Archived wisdom.

• Position: Brief Article

IT CAN BE both a blessing and a curse to be editor of a journal such as this for close to 20 years. The blessings are many, not the least of which is the "institutional" knowledge that one accumulates over that time of the issues, events, and people that have driven the development of our corporate governance system -- and the network of those people that one has the opportunity to build. A curse is to see gaps open up in that network due to your past authors passing away.

As this issue of DIRECTORS & BOARDS was being edited, we noted the passing of Donald Seibert and Steve Allen, two quite distinctive authors who appeared in our pages in the mid-1980s. Seibert started as a shoe salesman for J.C. Penney Co. in 1946, became chairman in 1974 (in the midst of a biting recession), and restructured the retailer before retiring in 1983. In rereading his article, I am struck by the enduring wisdom of his observations, such as in this passage:

"There was one particular area where I looked to the J.C. Penney board for help and guidance: making judgments about our key managers. The board includes men and women with experience in managing diverse types of enterprises. They are very people oriented, as is the retail business...This exposure on the part of the board was of invaluable assistance to me since neither the board nor I made the day-to-day decisions, but we both could evaluate together, based upon good first-hand information, the men and women who do make these decisions and become comfortable with their judgment."

Timely -- and timeless -- advice, indeed, considering the crisis in...