The Smartest Guys in the Room

I actually planned the timing of opening this one, the account of Enron’s fall by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind. I wanted to take my time reading it, and now have amazed myself by how easy the reading is, turning pages a lot quicker than I initially thought I would. But I credit this to the journalists. The writing reminds me so much of the material I grew up reading. Clear, crisp, polished informative writing. None of the modish sarcasm suited best for literature, although I must say familiarity with this type of environment helps weed through the corporate lingo as well.

I’m not quite at the pictures yet, (the center of the book), but McLean and Elkind are doing a fine job personifying what happened at Enron to a level that renews the deep respect I have for ‘making money.’ I recall as a child asking, “why can’t we just make money?” It seemed to be the easiest thing in the world to do. Simplicity has always been one of my models. Many years later I asked the same question in an economics class. I fully understand, and understood, the costs ‘making money’ would have on an economy and natural resources, however I still do not see it as an irrational question. Not when (as in Enron’s case), this could have been, and could be any business where the business model stresses above “investing in creating more products” (my quote), the primary goal is to make money (the forerunning value system).

A very interesting, detailed, and moving I must add, account the Smartest Guys in the Room is. Though I suspected it would be.