As the year 2000 began, the financial world was abuzz over a remarkable Texas-based energy company. From its start as an oil and gas producer, the firm had expanded to pioneer online trading in energy commodities, then branched into building high-speed broadband networks. Fortune magazine named it “America’s Most Innovative Company” six years in a row. Its sales, profits, and stock price were soaring, and its name was known everywhere: Enron.
Just 18 months later, Enron was collapsing. Its stock price plummeted from $90 to just pennies. The company’s fall cost thousands…