Chapter 59: Taking an Unconventional Path
Song Yang and Jeff Skilling were looking at each other. Jeff was a middle-aged white man in his forties, with a look of rebelliousness and pride that was visible to the naked eye.
Jeff also has the qualifications to be proud. He graduated from Harvard with excellent grades. In his class at Harvard, when people from mentors to classmates mentioned who the smartest person at Harvard was, Jeff always chose him. After graduation, he joined McKinsey, the top consulting firm in America, and then joined forces with Kenneth to push Enron to its current level.
It can be said that the current Enron, which is so ambitious and full of desire for expansion, is basically brought about by Jeff. He is also the person Kenneth trusts the most and is recognized as the second-in-command of Enron. If Kenneth is the leader, then Jeff is the strategist, and all the most important decisions of Enron are pushed forward by him.
"Oh, of course I've heard of you, Houston's technological genius. I hope you won't let me down today!" Jeff looked at Song Yang with scrutiny, then said with a smile.
Those present today were basically shareholders, directors, and senior executives of Enron. Song Yang, who was sitting at the end of the conference room, looked at everyone in the conference room. Basically, they were people of prominent status.
After the meeting began, Jeff Skilling took the lead and said, "Enron must make changes, otherwise it will be like ExxonMobil, like an old elephant falling to the ground and finally turning into decay!"
As soon as Jeff came up, he pointed his gun at his arch-rival, Mobil Energy. "Enron must make changes. We cannot just be in the natural gas pipeline business. Enron must become the helmsman of the energy industry. We must formulate new rules for the energy industry, let Enron set sail again, and break down those old rules!"
Jeff Skilling made no secret of his ambition to surpass ExxonMobil and other rivals. Everyone in the conference room, except Song Yang, seemed to agree with Jeff's theory, believing that companies like Mobil represented the old economy, while Enron was the new economy that was going to replace them.
"Enron must be different from other natural gas companies. We want to build the world's first energy financial platform and become a trader and wholesaler in the energy industry. Even other oil, electricity, coal, steel and any other industry derivatives can be traded on the 'Enron Online' website!"
As soon as Jeff Skilling finished speaking, the entire conference room was immediately filled with noise. Regarding Jeff's proposal, all Enron shareholders and directors were excited but also a little nervous. According to Jeff's plan, the money burned by this platform was not a small amount.
However, seeing Kenneth sitting back and letting Jeff promote the plan, all the Enron directors understood that this matter must have been approved by Kenneth.
"President Kenneth, if we launch the Enron Online website, we will need to invest too much money, and the returns are uncertain!" said a representative of a Wall Street investment bank with concern.
It is not that easy to do futures trading, the uncertainty is too high, and it is not as comfortable as guarding a natural gas pipeline and making a huge profit. Now Enron's pipeline transports 20% of the energy to the entire America. If this proportion is increased to 50%, wouldn't it be great? !
But Kenneth had obviously reached an agreement with Jeff. After Jeff mentioned this project to him, Kenneth had begun to look down on the slow-moving, small-scale pipeline business.
Kenneth has agreed with Jeff to use Wall Street methods to run Enron. Kenneth hopes to make Enron surpass Mobil and other old energy giants in the shortest time possible and make Enron an investment bank in the energy industry. This is undoubtedly the fastest way.
"If everything goes well, Enron can become the largest trader in the global energy industry, and its revenue will exceed 100 billion US dollars before 1998!" Kenneth said to everyone in the conference room.
This statement caused the entire conference room to go crazy. A revenue of over 100 billion yuan in the next three years would be like an elephant dancing for a company of Enron's size.
Faced with this temptation, even the Enron directors who were worried about the risks did not speak out to stop it. Although there were still voices of opposition, it was obvious that it could not prevent the resolution from being passed.
Song Yang sat in the back, feeling a little bored. He had already understood that he was pulled here by Kenneth today to serve as a tool to tell these Enron directors that DoubleClick would provide technical support for the "Enron Online" website and would be able to successfully launch the website.
"Song, what do you think? You are a genius in the technology industry. The Internet is your territory!"
Kenneth suddenly called Song Yang's name at this time, which made Song Yang stunned for a moment. Everyone in the conference room also looked at Song Yang.
"Jeff's plan is very clever. Enron Online will definitely become the world's largest energy trading website. This is equivalent to creating another Enron..." When he said this, Song Yang immediately felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the conference room. He wished he could do something to himself. This was a slogan for Enron.
The conference room was quiet for a few seconds, and then someone began to applaud. The first person to applaud was Jeff Skilling, and then applause broke out throughout the conference room.
