> Talking about honorable and competent people on the board of directors. I recently realized that Apple's board of directors includes Al Gore. He's certainly a honorable man, but what does he know about making and selling iPhones? Why is he on Apple's board of directors?

His job isn't to make and sell cell phones. His primary function is to make the C-suite accountable to shareholders. The C-suite's job is to make and sell cell phones.

Frankly, Boards function mostly on business metrics and people skills that are generic to any business.