On Tiger's Apology

On Friday, Tiger Woods apologized publicly for his personal transgressions. There have been countless reviews of his “performance”, and I almost hate to add to the fray. But as a communications professional, this is an example that can’t be bypassed without comment. I should disclose that I have been a Tiger fan since before he joined the PGA. I started watching televised professional golf mostly because of Tiger Woods, the phenomenon. His talent, athleticism, poise, and mental toughness have given me reason to admire and cheer him. Tiger’s personal meltdown Thanksgiving weekend was shocking. He had seemed so “perfect”. Record-breaking career, beautiful wife and children, impressive charitable works, and standard-bearer for the PGA… Then he… what? With who? How many? Huh? Ick. As information emerged, it was disorienting and sickening. So it was with great interest and a heavy heart that I watched Tiger’s apology on February 19th. Much media commentary immediately followed. The first two articles I read online completely opposed each other. One described his appearance as a “train wreck”. The other said his apology was “from the heart”. This highlights the fact that the effectiveness of any apology is dependent upon the receptiveness of the audience. I happen to be fairly receptive fan, but also a married woman. Both aspects result in me bringing bias to an evaluation, like anyone else. POSITIVE observations: · Tiger said, flat out, that he was sorry, and that he alone was responsible for his behavior. Both of these are basic requirements for any apology. · He got to the heart of it by saying, “I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did.” Yes, you did. · “I still believe it is right to shield my family from the public spotlight. They did not do these things; I did.” Bravo, Tiger. · He asked for help from people who care about him. NEGATIVES, from my perspective: · Tiger went on the offensive about being “angered” by people thinking Elin may have attacked him. I think expressing anger about people’s reactions was not a smart move. Being upset or dismayed, shocked, or surprised would have been better. I think many of us are angry at Tiger, and don’t feel he has much of a right to feel anger back at us right now – given that he is the one who screwed up and has most hurt his family. · Elin wasn’t there. This was entirely her prerogative. But if his wife hasn’t found a way to forgive him, it makes it harder for us to do so. We women can’t help but think what we would do if this happened to us. Maybe Elin didn’t take a swing at him with a golf club – but I would have. Although some criticized his use of a scripted statement, I completely understand. Tiger went on TV in front of millions of people to humble himself. He knew his every word would be picked apart and evaluated. You don’t want to ad lib in this situation – you want to be prepared. It’s much worse to babble. Remember, Tiger COULDN’T tell us everything we wanted to know. He doesn’t know the answers yet himself.

Cautionary Advice

Imagine this: You have a good management-level job with a stable company. Suddenly, the massive project you have worked on for years grinds to a halt. Your company is the target of a lawsuit filed by a business partner. Your company responds with their own lawsuit. Fortunately, you still have a job. But the discovery phase of the lawsuit has begun, and you are involved. · You are succinctly warned not to dispose of any work product relating to the project. · The legal department has sent someone to collect the notebooks you have with all the handwritten notes you have taken at meetings during the course of the project. Don’t review them or sort them – just hand them over. · A minion from Legal has come to copy project files off the local drive of your workstation, and out of your file drawers. · Email files and shared electronic files have been subpoenaed, and are being retrieved from storage devices. They are being printed and copied for detailed review. · A lot of questions are being asked of you, about exactly what happened over the last few years. How can you remember who said what in meetings that took place months and years ago? · You are identified as a material witness who will be subject to a formal deposition. Lawyers spend days and hours preparing you for the experience. · For several days straight you are in a meeting room with lawyers from each side, a court reporter, and a taping device. Every word you say matters. How you say it matters. It’s stressful and exhausting. · Now you have been subpoenaed to testify in court. Does this sound far-fetched? It’s not. It happened to me 17 years ago when a multi-million dollar project crashed and burned. Fortunately, the case was settled out of court (to the advantage of my employer). For me (not accused of any wrongdoing in the suit), it was a learning experience. What did I learn? BE UNFAILINGLY TRUE TO YOUR PERSONAL ETHICS: It can be hard, when others around you are bending theirs. Always take the high ground, and be noisy about pointing out when others are not. TAKE GOOD FACTUAL NOTES, WITH DATES/TIMES AND EXACT QUOTES: Notes can become evidence. They should be devoid of your opinions and doodling. CONTENT OF WORK EMAIL SHOULD ALWAYS REMAIN PROFESSIONAL: I can’t tell you how much embarrassment some people I know were subjected to, when scores of people were reading their “private” emails. Compose all email as if it might be read by anyone. COMPLY WITH COMPANY POLICIES ON RECORD RETENTION: Throw away what you are not required to keep. If you still have something, it is subject to subpoena – you have no choice. I dodged a bullet years ago. I hope this cautionary advice helps keep you out of the crosshairs.

