It has forced directors to become more independent of management - allowing them to better serve shareholders, which is supposed to be their primary role.

"Newspapers are in a very odd spot right now in terms of both serving the public good and trying to serve shareholders," Ms. Fine said.

Furthermore, it's now clear that stock options, far from reliably inducing executives to serve shareholders, often create perverse incentives.

In itself, the divestiture served shareholders well, because Agilent was unloaded during the bubble when prices were inflated.

We're trying to serve our employees and shareholders.

"A lot of technological innovation serves shareholders more than patients," he said.

But if Mr. Eisner feels the need to justify himself, that could serve shareholders well.

(Law firms cannot be publicly held; if they were, lawyers would face potential conflicts of interest in serving both shareholders and clients.)

He added, "We think that if you have more than one person in the picture, you might serve shareholders better."

The process was not always a pretty one, but it generally served shareholders well, and it clearly made boards nervous about approving sweetheart deals.