As boards come under the increasingly intense scrutiny of regulators and activist shareholders, new demands on their time are distracting them from what really matters. Staying focused on what matters isn't as easy as it used to be. These days, directors have to be careful not to allow the priorities and pet interests of governance enthusiasts dominate their agenda, to the detriment of what the directors should really be doing. Published in the October 2011 issue of Lexpert magazine as part of Barry Reiter's regular column.