"Recreate Enron. I like this slogan," Jeff said to Kenneth sideways. "I suddenly feel that this young man is pretty good!"
Kenneth could also imagine how great an impact the slogan "Rebuild Enron" would have, which would be enough to make Enron's new project famous.
"I told you, he's a genius in the Internet industry. Joetus has approached him twice in a row!" Kenneth was a little proud of his vision.
Jeff Skilling also became interested in Song Yang. He liked making friends with geniuses and liked those wild and creative ideas. For this reason, almost all of his subordinates were recruited from famous universities such as Harvard, University of Chicago, and West Point.
Song Yang didn't want to take the blame for Enron. "I think Enron Online should cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Chicago Board of Trade, etc...."
This was to ask Enron to seek endorsement from the American department. Originally, Jeff wanted to turn Enron Online into a private company website. People who entered the platform could only trade with Enron, which made it easier for Enron to make secret moves. To put it bluntly, Enron was both the seller and the buyer, and those people could only buy and sell with Enron.
"I think it should be so. If the Securities and Exchange Commission is involved, it will be a good thing for Enron Online..." These directors are all smart people. They understood what Song Yang said. Although bringing the Securities and Exchange Commission over will add a few more controls, if something goes wrong, there will be someone to take the blame for them.
Jeff Skilling and Kenneth looked at each other. This was somewhat beyond their expectations, but it was not a big deal. After the Enron Online website was built, Enron would definitely be the largest trader in the market. It would just be a little troublesome during the operation.
"Enron Online should be able to get the endorsement of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States!"
Jeff looked at Kenneth and spoke seriously, which caused laughter in the conference room, as if they had heard a joke. If it were any other company, getting a license might be extremely difficult, but for Enron, it was not a problem at all.
Although Kenneth and Enron are big donors to the Elephant Party, it does not mean that they have no connections in the Donkey Party. Kenneth has also invested a lot of US dollars in the current president. When the president came to Texas, it was Kenneth who accompanied him to play golf. In addition, a group of gentlemen on Capitol Hill, more than 260 congressmen, have received support from Enron.
"We have decided to invite DoubleClick to develop and provide technical support for the Enron Online website. DoubleClick will also be responsible for providing future technology suppliers!"
At the end of the meeting, Kenneth said to everyone in the conference room, and a group of Enron directors also showed an expression of understanding. This was basically a return of favor. In the future, Double Click Company would be able to get hundreds of millions or even tens of millions of US dollars in "technical service fees" from Enron Online every year. Everyone in the conference room understood this routine, but they didn't know why Kenneth supported Song Yang so much.
After the meeting, Kenneth and Jeff were in a good mood. Kenneth invited Song Yang to his huge office with luxurious decorations.
Handing Song Yang a glass of wine, Kenneth and Jeff raised their glasses and said, "Cheers, let's create another Enron!"
After a glass of wine, Kenneth said to Song Yang, "Song, DoubleClick is the technical consultant for Enron Online. You need to help Enron develop and launch the website as soon as possible!"
"Kenneth, you are going to Washington to deal with telecommunications business. Time is running out!" Jeff said to Kenneth.
"Telecommunications business, Enran is going to enter the telecommunications business?" Song Yang who was sitting next to him couldn't help but say.
Kenneth and Jeff looked at Song Yang . Jeff looked at Kenneth and saw the latter nod. Then he said to Song Yang, "It's okay to tell you, Song. At the latest by early next year, the President will introduce a new telecommunications bill, and the Federal Communications Commission will lift restrictions on the telecommunications and media industries!"
This news was no secret to people like Kenneth, but for Song Yang, it was the first time he heard it, and his heart was filled with shock.
In the past, Song Yang might not have known what this meant, but now Song Yang understands that the communications and media industry structure in America, which has been maintained for nearly half a century, will usher in tremendous changes!
However, after hearing the news in advance, Song Yang could only sigh slightly in his heart. This is an opportunity that the telecommunications industry in America will no longer have in the next 30 years. Once missed in these years, the telecommunications and media industries will be dominated by several giants, and latecomers will have no chance to enter.
Giants like Enron obviously wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain the telecommunications license and then enter the telecommunications and media industries.
However, with Song Yang's current wealth, he is unable to enter the telecommunications and media industry's feast next year.
Song Yang didn't want to think about it anymore, but suddenly he remembered a news report he saw in later life, which made Song Yang's eyes light up. In a head-on confrontation, Song Yang could not compete with those telecom giants, but if he took an unconventional approach, he might have a chance!
