re : r - squared world tour good , valid points . i think that i agree that we should not have a tour
strictly for " control " purposes . ted , how do you feel about the concept of a
general business tour on an annual basis that would touch on , but not solely
focus on controls ?
from : ted murphy @ ect 02 / 11 / 2000 11 : 57 am
to : rick buy , richard causey / corp / enron @ enron
cc : sally beck / hou / ect @ ect
subject : r - squared world tour
dear r 2 : ? i would like you to consider the following in determining the appropriate ? course of action in your mission to ensure that all our offices have process , ? procedures and policies to adequately support the business activities : ? ? i believe that your going on a series of trips is precisely the wrong ? approach and not only do i think it will be relatively unproductive ( as ? compared to your tremendous productivity at home base ) but i honestly believe ? it will be counterproductive . here ' s why : ? ? 1 ) while you guys are on a plane or in a remote office , you will be less ? in touch and available to make decisions at home ? 2 ) when you are preparing to go and de - compressing from having been , you ? will be distracted , tired and attempting to catch up to all your other ? duties . ? 3 ) there are only two of you and many of them . ? 4 ) please don ' t take this the wrong way , but i question whether you even ? are the best qualified from a skill perspective ( kevin sweeney , vlady ? gorny , john vickers , et al might be the best to dig into the details ) ? 5 ) when you guys are the face , it means the rest of us are not . this ? means that our presence and authority , which will be required on ? an on - going basis in order for this to have lasting effect , will be ? completely undermined . senior people need to know that if a ? sweeney , murphy , hardy , etc walks into their office and finds something ? not right , that it will be communicated up the line with reprecussions . ? if you were to investigate anonomously , i believe that a universal theme is ? that stuff gets pointed out and nothing ever gets changed . it puts those ? in the position of knowing on the defensive and sounding shrill . ? ? my suggestions is that you stay home . sally , aa myself and others should ? develop a template for consistent analysis of the offices and a plan to ? maintain an on - going pressure and results . part of that plan would be a ? requirement to report to you guys the findings and recommendations in a ? concise way with you following up to the heads of those offices about what , ? if anything , needs to change as quickly as possible after the review . ? ? the most important things you can do will be to pave the way for our ? departure , be available to assimilate the findings and be prepared to ? follow - up . everyone already knows that they need to respect your wishes . ? they need to know ( as do we ) that we have your support and you will respect ? and act on our recommendations . ? ? thank you for indulging me . i am afraid that i am correct . ? ted ? ?