Be a White Collar Hero

On HGTV’s popular show, Holmes on Homes, Canadian contractor Mike Holmes rescues homeowners from repair and renovation disasters perpetrated by less-than-competent tradesmen. This weekend, I watched several shows back to back, while toiling on our elliptical machine. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this burly blue collar hero right the wrongs of shoddy electrical work, half-hearted carpentry, and unfulfilled project promises. Don’t you just have to love a guy with “MAKE IT RIGHT” tattooed on his bicep? Be still my heart! Mike Holmes and the dedication he has to his chosen blue collar profession got me thinking. When workers aspire to make the move from blue collar jobs into white collar professions, what are they really longing for? Big salaries, long lunches, 2-week vacations, and fancy cars? Is a white collar identity really the ultimate success? There’s no doubt that the white collar executive profile has taken a beating lately, as a result of those who have let their power take them to the dark side. Eliot Spitzer, former governor of NY, was hailed as a hero for how he pursued organized crime – until he was discovered to be a client of a prostitution ring under investigation by the federal government. Bernie Madoff was a trusted stock broker and investment advisor - until his fraudulent Ponzi scheme was uncovered and he was sentenced to 150 years in jail. Former CFO Jeffrey Skilling will be in jail until 2028 for his involvement in the collapse of energy giant Enron. “Feel good” news stories about heroes often seem to be about regular-guy, blue collar types… The guy on the way to work who risks his own safety to save the woman who falls onto the commuter train tracks… The neighbor who runs into a house on fire to rescue an 80-year old in a wheelchair… The sanitation worker who finds and returns a priceless memento mistakenly discarded by its owner. There is a simplicity to the goodness and the rightness of these actions that does not fail to be heartwarming and inspiring. Where are our White Collar Heroes? I know they are out there, although they rarely end up on the TV news. They stand firm against unethical activity in their organizations. They treat employees fairly and care about career growth of others. They challenge the status quo and boldly introduce new ideas. They share their business expertise outside work to make their communities better. I’ve worked with a few of these heroes over the years. I wish there were more. Be a White Collar Hero. Do what’s right every day, and make a difference.

Your Knowledge is Leaking

The Baby Boomer generation is readying for retirement. Some are retiring early or, having found an urgent social consciousness, are abandoning their lucrative corporate positions for more “meaningful” employ. In this weak economic climate, no one seems particularly concerned about their departure. Belt-tightening is the current modus operandi, layoffs are rampant, and the empty positions may be considered merely fewer pink slips to deliver. But what about the expertise, knowledge, and corporate wisdom that has become an inherent element of these human resources? Organizations are “leaking” corporate knowledge. Two years ago when I left my corporate VP position after 28 years with the company, no one showed any interest in knowing what files or other documentation I left behind. They were, however, quite interested in having me sign a legal document stating I wouldn’t take any corporate property out the door with me. I left current operational information with the staff still in place. I also discarded and shredded quite a bit of historical material that I used as references or templates for projects and tasks when I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. There simply wasn’t time before my departure to try to explain it all. Besides, no one seemed interested. The departure of a single individual does not constitute a corporate tragedy (except, perhaps in the case of a Steve Jobs-type who is almost synonymous with the Apple brand). What amazes me is that I don’t believe corporate senior executives have any idea what information they may or may not be losing as individuals skip blithely out their doors. Certainly this is not a new problem; but with the job-hopping habits of generations following the Baby Boomers, we may be fast-approaching the peak of the issue in our lifetimes. Thoughts about remedies: · Extend documentation policies into better retention and storage practices. · Before the de-rigueur exit interview, have an in-depth, structured conversation with the departing employee to ask about their legacy knowledge and any related documentation they think is vital to the company. · Create a culture where organizational knowledge is clearly valued. · Incent employees to contribute and document key learning for future reference and use. · Employ database and query technology to store and access the information. · Consider having a Knowledge Committee that pursues documentation of critical information. · Establish a Knowledge Officer position to assign clear responsibility to gathering the wealth of knowledge and establishing a method for mining it.