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Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth from an Enron Insider by Brian Cruver Rating: •• (Mildly Recommended)
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Pinky’s View Brian Cruver was among the first to publish an Enron story, and that early advantage is about the only reason to pick up his new book, Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth from an Enron Insider. Cruver began work at Enron in March 2001, and served Enron as a rank and file worker in a part of Enron trying to find products and services for bankruptcy risk management. The perspective he offers about the demise of Enron is that of an employee going through uncertainty and turmoil. If you want to know one perspective on what it was like to be at Enron during its decline, Anatomy of Greed offers such a point of view, in a diary form presenting a year in the life of one employee and one company. Here’s an excerpt from the end of the book (p. 347). Mr. Blue was an unnamed Enron executive, a Cruver family friend, who went along with things he knew were wrong: “Tuesday, March 26, 2002 I looked in the mirror. What I saw – exactly a year after the day I joined Enron – was someone who desperately needed to shave. I looked in the mirror again. I saw an unemployed guy, but a much smarter unemployed guy; smarter because I worked at Enron and Enron made people smarter; smarter because I learned that nothing in life is risk-free; smarter because I realized that people – not corporate identities – are the read substance of the business world. I was smarter because the guy in the mirror was not the next Mr. Blue. I was smarter because my wide, my family, my friends, my dog, and my cat were much more important than bonuses, stock options, and an office on the fiftieth floor. Was I stupid to believe in Enron? No way – Enron was thousands of people with thousands of spectacular, positive ideas. Was I stupid to see Enron as a pot of gold? Absolutely. Was I greedy? I took the accidental paychecks, I got my free computer, and I sold my Enron stuff on eBay. Was that greed? Or did Enron really own me? They did lay me off, and they did cancel the severance plan just the day before – after fifteen years with it. Plus, I lost thousands of dollars on ENE stock in 2001. Was I greedy, or was I just trying to get back some of what I lost? By any definition, ‘greed’ is an excessive desire, but I was never exactly clear where that ‘excessive’ line should be drawn. When does desire – for money or material goods or whatever – become excessive? We live in a world in which desire builds things, invents things, cures things, and discovers things. But when does this desire become gratuitous? Is it excessive to want a better life – to want more adventure, a bigger house, a nicer car, fancier clothes, or premium dog food? I don’t thing it’s that simple. I think greed – or excessive desire – is defined by the means, not the end. It’s the behavior that should be tested for excessiveness. Greedy is a term that applies to someone who lies, cheats and steals in the name of possessing more than they need or even deserve. Financial success alone doesn’t equal greed, but being a scumbag with financial success – that’s where the line should be drawn. So were Enron executives greedy because they had eight-digit bank accounts? No. Were they greedy if those millions were generated by fraud or at the expense of others? Absolutely! And the Enron culture of bonus-driven behavior that twisted the truth and devastated thousands of people … Greed, Incorporated!” Readers come away from Anatomy of Greed with a clear perception that Cruver left Enron less naïve than when he arrived. I was reminded often that Ken Lay, with his doctorate in economics, is nobody’s fool, and there’s no way that he or Jeff Skilling didn’t understand the fundamentals of Enron accounting and financial management. Read this book less for insight into Enron, and more as a coming of age story about a recent MBA graduate who becomes absorbed in a corporate nightmare. The part of the anatomy of Enron that readers see on these pages is limited by the role Cruver played in the company. Think of this as one pinky finger’s perspective on human anatomy. Steve Hopkins, October 9, 2002
ã 2002 Hopkins and Company, LLC The recommendation rating for this book appeared in the November 2002 issue of Executive Times For Reprint Permission, Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • 723 North Kenilworth Avenue • Oak Park, IL 60302 Phone: 708-466-4650 • Fax: 708-386-8687 E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com www.hopkinsandcompany.com