The National Association of Corporate Directors, of which I am currently a member and was formerly on the New England Chapter Board, is the oldest and largest professional organization for corporate directors.   The NACD has long used the phrase "Nose In - Fingers Out" to describe the role that a corporate director is supposed to play.  The Board's primary mission is to exercise independent judgment in the interest of shareholders, to ask the right questions, to set the proper tone for success.   It is not the job of the Board to run the company - that is the job of the senior executives that the Board selects.