A few weeks ago, we posted a series of blogs on blunders by entry- or low-level employees that ended up costing their companies big money. Unfortunately, Google has recently had its own blunder; we’ll discuss that here, as well as what we can learn from Google’s mistake.
Google’s Big Blunder
First, here’s what happened at Google. According to Welltower Human Capital Specialist Michael Schneider, “A dummy advert was mistakenly published while a group of trainees were being shown Google’s in-house ad system.”
Schneider adds, “Although the ad, which showed up as a giant yellow square on thousands of websites, ran for only about 45 minutes, the Financial Times estimated that it cost Google $10 million in payments to publishers and cleanup costs.”
Obviously, mistakes like this may be difficult to predict and plan for, but Schneider offers some steps to help mitigate such risks based on a five-step process he borrowed from project management expert Dave Wakeman.
1. Identify Potential Risks
This might take some time, but it’s important to try to identify every potential risk that could impact your organization. Engage a wide range of employees and other stakeholders in this exercise to minimize blind spots.
2. Analyze the Risk
Schneider recommends playing the “what if” game with your list of potential risks. If Risk X manifests itself, what would be the impact to the company?
3. Prioritize the Risks
Some risks are more substantial than others, and you can’t tackle every risk at once. You might not even be able to tackle all of the risks facing your organization ever. The key is to focus on the risks that pose the greatest impact, as well as the greatest likelihood of actually occurring.
4. Mitigate the Risks
Once you’ve had a chance to identify and prioritize the risks facing your company, develop plans to address and mitigate those risks. “The easiest way to begin is to take a mistake and work backward,” says Schneider. “Re-trace your steps and add preventative measures along the way.”
5. Monitor
After you’ve put your mitigation processes in place, the job isn’t done. You need to track and monitor your successes and failures and adjust accordingly.
Mistakes happen, and it’s not possible to completely eliminate all risk from any organization. But the five-step process above can, hopefully, help avoid the most costly and high-profile risks for companies in any industry.