Imagine the sleepless nights FedEx’s Vice President of Marketing must have experienced when this video was posted on YouTube.

In case you’re not a link clicker, it’s the home security camera video of a FedEx employee throwing a computer monitor over a recipient's fence. The box was clearly marked, yet it appears the driver made no attempt to ring a doorbell or deliver the package in a way that wouldn’t have destroyed the contents.

This type of mishandling may happen all the time; I don’t know. But now, thanks to a video camera and the actions of one employee, millions of people may think twice before shipping anything – let alone anything of value – via FedEx. A few seconds of laziness or thoughtlessness on the part of one person may have cost an international company an incalculable amount in brand damage. At the very least, the name FedEx will be a punch line for a few weeks.

There is the possibility that this was an isolated incident, but with modern technology and the worldwide inter-connectivity that the Internet provides, even one such incident can cost a company dearly. So, it’s worth asking: Is there anything about your company’s culture, training programs or deadlines that would cause an employee to take the kind of dangerous shortcut the FedEx driver took? If so, what can you do to fix it? Now!

Yes, digital technology allows us tremendous speed and convenience: a marketer’s dream! It also makes it possible for anyone to present your company’s weaknesses to a worldwide audience: a marketer’s nightmare!