D&B: What do you enjoy most about serving as an outside director?

Jones: The greatest satisfaction I have being an outside director is to see the growth and development of the corporations that I serve - to see the strategic planning being done in depth, to see that it's being thought through very thoroughly, to see it implemented, and to see the results come through as anticipated. And to see the growth and development of the management of these several corporations. You feel you're part of all of that.

D&B: Having been such a strong corporate manager, is there ever a temptation to delve into the management process, especially if things aren't progressing at a company?

Jones: This is a temptation that I think every outside director has if he, himself, has been a member of corporate management. This desire to get more deeply involved than you should and to try to, in effect, manage the corporation from a distance is a temptation you just have to refuse. You can ask all the good questions, determine the quality of the replies, and offer suggestions, but you're not there to run that corporation. If you become that unhappy with a management that is not performing, then you have the responsibility as an outside director to talk about changes in management. But you should not be there trying to second-guess the management. You should be helpful, you should make suggestions, you should be sure that if you feel you've got something to offer that you make that available. You don't necessarily have to do that at an open board meeting. You can just talk quietly with the executives of the corporation and say, "Have you thought of this?" or "Have you looked at this possibility?" or whatever. The most successful corporations are those that have a very meaningful and supportive relationship between the board and the management. When it gets to be adversarial, you run into real problems.

D&B: The supportive role of the board is crucial?

Jones: That's right. When you're the CEO you're very much alone. You are the one that has the ultimate decision and the ultimate responsibility. Sometimes a CEO finds it difficult to confide his concerns to his associates. It is comforting to have a board with whom you can discuss concerns, particularly where they involve personnel problems. I always found the General Electric board to be so supportive that I could discuss with them my innermost thoughts and never be concerned that they would be played back to management. I would always get counsel and advice that was extremely useful to me.