he author argues that a movement that was designed to make boards better — by removing “overboarded” directors, i.e. directors who held a half-dozen or so public board seats at the same time — may instead leave some companies flat-footed. Precisely these “overboarded” affiliations have proven invaluable in past times of crisis. When GM was skidding toward bankruptcy in 2008-9, Ford Motor relied on a longtime board member with deep connections and multiple board seats, namely ex-Goldman Sachs President John Thornton, to help it survive its own liquidity crisis.Conduct research to support your answers to the following questions:There used to be something of an insider network on US company boards. What were the disadvantages of this insider system? What were perhaps some of the advantages of this insider system?Why was the old insider system dismantled? Who led the charge to dismantle the system?The author seems to pine for the old system. What were the advantages of having board directors who served at many different companies?