Enron Collapse

You guys remember that company called Enron? you know, the guys that made it cool to go under. the way mci followed suite...... ah, but I digress.

Enron. I got a book on tape from the library that is 12 cassette tapes on the rise and fall of this behemoth. I'm in the middle of the third tape and the correlation to the company that employs me is STAGGERING. its freaky. but, in a strange kind of way I keep listening as it may kind of predict what will happen to me.

let me give you an example. Enron used forced ranking of employees to a bell curve. this is where you FORCE 10% of the current employees to be rated as L. that could mean Loser, Least effective, Lowly, Loss of Job, what ever. then you make another 70% an H for 'highly valued', middle of the road, average joe. and 20% a T for top talent, the most highly effective portion of the company. well.. the problem enron had with this is that it works GREAT for 1 or possibly two years, but when you have sufficiently brow beat all the 'L' people so that they are fired, take severance packages, or in corporates mind the most ideal situation they just quit (then they don't have to pay severance, OR uneployement).

Well, enron did this, but there was a point of diminishing returns. after a few years you end up cutting GOOD people. when you clean out the bottom all that is left is good people. well share holders got wind of this and enron put a stop to it (this was around 1994 I think). well wouldn't you know it. this year our company has offiicaly put an end to forced ranking. a good 10 years after another corporate someone learned their lesson.

and.. to make you all use google search.. wouldn't you know a 'certain company' PURCHASED Enron Wind when Enron went under.... HMMM.... interesting.