Christie Hefner says it’s important to have vocal outside directors.

Hefner:    Well, I think we are pretty good about avoiding the pitfalls.  One pitfall that I’ve seen other companies fall into is to not have a strong independent board of directors, and I think that’s a huge mistake, even for private companies.  Having really smart people with diverse backgrounds that are relevant to your industries and interests sitting on a board as a sounding board and as a strategic advisory board is in my view just an extraordinary asset and one that I always preach when I’m out talking to people like young presidents organization members.  Because I think that when that isn’t true, that can be a weakness.