Digital Disruption

We’ve all witnessed the crash-and-burn of Tiger Woods over the past few weeks.

At first his corporate sponsors stood behind him but then in the past few days both Gillette and Accenture have officially dumped him. Nike is still standing by him but that is understandable given that they are more than just sponsors — they have a global business unit producing a range of products with the “TW” brand on them.

The paparazzi have had a field day and Woods’ team is scrambling to stop further stories leaking out … Mistresses being paid off; CNN “Breaking News” coverage … the saga continues …

I’m not going to discuss the psyche of Tiger Woods and what drove him to pursue all his “transgressions.” We all now know that he has decided to take a hiatus from golf to focus his attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

The core issue at play here is integrity – both personal integrity and professional integrity. In our ever-increasingly corrupt world, integrity lies at the heart of Golf. The game is all about the alignment of one’s personal and professional persona.

However, we are all human and by definition we make mistakes. None of us is perfect.

What could have been an alternative outcome?

Tiger Woods and his PR agents don’t appear to be living in our transparent world of social media. Their first reaction was to hide, lie and say nothing, hoping that everything would simply blow over. Sorry, in today’s hyper-connected world, that’s just not going to work. In the absence of the human voice of Tiger Woods, the media and the World were left to fill in the resultant void. A static statement on a website just wasn’t enough.

Instead of refusing to make a statement to the police or to the press, just imagine how differently this could have turned out for Tiger if he had come out and told the truth when he was first released from hospital. Speaking out in a human voice (on TV, in person, on Twitter, on Facebook, on his blog, on Youtube, … there are many channels he could have chosen to expose the truth) and letting the world see him as a vulnerable, open and honest human who made a mistake; admitting it and asking for forgiveness.

Wouldn’t we have forgiven him? Wouldn’t his corporate sponsors have stood behind him? Wouldn’t he still be playing golf?

The lesson: Don’t hide; don’t lie; don’t be quiet. Instead, speak out in a human voice. Reveal your vulnerabilities. Be honest. Be open, Be transparent. Engage in conversation with the World.

Remaining silent in today’s world can be very expensive.

(Update: Tiger’s wife apparently plans to file for divorce in California where any prenuptial agreement will be set aside and she can get half of all that Tiger has)

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