A board says it wants early sight of major bets - acquisitions before they are fully formed, strategic concerns before they become crises. This is reasonable. But in many of the same boards, when early thinking arrives, it's met with the question it cannot answer: 'Have you fully thought this through?'
Management learns the lesson quickly. It comes back when the thinking is done. The board gets late information, fewer real options, and a feeling that it's only 'rubber stamping' decisions.
