Onetruthbetold Weblog

Tiger Woods; Case study in the wrong way to handle a Crisis Communication incident December 2, 2009

     Crisis Communications incidents happen all too often for military organizations.  Fort Hood was the most recent, but it will be eclipsed by another shattering event within the next six months.  A crisis occurs far less often for corporate entities, but when they do, they can reshape an organization for years to come.  Make no mistake, Tiger Woods is a corporate brand and his trademark is just as big as say, Tylenol was to Johnson & Johnson Inc in 1982, considered the cornerstone case study of Crisis Communications.

     To coin the phrase, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”, rings true with an icon like Tiger Woods.  His image has been so well protected and carefully managed, it’s shocking to many that Woods could be so human.  His image appeared bulletproof, however it was untested which probably gave a fatal false sense of security.  How quickly the glass has shattered.

     There are several wrong moves organizations tend to make during a crisis event.  They include, Confusion, Denial, Disappointment, Disbelief, Hesitation, Victim Confusion, Arrogance and Failure to Launch.  You can see every mistake in the Woods crisis, but let’s focus on Denial.  Woods may have been scrambling around Nov. 24, three days before the crash, US Weekly Magazine published transcripts of an alleged voice mail Woods sent to Jamie Grubbs asking her to take her name and number off her voice mail because wife Elin apparently found her number in Tiger’s cell phone.  If he has had an affair, or possible multiple affairs, he should have recognized at that moment that this was going to reach the public and would have a significant negative impact on his flawless image.  Instead he Denied the reality that nothing is private with public figures and tried to handle it privately; Hesitated; and confused the Victims (Elin, fans, etc.. not Tiger)

     Then after the Nov. 27^th car accident, Denial again played a key role in the lack of action.  This in turn triggered another fatal flaw, Failure to Launch.  The organization (Tiger Woods and handlers) must recognize the Trigger(s) initiating a crisis.  The organization doesn’t control those triggers, they are pulled by others, in many cases, the media.  Silence is by far the worst course of action during a crisis event and Woods was effectively silent, save two brief comments on his official website lacking anything substantive and actually generating more speculation.  Only now, Dec. 2, has Woods accepted the fact that he’s been involved in a Crisis Incident, now a good five days late, issuing a statement that effectively admits to one or more extramarital affairs.  Woods is now in damage control.

     Let’s reset the clock and manage Woods crisis the right way.  First we need to go back well beyond Nov 24.  This first and most important task in successful crisis management is to have a plan.  As Tiger Woods’ Director of Communications, I would have insisted we had in place several crisis scenarios.  Perhaps the “Affair” scenario might have been a little too personal, but I would have developed scenarios that were significant and potentially damaging to the Woods image, say stalker violence against Woods or a family member, somebody embezzling millions from woods, a member of Woods’ entourage involved in a drug or sex scandal.  Then we would exercise these scenarios.  Exercising helps to reduce the corporate friction of Denial and Failure to Launch.  Tasks and responsibilities are assigned to key personnel and Trigger Points are identified and accepted by corporate management (Woods, Agent, Manager, etc…)  Now we have a plan and practiced it.  We hope it never happens, but if it does, we’re ready.

     Fast Forward to Nov 24.  The rumors of an affair are becoming public.  Woods, concentrating on protecting his marriage first, attempts to handle this “in-house”, but the fuse has already been lit and can’t be snuffed out.  If I’m smart enough to recognize this Trigger Point, (traffic on the internet about to go viral) I’d convene corporate leadership right then and demand we begin crisis implementation.  Let’s say I hesitate and Tiger won’t reveal to me and corporate the truth about affairs (Denial).  Nov 27, mysterious accident outside his home, word of an affair has now gone viral, we’ve hit the unmistakable Trigger. 

 First Response: 

End Victim Production  (Wife Elin will be lauded as the “poor wife” time and time again as more details come out in a media death by a thousand cuts)

Victim Management

Employee Communications

2^nd & 3^rd order notifications

Go with what you know

      Tiger has to come clean to victim #1, Elin.  I contact the women he’s had affairs with.  They’re victims (in the crisis comms sense) too.  I tell them we’re getting out in front of this, if you don’t want to be named, come sign a nondisclosure agreement now.  We’re giving you the choice of privacy only if you want it.

     We communicate with the organization’s employees, namely wife Elin.  That’s Tiger’s job.  He caused this mess, he has to own it.  That’s another important task.  Take responsibility and show care for the victims.  Going public covers 2^nd & 3^rd order notifications focusing messages to targeted groups; fans, corporate sponsors; the PGA.  We communicate beginning Nov 28^th with what we know, maybe it’s what Tiger is willing to disclose.  I’d press Tiger for full disclosure to me and let the crisis team manage what, how and when to release it, but bottom line, no rock goes unturned in an incident like this.

     So, how does Tiger Woods help the military PAO?  His crisis communications failures could be repeated at dozens on commands around the globe.  To be successful, we have to have a plan with command buy in.  It has to be exercised and kept up to date.  Key personnel have to be capable of playing their roles and most importantly, the commander must be capable of recognizing the Trigger Points and avoid the common pitfalls that plague organizations ill prepared for a crisis.

 Many of the Crisis Communications steps address come from James Lukaszewski, the Lukaszewski Group Inc.