BY SCOTT WHITE ON FEB. 19, 2010
There’s a lot that business owners can learn from the way Tiger Woods has handled his trials and tribulations through Friday’s carefully orchestrated public apology. Most of it bad.
Tiger, like most business owners, appears to love being in control of every situation. And control, of course, is one aspect of business ownership that is so appealing to entrepreneurs. In Tiger’s case, control has been a part of his life from the day his dad decided he wanted to raise the greatest golfer in the world. He was raised and nurtured in a tightly controlled family environment and that control carried over into his professional career as his brand (or image) grew into one of the most well-known and powerful in the world.
So when the unexpected happens — whether to a business owner or Tiger Woods — it’s always interesting to see how people respond to a loss of control.
In this case, Tiger has made the same mistakes made by many CEOs, presidents and business owners used to having control of their life and their business. He continued to operate under the naive belief that he could maintain control of the situation.
What Tiger has discovered, of course, is the same thing that the CEOs, presidents and business owners find out the hard way. Trying to avoid or hide from a crisis only makes it worse. Once you turn over control of a crisis to the news media — and now the social media — it is almost impossible to regain control.
By going underground and not addressing the issues up front, Tiger turned the entire discussion over to the news media. The result was predictable: a feeding frenzy, especially among the tabloid media and their followers, that ultimately cost him endorsements, cost him money, and may very likely cost him a chance to salvage his marriage. For sure it has cost him a lot of the good will that he had built up for his brand over his career.
Not that the media and paparazzi would have ignored the story. But just think how different the situation would have been had Tiger come out immediately and said, “I messed up. I have a problem. I’m going to take care of the problem and that means I will be out of the limelight for awhile as I try to deal with these issues.”
That’s something the public can understand and would have seemed much more sincere. Had he admitted the seriousness of the problem up front, it would have blunted the shock of each new revelation and turned him into a more sympathetic figure.
Instead, by apparently believing he could somehow keep the details from coming out, he created an environment that played directly into the hands of a news media that loves to tear down the same stars they have created. Each new revelation of an affair not only re-energized but created a need among the news media to dig even deeper for fear of being scooped by a competitor. Rumors, gossip and misinformation went unchallenged, which in turn bred more rumors, gossip and misinformation.
Tiger made the same mistakes that many business owners make when facing a crisis. By not addressing the issue quickly and honestly, he lost any chance of having any control of the situation. Now he has set himself up for an even bigger failure.
He has given the public time to form their opinions without access to his side of the story. And today’s carefully scripted event likely will have very little impact on those opinions.
Those who had formed negative opinions will look at today’s apology cynically, as nothing more than a PR stunt aimed at saving his career and stopping the bleeding from his endorsement deals. Those who were sympathetic will take the statements as proof that he is making an sincere attempt to save his marriage and change.
Ultimately, Tiger will find out what good PR pros preach to their clients on a regular basis: It’s not what you say or how you say it that matters. Ultimately, it’s what you do that matters. The bottom line is that Tiger’s actions — not today’s event — will determine whether he was sincere.
His problem is that by waiting and not participating in the discussion from the start, he has left himself with no margin for error. Had he apologized first, admitted his problem and said he would try to address it, future missteps might be forgiven as the struggle of a tragic figure still trying to overcome a problem. Now, however, even the slightest misstep risks proving the cynics right and destroying his credibility. If that happens, it will be near impossible for him to rebuild his image to the pre-crisis point.
Perhaps Tiger Woods’ brand and earnings power can withstand this crisis and the way it has been mishandled. After all, few brands have the clout and power of Tiger Woods.
Could your company withstand such a blow to your image and brand?
There are lessons to be learned here for a every business owner.
Don’t hide from a crisis. Recognize that all the bad news will very likely get out. Address your problems up front. Tell your publics what you are going to do to correct the problem and begin to do so.
To do otherwise will make the road to recovery much more difficult, if not impossible.
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Scott White is president of Dallas-based PR and marketing company BizCom Associates.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Tiger Woods greatly exemplifies a case where effective PR tactics could and should have been used. Tiger has done almost everything but really confront the problem. I agree that his case can be used as an example, not just for other celebrities, but for companies dealing with a crisis. Problems arise all the time and rectifying them before they get out of hand is vital. Woods, in his delay of information has done nothing but lower his credibility and cause him strain and stress. Everyone has problems but running away from them, especially in our industry is never the way to go.
As you mentioned in the post, “It’s not what you say or how you say it that matters. Ultimately, it’s what you do that matters.” Our actions speak louder than words and that will be the deciding factor in Tiger’s case. One way he has been able to show his remorse is through his admittance that he was in rehab and was trying to rectify his past mistakes. However that action and others are still being judged by the public.
Tiger’s situation might be extremely unfortunate but can serve as a reminder for all businesses, PR or not, that inaction and apologies will get you nowhere. You must be swift and firm in your decisions after a catastrophic event and be straightforward with the media. Doing so will assure your continued success and longevity and will get you through the situation unscathed.