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Lessons Learned from CEO Chainsaw Al Dunlap

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Once considered a brilliant contemporary manager, CEO Chainsaw Al Dunlap was later branded a symbol of corporate greed and long-term failure.    Former CEO “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap built up his reputation and career quickly, achieving short-term success at a number of companies.  However, a number of lessons can be learned from the former Sunbeam Chairman and CEO’s rise to success and subsequent fall to corporate failure.  Business ethics in management requires telling the truth; lies told by corporate leaders can ruin their careers. Part of former Dunlap’s corporate character was built upon a fictionalized dramatization of his childhood.  True, Al Dunlap earned some respect for being confident, getting good grades in high school, working out frequently, and standing up for himself when challenged by peers.  However, Dunlap’s life was not as difficult as he

Remember When Enron was Overpriced?

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  The price of Enron stock amazingly rose during the dot com boom and bust.  Journalist Bethany McLean helped discover Enron’s secret by asking ‘why?’.  At the turn of the century, the stock market rose and fell amidst the dot com boom and bust.  Technology firms rose to the forefront, only for an innumerous amount of firms to crash and burn.  In the midst of this chaos was Enron.  Interestingly enough, Enron was an energy company who did not fit the new age technology description.  As a misfit at the top of corporate America, Enron’s questionable practices would reshape the business world and the accounting practices that come with it.  Is Enron Overpriced? McLean curiously questioned Enron’s success in Fortune magazine in 2001.  She spoke to Enron executives and market analysts to get a better picture of the company.  From their feedback it was clear t