Enron stands out as one of the most spectacular failures in business history. Thus
far, most attention has been focused on its accountancy practices. This article, by
contrast, explores its internal culture and the leadership practices of its top
people. These included a particular emphasis on charismatic leadership, particularly
in the persons of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling; the promotion of a compelling
vision by these leaders of a totalistic nature; individual consideration, expressed
in a recruitment system designed to activate a process analogous to conversion; and
the promotion of a culture characterized by conformity and the penalizing of
dissent. Drawing on the vast archive of material now available on Enron, and in
particular on the best known accounts of former employees, the article discusses to
what extent Enron can be usefully regarded as an example of a corporate cult.
Finally, the discussion is located in the context of emerging trends in business and
leadership practice, and considers the extent to which what happened at Enron is
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