Chipotle's Own Goal

Soccer fans know that own goals -- when a member of your own team knocks the ball into the net -- are the most painful, and the most difficult from which to recover. Such unforced errors sap morale, dishearten fans, and give hope to the rivals who managed to score a valuable point without having to make much of an effort.

Own goals are relatively uncommon at the highest level of soccer. But they are somewhat more common at the highest levels of business. Over the years, we've seen a host of episodes in which companies take easily avoidable actions, or let themselves fall prey to easily avoidable risks, that wind up causing immense damage. Coca-Cola introducing New Coke. A Hollywood studio spending $55 million to make Ishtar. Webvan raising hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital and falling face first.

To this mix we can add Chipotle. The company had been a darling of the fast-food quick service restaurant business, opening hundreds of outlets, and drawing legions of loyal fans -- all on the back of its promise of (comparatively more) healthy food, quality ingredients, and a less-industrialized approach to the production of meals.

Which is why the series of outbreaks of food-borne illness that struck Chipotle customers in recent months has been so damaging. The company controlled its own food safety and supply chain. It's business proposition was that its restaurants were an extremely safe place to eat. And, as I've noted in this column,  the company was explicitly aware of the risk it faced when it came to managing food safety. In fact, it told investors in its filings and communications of the potential danger to the company's results, brands, and future if it were to encounter food safety issues.

Own goals are always painful to watch.