Directors are faced with enormous challenges. Of particular concern is the increase in the high profile examples of director incompetence and obdurate decision-making such as the Barings crisis, the McDonalds libel case action and instances of large, unsubstantiated pay increases. This study considers these and other examples of poor corporate governance, and places them in the context of the authors' belief that there is a deficiency in directing - that is, providing vision and leadership - in the vast majority of organizations.