Elon Musk already has huge commitments to the companies he founded, in industries (electric vehicles, space exploration) that don’t clearly relate to Twitter’s business, and wouldn’t necessarily be the best fit for its business model and strategies.

Firms should stop picking from a tiny pool of people who already have massive work commitments, and instead choose members with the time and energy to help steer their businesses thoughtfully. Doing so would also help combat a second, intransigent problem: Most people on boards are still white men.

Musk may have decided he didn’t want his ownership of Twitter limited to the 14.9% stipulated by the board-seat arrangement. He may have preferred to keep lobbying advice from the sidelines.

He may also have realized he was too busy!