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HR Resourcing
"I reckon a typical recruitment interview has a predictive validity of around 25%, you'd be better chucking ping pong balls out of the window and see who they hit."
Enron - Anatomy of Greed
Unless you were in a self imposed exile, or coma in the last 3 years, The Company that was Enron, or the name at least, will probably be as familiar to you as the brand of breakfast cereal you had for breakfast this morning. Enron, which collapsed in November of 2001 amid claims of massive financial jiggery pokery went on to become more than just a failed company; it became a phenomenon, an ‘event’, that defined any other business that seemed to be heading the same way. The phrase ‘doing and Enron’ was born.
Not only did it succeed in taking the Scouts badge for the most rapid and spectacular collapse in corporate history, it also took down with it some of the most respected business minds and businesses around the globe, Andersen’s being a case in point.
Almost 2.5 years on, as the plea bargaining begins ahead of handing out the sentencing for the guilty parties, Enron - Anatomy of Greed, the unshredded truth from and Enron insider (Arrow Books 2003) - emerges, giving us an insight into the culture, workings and general everyday goings on of the company, pre and post Armageddon.
The story begins with Brian Cruver taking up his post MBA job in a new division of Enron, one of many new ‘exploratory’ businesses that were set up in the pursuit of ‘record growth’ of earnings and stock price. Brian is a talented guy, as are most of the others that graced the corridors of the company. As he articulates his story, it is clear that Enron had pulled off what many organisations had strived to achieve and failed - to be THE aspirational employer brand. Talent from around the globe was queuing up to get a job at the seemingly unstoppable business. How ironic then that the sheer scale of that talent pool may have contributed significantly to the eventual demise of the company.
What emerges from the pages of this book are details of self interest, fear, greed and general incompetence on a massive scale. You get the sense that at some point, even the President got the feeling that he was sitting on a runaway train and could do nothing about it. Things were covered up, games continued to be played, all to such an extent that even though it was obvious that something was not right, it was just unthinkable to blow the whistle and call a halt. So much depended on it - investors money, the local community and the wider industry that was riding the Enron wave.
But, of course, the president and the rest of the executive team had by this time amassed fortunes running into tens, sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars so any crash was, in real terms only going to seem like a small bump to them. Not to the general employed masses however, oh no.
Anyone who has worked in a business that spans the globe will get an eerie sense of deja vu from reading the commentary from this book - particularly if that business went through difficult times. Reading about the style of employee communications, including the quarterly conference call in particular sent shivers of recognition down my spine. You realise that the rhetoric is the same from company to company. Take note - if your company starts to end each internal and external communication with ‘we have great products, great employees and great customers’ (or words to that effect) it’s a sure sign that there are troubled waters ahead.
It is in this context that the book works well, giving you a real feel for Brian, what he was going through and life through the employee lens as the company slides into oblivion. The belief he has in the company and what it will do for his long term ambitions is tangible, as is the revulsion and disgust this turns to as he unveils the extent of the greed and incompetence that prevailed. The ‘loyalty’ bonus’ are a great example (you will love those - guaranteed to make your blood boil) but they are one of many examples of apparent injustice as the financial needs of the few seemed to completely outweigh the needs of the many.
Where the book struggles is in the detail behind the scenes. After all, Brian was only there 8 months and there is only so much a ‘newbie’ junior executive gets to know about the darker, inner workings of a business. In fact, if it were not for the rather handy relationship with ‘Mr blue’ - no, this is not an extract from Captain Scarlet - the book might have been a little light on credibility. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty to keep you interested, and plenty of moments when your jaw will subconsciously drop open in shock/horror/disbelief. And for many, the details will fill in gaps not covered by the media during the last 2.5 years. But there are several unanswered questions as a result of the authors brief tenure which really deserve to be answered in the book. All in all though, an interesting read.
At the end of the book, I find my self considering to what extent did the ceaseless ‘war for talent’ contribute to the downfall of the business? You can’t help wondering if this stockpiling of egos and ambition was a significant factor in the inevitable downfall of the company. It sorely dents your sense of belief in the corporate world and seriously challenges the notion of piling talent into an organisation and letting it develop uncontrolled. Ho Hum!
Perhaps this will signal a reverse war for talent where organisations realise this potential flaw in recruiting such types and instead work very hard to push these people into competitor organisations - a sort of Talent Trojan Horse. Once implanted, the talent pool, displaying sheep like tendencies and living in a persistent state of denial no matter what obvious signs lay before them of wrongdoing, will unleash a time bomb of incompetence that will bring the organisation down from the inside. You heard it here first….
And just as you thought this was going to be the only example of such madness/greed/incompetence, along comes Parmalat and threatens to do it all again. Look out for the next expose - Parmalat - The Unopened Cartons.
Verdict?
Buy it!