Price errors and the consequences in Google

This story I heard in the first week of my summer internship at Google, during the familiarization with the company. He told her a veteran engineer whose name I no longer remember, as I do not remember the small details of the story, such as a specific number. However, the message of this story is very important and shows how "non-traditional" methods of management can be quite productive. This error will cost several hundred thousand dollars, and its consequences.




Engineer (let's call him Mike) has worked at Google for about ten years. This story happened to him long ago, when he was at the beginnings of his career, the search giant. Now he often tells the story recruits like me, when they first come into the company.
Without going into details, and details of, say, that all started when Mike started production in its code. Suddenly analytical Triggers sounded the alarm: Google (or rather some of its department) lost by $ 70,000 every five minutes. Soon leak reacted and retreated to the previous stable version. However, by that time had been lost several hundred thousand dollars. Steel whole department to find out what was wrong. Mike checked my code and realized that it was an error in it. His frustration knew no bounds: Mike knew that he would be fired, and possibly require compensation for negligence. Maybe somewhere else I would have done, but not in Google. Mike was not fired, Mike did not produce fine, Mike was asked to write a post-Mortes - a statement of their mistakes in order to preserve it for future generations, in the form of edification: do not do it!

Many of us, especially people with SSSRskim mentality, tried to punish a negligent employee. However, non-intuitive act Google release management has many advantages:
1. Expensive training
Yes, Google has lost a million dollars. But look at it as the cost of training the employee. We just gave a million for his school, for his mistake that he, being an adequate and rational person would never allow! This was a waste of investment in its study, and will be stupid to dismiss this man, give it to another company after such expensive training.
2. Increase loyalty
Mike was really sorry that he made a costly mistake, and he was preparing for dismissal. Leniency management could not affect him deeply. The fact that it simple and left Google, the company increased its loyalty and devotion. In Silicon Valley, where the "turnover" good engineers is high, loyalty - an important cost item.
3. Internal marketing
Mike every year from the rostrum tells the story of Google recruits. And since I'm writing it here, many do not remain indifferent to it, and appreciate the wisdom and generosity of his new employer even more.
4. Correction of errors, instead of hiding
At the end of the story, Mike calls not to hide their mistakes, because it can only do harm. If anyone of us would have made a mistake worth one million dollars, most of all, we would like that no one will ever know that it is we who are guilty. However, Mike said, better tell me what you blundered, hit the bell, proeskaliruyte the problem to higher levels as soon as possible - to resolve it promptly. Punish you for a mistake will not be - but may for lying, concealment and incompetence. The moral of this part of history encourages new employees of Google, indeed, not to hide their mistakes, and to solve and correct them - together, if necessary.

At the time the error is resolved, Google has lost a large sum of money. Return them is probably not possible. Instead of looking for the guilty and punish, management entered the search giant really is solomonovski. Take note.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/252718/