Creative Reaction

Fortune Magazine completely misses something here while they are trashing Google in a PRI/Marketplace interview, the transcript of which is here.

(EXCERPT)
INTERVIEWER:
They’ve got this culture where anything goes and you can learn from your mistakes. Do you ever get fired, though, from Google? I mean, I’ve never heard of anybody losing their job there.

FORTUNE MAGAZINE:
In fact, one of Google’s most senior executives Sheryl Sanberg, who’s a vice president and runs all of the automated advertising systems that Google has, told me about a multimillion-dollar mistake that she made. And when she realized her mistake she walked across the street at the Googleplex in Mountain View and she told cofounder Larry Page about it. What was interesting was his reaction. He said, “Yeah, we shouldn’t have done that. We’ll know better next time. But, oh, by the way, it’s good that you made this mistake. I’m glad,” he told her, “because we need to be the kind of company that is willing to make mistakes. Because if we’re not making mistakes, then we’re not taking risks. And if we’re not taking risks, we won’t get to the next level.”

INTERVIEWER:
You think about that for a second. I mean, if you and I made a million-dollar mistake, even a $100,000 mistake, we’d be gone.

FORTUNE MAGAZINE:
Right, but this is a company that makes so much money, first of all, that it can afford it.
(END EXCERPT)

These guys are both oblivious to something really important here. They are fixated on the money. And they’re wrong to do so. This is about allowing - even encouraging - their employees to take risks and possibly make mistakes. This is part of the corporate culture and more importantly, it is supported all the way up the chain to the CxO level, because they know this is the path to success.

Companies must be eager to extend forgiveness to employees who make mistakes, and then take complete responsibility for their mistakes. These are good, honest people. Be assured, such employees will be grateful, loyal, and willing to work hard for you.