In the late 1990s the American corporation forged ahead in gains in efficiency and earnings performance with strong reflections in stock price appreciation. However, the events of Enron and the bursting of the bubble of unlimited increases in the price of Internet, telecom and energy company shares have caused the authors of this book to take another look at American corporate governance. The authors use a scholar-practitioner approach to show what is missing in today's corporate governance and to support a case for activating the board of directors, with leadership from an independent chair, to put new controls on management and take responsibility for the result.