure with little if any utility.