The HBR recently shared the results of a study showing that an increase in the amount of flattery received by a CEO disproportionately increased the likelihood of the CEO being fired.

“You look mahvelous” Flattering the CEO increases chance of getting [him] fired http://t.co/2odFtkwBW3

— rickcolosimo (@rickcolosimo) November 5, 2013

That link is dead: look at this excerpt instead:

The problem? Not getting honest feedback breaks the decision-making process, taking a leader down a self-directed path with no sense of what is happening outside. Every strategy and tactic is supposed to lead to results in the real world; when those results don’t come back, or are ignored because of flattery, a leader can’t adjust the plan accordingly.

The same thing happens when a business owner has a controlling majority and doesn’t create an independent board to support the CEO role. Good board members ask tough questions — it’s not a challenge; that’s THEIR JOB.