At the heart of Enron’s story are its flashy, macho culture and its disputed inability to control expenditures. With being named one of the most innovative companies of its time, one would assume Enron would promote equality among the sexes and diversity. Every top Enron executive (excluding Rebecca Mark and Amanda Martin) was a white male with a top-notch education. Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Andy Fastow, and Cliff Baxter all came from Ivey League schools or prestigious business institutions. These men were the backbone of Enron’s culture and operations. Skilling had a reputation of hiring blunt, hardball executives who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. They had a reputation of going on adventurous company trips that encouraged risky behavior. This mirrored the approach these men took towards there work. Whether it was striking up a deal or coming up with the best new idea, everything was about taking risks and neglecting consequences. Enron believed making money came from taking big risks. And boy were they able to spend it faster than it came in. Executives had free access to company jets, catered lunches were served many times throughout the year, and huge sums of stock were handed out regularly (many of them cashing in on the stock before the company’s collapse). They spared no expense when it came to proving Enron was a company to be reckoned with; one ex-executive was once quoted saying: “Don’t do business with Enron. They’ll steal your wallet when you aren’t looking.” The faces of Enron were Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling. What I learned about these men is fascinating. In the late 1980’s, Lay played a pivotal role in the development of Enron when he helped merge the company he was with at the time (Houston Natural Gas) with another energy giant: InterNorth. The merger yielded a new company with thousands of miles of pipeline and freshly