Essay

profileNorco
requirments.docx

1.“‘We’ve been fooling investors. We can’t keep doing that.’ Elizabeth’s expression suddenly changed. Her cheerful demeanor of just moments ago vanished and gave way to a mask of hostility. It was like a switch had been flipped.” (Page 8)

Those words explain how Elizabeth has ability to switch the charisma on and off, using it to charm people into following her but showing sudden anger toward anyone who cannot see things the same way she does. This quote seems as a sign that Elizabeth couldn’t be trusted. She can control her real feelings and change based to the situation.

2.“Elizabeth liked to keep information compartmentalized so that only she had the full picture of the system’s development.” (Page 20)

This part shows Elizabeth ego that does not work in the field work. Departments at Theranos—chemists and engineers, for example—were discouraged from communicating. Secrecy is bad for the creative process, and the lack of information pass-through hobbled product development while extending the mistakes that led to the company’s downfall. 

3.“[Elizabeth] was so laser focused on achieving her goals that she seemed oblivious to the practical implications of her decisions.”( Page 21)

focusing on achieving her goal, Elizabeth neglects her health and that of her employees, putting pressure on all her employees. At this rate, critical mistakes get done, and, given Elizabeth’s iron determination to succeed, cover-ups weren’t out of the question. 

4.“We have lost sight of our business objective. Did this company set out to ‘put a bunch of people in a room and prevent them from doing illegal things,’ or did it set out to ‘do something amazing with the best people, as quickly as possible’?” (Page 32)

Ex-Apple designer Justin Maxwell vented in an email to Ana Arriola, another Apple veteran, after both were hired by Theranos to develop the  Edison  blood reader but found themselves stymied by an overly restrictive company culture with tight restrictions on interdepartmental communications that put security above creativity.