December 5, 2002

Jack Covert Selects - Best Business Crime Writing of the Year

Best Business Crime Writing of the Year edited by James Surowiecki; Random House; 250 Pages; $12.00; Paperback; November 2002, 1400033713

The fact that this anthology exists speaks volumes about the state of our economy as well as the state of our society. How is it that there is so much corporate crime, and the reporting of, to not only warrant a “Best of” volume? What is terrific about this volume is that, for example, we’ve heard all we can take about Enron, but from the perspective of PJ O’Rourke’s “How to Stuff a Wild Enron?” My favorite quote from this piece was, “[W]hen someone creates a system in which you can’t tell whether or not you’re being fooled, you’re being fooled.” And ultimately it explains just what Enron did, was trying to do, and how it failed. And yet, he also looks at how the system of regulations is what enable Enron to defraud its investors. O’Rourke asserts that “Regulation creates a moral hazard. We don’t understand finance, but it’s regulared so we’re safe.” In other words, regulation dulls management’s own moral voice, that little angel that sits on the shoulders of management. Presumably, regulation has replaced the angel and the devil is all that’s left. An interesting argument, and only one of many great pieces you’ll read when you buy BBCWY.

Also, these stories are still so timely; we’re still trying to figure out how these crimes happened, how to prevent them in the future, and how we’re going to dig ourselves out of the economical mess they created. Certainly there is a vast continuum regarding the intent of the CEOs, CFOs, Directors and others who ran their companies based on promises. Not all of them meant to hurt anyone (we’ve heard that before), but like many of us during the holidays, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and unlike our individual ability to leave our plates, these folks kept taking food and finding ingenious ways to hide it. Well, hidden food eventually rots and the smell gave these folks away.

Anther interesting quote comes from Peter Behr & April Witt’s Visionary’s Dream Led to Risky Business.” We’ve done much to blame the head honchos for these corporate shenanigans, but what about those who went along for the ride. These authors write that these folks “had chosen shame over confrontation.” What a stunning way to put it.

If you want a solid understanding of the devastation American business has faced in the past year or so, this is the perfect book for you. Just the best written, most pertinent pieces of very, very important news.

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