The lost letters all centered on J. Paul Oxer's article regarding the collapse of Enron. Each was strong and carefully considered, whether unfavorable or strongly positive. The debacle is upsetting and costly to many of us, and this was the Review's effort to cover a topic that was just "shaking out." The anger regarding Enron (and Tyco, and WorldCom, and on and on) is well deserved; these megalithic firms were highly influential in technology, economy, and politics, yet poor accounting and questionable ethics were the root causes of their problems, not technology or marketing.

Little had yet been published by Enron insiders who had a first-hand, helpless view of the disintegration of a giant. The anger within the organization at a leadership that led the organization into oblivion differs from that of outsiders (customers, investors, suppliers, politicians, and communities) even though the causes and outcomes are essentially the same-loss and destruction. It is early to sort out the internal villains and heroes as it all looks bad from the outside, and there is more than a little "spin" seeking to rewrite this story. But amid the amazingly foul actions of management were presumably many highly talented employees who were ethically committed to their work. They deserve to be among the angriest; yet they will inevitably be cast among the villains.

Oxer passed his article by a number of former (and presumably angry) co-workers who, as J. Paul did, suffered the loss of work, income, and investment. They were in agreement that the article provided a balanced, accurate view of Enron from the inside; a good concept, many outstanding employees, but unable to overcome the massive ethical disintegration fermenting at the highest levels within. Now an accounting firm has gone down in flames and concern is expressed that other energy-related firms may also head south. If so, it is not out of the question that a mega-bank might be in serious straights; such possibilities arise when high-risk strategies are backed by $150+ billion in loans. High risk indeed when politicians and the public are calling for punishment.

The careers of many engineers are at the mercy of unethical financial practices, aggressive risk assumption,unrealistic strategies, and inappropriate management practices. If the engineering workplace is to maintain an ethically based stability, it is necessary for engineers to be more active in corporate leadership and strategy. This is contrary to the evolution of engineering education and practice, which demands specialization at the expense of breadth. When it comes to leadership, where are the engineers? We need to change that.