It was at a budget-planning session for the year 2000 that Skilling discovered just how bad things really were. He was expecting the international executives to present plans to bring in $500 million in operating profit; instead, they projected less than $100 million. He thought at first they were lowballing him, giving him a number they knew they could beat. He soon discovered that just the opposite was true: the $100 million was a stretch. “We invested $5 billion in equity to earn $90 million?” he asked in disbelief.
