Tue, May 11, 2010 - 9:42:56

Even in the Global Marketplace, Little Mistakes Can Spell Disaster

Thursday we all felt our stomachs tighten when word spread across the news waves about the stock market’s 900 point drop, which occurred within a matter of twenty minutes. Although the market fortunately recouped much of the day’s losses before closing down 300 points, reports soon surfaced questioning whether one tiny mistake could have triggered the mass panic. Although the Dow later denied the reports, industry experts initially questioned whether the significant sell-offs may have been the result of what is known in the industry as a “fat finger trade.”  Or, to put it in layman’s terms: a typo.
Experts Thursday afternoon suspected that a trader may have accidentally typed a “b” for billion instead of an “m” for million when recording a trade earlier that day. And while officials have now deemed that the market turbulence was a result of fears swirling around Greece’s debt, it serves as a powerful reminder of the potent effect that one little error can have.
In this big world, it’s easy to feel like our little actions simply don’t matter. But, the truth is, something as little as a typo really can have life-altering consequences—not just for you, but for millions of others, too. Even though yesterday’s financial panic wasn’t the result of a tiny glitch, the mere possibility that it could have been is sobering.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to prevent a disaster—whether personal or professional—from occurring: sweat the small stuff. When you take the time to hone in on the little details and make sure they are “letter-perfect,” you can virtually eliminate the risk of an unintended slip-up. Certainly accidents happen, but making simple efforts to prevent them—like proofreading a document just one more time or making sure you’re pressing “reply” instead of “reply all” on an email—can make a dramatic impact.

So, forget the notion that “thinking big” is the only way to get ahead and “think small.”  Instead of getting caught-up in the details, you just might find they’ll catch you before you fall.

Posted by Linda and Robin