Subscribe to my Feed
« Can we trust China’s new code of ethics? | Home | Does absolute power lead to absolute dishonesty? »
Google your prospects
By Lauren | March 12, 2010
Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s focus on a fabulous tool to minimize your litigation risk. Everybody already knows that running an Internet search on a prospective client or customer can make it easier to close a deal by providing a wealth of information to help you tailor your pitch. But Internet searches on prospective clients and customers can also protect your and your business from litigation. Here’s how:
An investment consultant (let’s call her Ellen) recently told me about a narrow legal scrape she had several years ago with one of her clients, a large institutional investor. Seems that one of the client’s key staffers (we’ll call him Fred) was taking kickbacks from a particular fund. Fred, playing dumb, provided Ellen with carefully selected information about the fund and asked for her analysis. Unaware of Fred’s under-the-table interest, Ellen reviewed the materials he gave her, decided that the fund looked like a good deal, and recommended that her client invest. Later, when the fund went under and Fred’s misconduct came to light, Ellen found herself under investigation as a co-conspirator in investment fraud. She eventually cleared her name, but only after spending many anxious months and a small fortune in legal fees, far more than the money she earned from that engagement.
Fred had a criminal record that he had “neglected” to mention when the client hired him, and his past crimes made the papers when he was convicted. Ellen might well have discovered that if she had Googled the client and its key employees, including Fred, before accepting the job. Unfortunately for Ellen, that wasn’t an option at the time. Today, that sort of publicly-available information is far easier to access, and getting it ahead of time can help you make smarter decisions about whether to work with particular people or companies.
Professionals like Ellen should be able to rely on their clients and customers to be honest and trustworthy, and Ellen’s client dropped the ball by failing to do a background check when Fred was hired. Still, before taking on potential liability, it’s useful to know if a prospect has a history of shady dealings or brings too much baggage to the table. It’s almost always easier to turn down a job in the first place than to try to pull out after things start getting ugly. Forewarned is forearmed, and it’s worth investing a little time in research to save yourself and your company a world of legal trouble down the road.
Topics: Business Ethics, Lauren Recommends, Risk Management, ethics |