Table of Contents

* Introduction Part I: The Origins Of Enron's Collapse * From Innovation to Reckless Gambling * The Impact of Perverse Incentives * The Evolving Culture of Deceit * Ethical Drift * The Directors' Failure * Collusion of Financial Intermediaries * Enron and the Public Watchdogs Part II: Enron's Legacy * Strengthening Board Oversight * Avoiding Perverse Financial Incentives * Instilling Ethical Discipline * Afterword * Appendixes * Notes * Bibliography * Index

Promotional Information

A superb book. Innovation Corrupted provides the deepest analysis yet of the collapse of Enron. It's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why success without an ethical foundation leads to disaster. -- Bill George, author of True North What do ethical lapses, director failings, colluding intermediaries, and conflicted watchdogs have to do with Enron's implosion? Everything. Salter's painstaking research into virtually every record and recollection available demonstrates that there is no single villain in the Enron story--rather a posse of insiders and outsiders fixated on the capital market and apparently oblivious to waving red flags. His lesson for the governance of public companies is that board service is not for amateurs dazzled by position and publicity; it requires deep knowledge of the business of the corporation, insight into the potentially perverse effects of financial incentives, time, capacity, and courage to question management's assumptions and obfuscations, and ethical discipline. -- Ira M. Millstein, Senior Partner, Weil, Gotshal, & Manges

About the Author

Malcolm S. Salter is James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at the Harvard Business School.

Reviews

A superb book. Innovation Corrupted provides the deepest analysis yet of the collapse of Enron. It's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why success without an ethical foundation leads to disaster.
*Bill George, author of True North*

What do ethical lapses, director failings, colluding intermediaries, and conflicted watchdogs have to do with Enron's implosion? Everything. Salter's painstaking research into virtually every record and recollection available demonstrates that there is no single villain in the Enron story--rather a posse of insiders and outsiders fixated on the capital market and apparently oblivious to waving red flags. His lesson for the governance of public companies is that board service is not for amateurs dazzled by position and publicity; it requires deep knowledge of the business of the corporation, insight into the potentially perverse effects of financial incentives, time, capacity, and courage to question management's assumptions and obfuscations, and ethical discipline.
*Ira M. Millstein, Senior Partner, Weil, Gotshal, & Manges*

Salter goes beyond previous books by proposing practical recommendations (regarding board oversight, financial incentives, and the maintenance of ethical discipline) for preventing future disasters. Salter has produced a very readable, comprehensive analysis of the social pathologies and administrative failures that led to Enron's implosion.
*Choice*