Dean had only stayed in Virginia for a few days before heading back to California, despite the ongoing debates at AOL over the monthly subscription model.
However, the opposition's voice was lessening, and Dean expected them to compromise as Microsoft's launch of its online service neared.
This is how it goes with the board of directors of a public company; if the business is doing well, they are very resistant to change.
Byte Company was the same; when it was time to establish the Consumer Division, the major shareholders were all hesitant.
But such is the game; a board's existence, although sometimes limiting the power of leaders,
can also help a company through tough times at certain moments.
Of course, whether it is Dean or Steve,
their opinions are to some extent the opinions of the board.
Another thing that surprised Dean was that AOL's board had agreed to distribute the next version of the Explorer browser.
