| Within hours after Tiger Woods crashed his Cadillac | | | | on affairs with more than a dozen women -- as far as |
| Escalade into a fire hydrant then a tree early last | | | | he could remember. |
| November 28, contradictory details of Tiger's and his | | | | He'd clarify things for the reporters with a slick |
| wife Elin Nordegren's account of the accident started | | | | PowerPoint presentation containing photos, names and |
| trickling in. | | | | backgrounds of each woman. As with any big-screen |
| Soon the trickle became a steady stream that grew | | | | presentation, Tiger would use a laser pointer to focus |
| and grew until it washed away Tiger's entire story | | | | on key points, such as each girlfriend's photo. |
| along with his upstanding, good-guy image and, | | | | He'd include sound bites from voice mail messages |
| apparently, his marriage. | | | | exchanged with various women. He'd also include clips |
| From what we've learned since that morning, Tiger's | | | | from steamy emails and other correspondence. |
| public persona as an honorable husband and family | | | | He'd distribute a print-out and a CD of his presentation |
| man was merely a facade that collapsed shortly after | | | | and post a copy of everything on his website. |
| Elin shattered the Escalade's back window with a golf | | | | Then he'd open the press conference to Q and A. |
| club. | | | | After remaining on stage for however long it would |
| As a public relations professional, I have advised many | | | | take for each reporter to get a satisfactory answer to |
| corporate clients as to how they should handle | | | | every question on his/her mind, Tiger would thank |
| communications during times of trouble. Essentially, I've | | | | everyone for attending, then he'd go back to being |
| helped them adhere to the Golden Rule of crisis | | | | Citizen Woods. |
| communications:o Tell it firsto Tell it allo Tell the truth. | | | | The reporters would use the trove of information, |
| By following this precept, many companies have | | | | visuals and audio to write and broadcast their stories. |
| weathered the worst crises with their reputations and | | | | And two days after the car crash, the entire incident |
| bottom lines intact. | | | | would be completely forgotten. |
| If Tiger Woods had come to me -- which I can't | | | | I don't think so. |
| understand why he did not -- I believe I would have, at | | | | The reporters would launch into an insatiable feeding |
| first, considered advising him to stick with the | | | | frenzy and demand more and more information. |
| three-part Golden Rule. | | | | They'd camp out on Tiger's front lawn waiting for him |
| But wait, Tiger is a person. And his mess is a personal | | | | to appear to answer more questions. |
| issue. | | | | Every late night talk show host would make Tiger the |
| In this instance I wouldn't be advising a company CEO | | | | punch line for jokes in their opening monologues. |
| to step forward and tell the world how his organization | | | | Tiger's known girlfriends and a few we hadn't heard of |
| made a mistake, how he's going to fix the problem and | | | | would claim their 15 minutes of fame to tell their version |
| how he'll make sure it doesn't happen again. | | | | of "Life With Tiger." And fair-weather friends would |
| I'd be advising a private citizen to be the first to tell the | | | | say they never really liked Tiger in the first place. |
| world exactly what happened the morning of his | | | | But hey! That's exactly what did happen! And more! |
| accident. For Tiger, that would be an easy explanation. | | | | So what benefit would Citizen Woods have enjoyed |
| He and his wife had a nasty argument, and he | | | | by telling it first, telling it all and telling the truth? He'd |
| crashed his SUV while fleeing the scene in order to let | | | | probably gain no benefit at all. Maybe going silent and |
| tempers cool. | | | | remaining out of sight as he did wasn't such a bad |
| The second part would be tough: telling it all. He'd have | | | | idea. |
| to explain to the world what led up to the argument | | | | To be perfectly honest, I'd have advised Tiger to call |
| with Elin and the resultant car crash. | | | | each company whose products he was endorsing to |
| Could I advise the guy to trash his image and | | | | let them know they should pull his ads. |
| reputation as an upstanding husband and father? | | | | After that, I'd have advised him to go fly fishing deep in |
| Let's see, how would that go? How would he tell it all? | | | | the forests of Costa Rica, or otherwise disappear until |
| I know, Tiger would hold a press conference. | | | | people stopped asking, "Whatever happened to |
| He'd stand alone on stage in front of the gathering of | | | | Tiger?" |
| reporters and cameras. The hurt and enraged Elin | | | | And completely apart from rebuilding his public image, |
| would have already taken herself and the kids back to | | | | I'd advise him to begin the process of trying to earn |
| Sweden. No simpering wife at Tiger's side providing | | | | back the trust of his wife and family. |
| support. | | | | Actually, they're the only ones who deserve an |
| Tiger would open things up by dropping the bomb that | | | | explanation and his attention. |
| for years he'd been a serial adulterer who had carried | | | | |