A timely reminder of the duty of boards

" Stock markets will always clamor for short -term results, just as coaches push athletes to achieve a higher level of performance. That pressure will always be there, and it is not all bad. It is up to managers to sort out the trade-offs between short-term earning and long-term value creation and be courageous enough to act accordingly. Perhaps even more important, it is up to corporate boards to investigate sufficiently and be active enough to judge when managers are making the right trade-offs-and to protect them when they choose to build long-term value."

McKinsey and Co (Koller, Goedhart and Wessels) Valuation Measuring and managing the value of companies Valuation 4th edition p21.