Monday, August 2, 2010

enron: the smartest guys in the room

anyhow, I did watch this documentary way back years already. Youtube using my destiny cable hook up, and it was very slow but I stay tuned because of the scam they into. A very complex complicated business scandal that rocked corporate america. Wow. After watching it, I can't still believe it.. Damn..

Well I do curse my former accounts, namely Dish because of what they do to their customers. hehe Or how about HSBC, not in their customers, but employees, like me. hehe Or Dell, well, maybe product defects? hehe But all of them, I mean they are doing the business right and sound.

Enron, as we all know the history, done something massive. Fraud.

Worldcom and other companies fall down on year 2001 due to well not strong financial foundation. At least there is a specific and bitter reason for a company you work so long it's just failed and was not able to keep up. But Enron, wow.. All along.. You were believed that they are a top 5 company in America but the true is, it wasn't.. Never close.. even close of being a big business.. It was all in paper but no substance.

Like one segment there, it's like the emperor with no clothes..

There are conspirators of course. Movie starts of course with the Chairman of Enron, Ken Lay. The emperor who just commands, continue to earn big money. Then, after his first fraud case at NY, then he got his money maker, the CEO, Jeff Schilling. Then others got involve, like the CEO Marketing Cliff Baxter who committed suicide at the start of the movie, then the mastermind of the fraud, CFO, Andy Fastow.

When you watch this, it's like a biography of a person who started young and simple yet have big dreams. Then it grows bigger and bigger and became not only famous but also one of the richest corporations in the USA.

If there are successful stories about it, then behind it are some dark plots. Or some dark past and future, of an entity who has a great image outside but in the inside, there is nothing to it. It's like one of those tricks that you see it now, and now you don't thing.

And that thing is money! When you have the best accounting firm and lawyers and of course, the forger like in Inception. Then you have a perfect plan to defraud people. Not only people but institutions as well.

As the story goes, it is going down into pits. I was laughing at that part when Lu Pi left Enron with $250 million money. Wow, damn I wish I'm like that dude. Actually, he's the luckiest guy in the Enron scam. He disappeared without a trace, and damn richer...

I was shocked how the scam or they work to show they have money but the truth is, they don't. The first step of the process was allowing them to be in the market showing only their future earnings, to the investors and people. That's one of a hell magic trick.hehe It started one lie then goes another..

Marketing strategies, or investments that they look good but the truth is, it won't work. Like the power plant they built in India. I can't believe they put up a billion dollar plant and then it went kaput. Nobody there wants to buy expensive electricity. Or how about the bandwith trading which come on, they are not even a telecom company. hehe

Ah their traders, speaking of traders, they're like in the movie Boiler Room. Great scammers. hehe Not that a whole of the thing they do is scam I mean, they control energy. I was sad at that California chapter, residents there are treated like kids, do this, or no prize. hehe Give us money or no electricity. Geez, I hate that kind of living.. Wayback Ramos days. hehe

The strategy to keep the stock prices up all the time. I don't know with the traders what are they thinking but they should know that not all the time, stocks are high. I was surprised that they don't smell something fishy about a stock, amidst other stocks are desperating to get their prices up, Enron stocks are just steady going higher. They do treat their stocks like it's their own invention. hehe

Well, of course, how they do that, that's where the CFO goes in. Make some dummy accounts and treat like a different investor, then show it as a legit entity. That's more than pyramid or ponzi scheme. It's just it's more complicated. That CFO dude, damn brillant. Unfortunately, he got caught.

Not only him, but all of them. After all the process, and some whistleblowers, all of the cards they put up crashes over. Very tragic event. One day, CEO Jeff Schilling decided to call quits and that was the start of armageddon in Enron.

Stock prices go downhil, way down..

Investigation to the CFO is achieving results.

CEO remarks or works in the recent years had some backlash even before he resigned.

Chairman? I can't believe it, he is still thinking of buying a private jet amidst all of this trouble. That's a good leader for you.

Some months after, Marketing CEO killed himself after he know the truth of the standing of the company and lastly..

20,000 employees, where gone. Enron filed bankruptcy and they were sentenced.

It was too late.. Very late. I was wondering, not only the Cable guy who invested his 401K pension to the Enron stocks which the worth became only $9.00 and can't open the account, but how about the other employees.

I feel sad for them. No pension, no benefits, a severance pay of $4500 which is injustified. However, you can't blame them...

Blame the smartest guys in that room..

Of course, you might think, how about the banks? The case in Capitalism: A love story?

They're just the same.. Actually banks should also blame to this Enron mess because they just gave the money of the shareholders to this scrupulous corporation.

They did not check it further about the standing or even balance sheets.. Oh crap...

Anyhow.. It was a great documentary. How the company grow and fall at the end. Great facts and stories about this mess and how they tricked all the people.

There are some flaws, like at the end, they kinda fast the story. And the proceedings of the jury, about them, it's short, I mean, they should have at least more takes of it. But well, they only show glimpses of it.

Lesson learned, just do the business right. I mean, I do have a business, my Dad had one before (and still thinking it's running. hehe) my brother as well, we do it right. We don't deceive or scam the customers. If we had some faults, we correct it right away.

Being transparent to the customer and of course, show great customer service! hehe We sell reliable products.

But those dudes, they only do is just thinking of making rich in the fastest way.. It won't work.

I still believe in hard work and perserverance, and great planning about not only in business, but life as well. Careers.

You need to sweat a lot, or work hard to earn honestly. Living in peace and not hurting anybody..

Because in the end, after all those sufferings endured during work.. It's all worth taking a rest and sigh. It's done.

I don't know with those people, hurting almost 20,000 people will not give you peace.

I'm damn sure of it..

Great! The gospel last Sunday was about being greed.

I think they were serverly punished..

Destroying an empire of cards built by greed and fraud.

They can repent.. In jail time.

For me, well, even I feel tired, just do the right job and finish it!!!!

More work.

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