Rotten to the Core

Maria Bartiromo, famous CNBC host, is interviewing Sherron Watkins, famous Enron whistleblower, in the June 12 issue of BusinessWeek.

It is worth buying the magazine just for this interview, and here's one part that really stands out:

"You have said you are unemployable. What do you mean?"

"I couldn't get a normal corporate job. There are plenty of people who give me a bear hug, but plenty of others give me that odd handshake. I don't want to come off as a "poor me." I am moving in circles I would have never imagined. Enron became the word for scandal, and the media had all of their villains, and they wanted a hero. So it was fortunate for me. Being the Time Person of the Year is about as hero status as you can get, I guess. There is nothing about my life that I regret, but this has been the most bizarre thing that could have ever happened."

"What's your advice to others who see fraud?"

"Look out for yourself. I counsel people that you need to find the safety net of another job and leave before you say anything. Also, don't ever do it alone. Then you can't be dismissed as one lone voice. But be ready to lose your job."

Did you notice something? Even though everyone knows Sherron did they right thing, even though everyone knows Enron collapsed as she had predicted, even though Kenny Boy Lay and Jeff Skilling have been convicted, even though Sherron was named "Time Person of the Year," Sherron still can't get a new job.

Words are cheap, action is everything, especially in business.

If true, the fact that no one is willing to offer Sherron a job tells us that American business is rotten to the core. How sad.