IMHO Enron did not pioneer this abortion of a management system. The USAF did.
In the mid-1970’s the AF had an imbalance of officers caused by the Vietnam build up. To help rebalance the officer corps they came up with a controlled OER system - 24% of officers in any particular grade could receive the top rating a ‘1” in their final box. 26% could receive a “2” and the remaining 50% (half your captains (for an example) could get a “promotable ‘3”. In at era promotion rates to major and LtCol were never more than 60% of those eligible you see the reason for the quotes around promotable.
The immediate impact was not the reduction in the number of officers serving but in the destruction of officer corps itself - why help a fellow officer if he got a promotable grade on his annual performance rating at your expense. Why mentor or train the new guy when he could beat you of a promotable grade next near? It also marked the beginning of the blind pursuit of “tie-brakers” that frequently had nothing to do with your primary job.
Developing and maintaining an effective management team is NOT something you learn behind a desk or in a text book. But, we continue to follow failures and wonder why it happens again, and again, and to abnauseaum.
Thx Nip. I stand corrected!