Tiger Woods:Perception by Deception

AMEN SISTER!

[...] I found, Bob Conrad’s blog exchange illustrates this polarization. I fall into the Shel Holz and Jennifer Windrum camps and back that opinion with more than 25 years of experience in guiding organizations’ [...]

Jennifer…I do not think its anybody s business that Tiger woods slept with 12, 112, 300 women for that matter. That is between him, his wife and God. I mean seriously. If (god forbid) you or your friends husband did something like that (judging from your attitude and pics…very beautiful i might add…Id suggest he simply light the cigarette put on the blindfold and stand against the wall because his chances would be alot better than doing that to you . He'd be a dead duck. lol!) would there be media coverage on it? People do this sort of twisted unfair decadent stuff everyday and where is Whoopi, Barbra Walters and the rest of the view cast to comment on it? Where is CNN, MSNBC and FOX networks? I just dont see why Tiger Woods deserve all of this media coverage because he cheated on his wife. Is his wife feelings more important than the countless other women who's husband has and is cheating on them right now? is her feelings more important because they're rich? I think not. All of that money does not ease the pain nor does it cover up what he did. If it did then we wouldn't know about it would we?! She was hurt just like every other woman who's husband cheated on them. He was dead wrong just like every other dumb ass man that ever cheated on his wife.

Hey there. Thanks for your comment. Believe it or not, I am not into personal attacks! When I am talking about Tiger, I am looking at everything through the PR/media relations lens.
Yes, people make mistakes. Everybody does. Unfortunately, when you are as high profile a person as Tiger Woods, you don't have the luxury of “screwing up” and it just being a personal matter. Being a celebrity and trying to maintain any semblance of a “normal” life is a total game. You can try your hardest to try to live a private life, but you are coached (or you learn the hard way) that your every waking move (or a move that didn't even really exist) will be fair game for the media. This is just the reality. Every high-profile person knows this – whether they want to be perceived as a celeb, role model, rock star or not.
Tiger obviously got himself in a bit of trouble. Had he been just completely honest from the get-go, his troubles wouldn't have grown to the magnitude that they did. Yes, he would still get beat up by the media, but if he would have used the self-deprecating “talking points” he is obviously using today (via Ari), his “public perception” wouldn't have taken that enormous dive.
But, there we go again with what we are “perceived” to be versus what we really are. As a PR and reputation management professional, yes, it may seem odd for me to be “knocking” the orchestration of re-building a public image. I just happen to think there is a big difference between spin and honesty. I don't do spin. I have had way too many clients think spin is what PR people do and that spin is what I was going to provide them in a crisis. No thanks. It's called honesty. It's not always easy, but it's the RIGHT thing to do.
My big issue with Tiger, from a public relations/reputation management perspective, is that this whole situation perfectly highlights the exact things I HATE: The whole behind-the-scenes orchestrated image-building process that many in the general public are unaware of…well, until now. Tiger's fallout is now a perfect text-book case study for Crisis Management 101, as well as celebrity media relations 101: What NOT to do if you totally mess up.
In today's media-driven world, it's very hard to “perceive” someone as genuine when they wait 3 months to say they are focusing on their family and not sure when they will return to golf – then jump right back into the game. I'm not judging from a personal standpoint…from a PR standpoint, I'm not the only one who says he failed miserably. Again, unfortunately, this is the world Tiger and celebs live in. Actually, with the power of social media, it's not only the big guns that have to manage their reputations any longer. It's practically anyone who delves in this space. So, I guess, if I decide to grab some golf clubs on my way to see if my husband is ok after getting into a car accident, I'll let you know about it well in advance!!! :) Thanks for your comments. I really do appreciate them. (I told myself I was going to bed early tonight too…guess that didn't happen–thanks A LOT!

Hey there. Thanks for your comment. Believe it or not, I am not into personal attacks! When I am talking about Tiger, I am looking at everything through the PR/media relations lens.
Yes, people make mistakes. Everybody does. Unfortunately, when you are as high profile a person as Tiger Woods, you don't have the luxury of “screwing up” and it just being a personal matter. Being a celebrity and trying to maintain any semblance of a “normal” life is a total game. You can try your hardest to try to live a private life, but you are coached (or you learn the hard way) that your every waking move (or a move that didn't even really exist) will be fair game for the media. This is just the reality. Every high-profile person knows this – whether they want to be perceived as a celeb, role model, rock star or not.
Tiger obviously got himself in a bit of trouble. Had he been just completely honest from the get-go, his troubles wouldn't have grown to the magnitude that they did. Yes, he would still get beat up by the media, but if he would have used the self-deprecating “talking points” he is obviously using today (via Ari), his “public perception” wouldn't have taken that enormous dive.
But, there we go again with what we are “perceived” to be versus what we really are. As a PR and reputation management professional, yes, it may seem odd for me to be “knocking” the orchestration of re-building a public image. I just happen to think there is a big difference between spin and honesty. I don't do spin. I have had way too many clients think spin is what PR people do and that spin is what I was going to provide them in a crisis. No thanks. It's called honesty. It's not always easy, but it's the RIGHT thing to do.
My big issue with Tiger, from a public relations/reputation management perspective, is that this whole situation perfectly highlights the exact things I HATE: The whole behind-the-scenes orchestrated image-building process that many in the general public are unaware of…well, until now. Tiger's fallout is now a perfect text-book case study for Crisis Management 101, as well as celebrity media relations 101: What NOT to do if you totally mess up.
In today's media-driven world, it's very hard to “perceive” someone as genuine when they wait 3 months to say they are focusing on their family and not sure when they will return to golf – then jump right back into the game. I'm not judging from a personal standpoint…from a PR standpoint, I'm not the only one who says he failed miserably. Again, unfortunately, this is the world Tiger and celebs live in. Actually, with the power of social media, it's not only the big guns that have to manage their reputations any longer. It's practically anyone who delves in this space. So, I guess, if I decide to grab some golf clubs on my way to see if my husband is ok after getting into a car accident, I'll let you know about it well in advance!!! :) Thanks for your comments. I really do appreciate them. (I told myself I was going to bed early tonight too…guess that didn't happen–thanks A LOT!