Enron is a huge reminder of how easy it is to assume; of how the massive confidence of some readily inspires the trust of many. A reminder too of the power of the inconvenient question – just like the one that the reporter from Fortune posed when she asked the CEO how exactly did they make money?
Inconvenient questions are a bit like those sewer tests where they send smoke into the pipes – they’re how you spot where the gaps are and where they aren’t.
Who’s asking those questions at your place? And what do you do with those lines of enquiry and the people who ask them?
Do you treat the questioners like heroes and truth seekers, the people who really care about your organisation and its reputation? Does everyone just carry on assuming, and have you noticed that those people are no longer there? If these questions in themselves are unwelcome, chances are there’s your answer right there.