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Show 3. Obviously the most effective way to run the enterprise lies between these two extremes. There are good men who are willing to serve effectively as outside directors, who can and will bring to the decisionmaking process additional wisdom and experience, and Wells Fargo has in my opinion its full share of these. The trick is how to harness and employ these talents and interface them with those of the management so that the optimum result for the enterprise is achieved. I'm constantly amazed at the different styles and approaches used by boards and used effectively. There is no single best way to do it. I serve on 6 outside boards as well as that of Utah and two of its important affiliates. Three meet monthly, two every other month, one 9 times yearly, one 10 times yearly, and two meet quarterly. The Utah board has one committee, Wells Fargo has 8, and the rest generally between 2 and 3. Four send you no homework to do before the meeting and four in varying degrees ask you to do considerable homework. Only two allow you to retain these reports in your personal files. Yet with all this variation I would estimate that the amount of time required as an outside director in the case of each Board is about the same. The Utah board meets quarterly, meets all day, and buries its directors with homework. General Electric meets 10 times yearly with meetings usually lasting 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and rarely involves any homework, unless you are a member of the Finance or Compensation Committees. Each board has endeavored to organize itself in a way that permits it to cope effectively with the problems of the particular business. Certainly |