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How Tiger Woods Should Negotiate His Future

Guest | December 14, 2009 | 0 Comments

By Jim Camp

When you have written two books on the art of negotiation and built a career counseling corporations and others on the subject, it is natural to see Tiger Woods’ present troubles in the context of his greatest negotiation.

He must negotiate his return to the good graces of a public composed of his fans and those less concerned with golf, but well aware of his image as a sports champion, family man, and now disgraced philanderer.

Woods swift fall from grace is a story that is familiar to the public. It includes former President Clinton’s dalliance in the Oval Office, former Governor Elliot Spitzer’s penchant for high priced call girls, former Senator John Edwards’ infidelity, Governor Mark Sanford’s affair with a Brazilian beauty, and talk show host, David Letterman’s affair with a member of his staff.

To some degree, all but Edwards have been extended a measure of “forgive and forget” by the general public. After a firestorm of tabloid and other media coverage, their sins diminish in the public’s memory.

Coupled with the potential loss of income from his lucrative contracts as a corporate or product salesman, Tiger Woods must now engage in the greatest negotiation of his life, winning back the public’s good will, formerly based on his prodigious golfing skills and his image of good husband, father, and person.

If I were Tiger Woods’ negotiation coach, I would advise him to identify and prioritize the many negotiations that lie ahead for him. I would begin by telling him that it will take a great deal of work to prepare for the multiple negotiations ahead, but as he has said, his family comes first and that includes all those involved in the concentric circles that form families. Beyond family are trusted employees, agents, his caddie, his sponsors, and the golfing fraternity.

He must have a valid mission and purpose for each and identify the problem each pose. It is essential to look beyond the details and to determine what he wishes to happen next. Essential to the outcome is the manner in which he conducts himself.

Woods is known for being cautious in the course of interviews, but for the future, he must be particularly conscious of avoiding any hint of arrogance. Questions must be anticipated. Answers must be well thought out in advance.

In a recent edition of The New York Times, Sam Tanenhaus noted that “More than ever before the celebrity, in particular the sports celebrity, is trapped in a transactional relationship with his fans, who regard him less as a person than as a commodity—an enormously skilled competitor on the field, but off of it just another pitchman selling himself on television and in backlit displays in airport terminals.”

Given news that his wife will file divorce papers, his marriage is over, but the separation will ensure that his wife and children will cease to be in the public eye. For now, the first step of his negotiation with the public will be to lie low until the intensity of media coverage decreases, as it surely will.

Thus, the timing of his return to the greens, to participate in various golf tournaments becomes critical and winning will take on an even greater importance because it will be through winning that he regains approval from the core of his supporters and sponsors.

The other element of the negotiation will be a period of “confession”, however muted, that the public will require and even demand. One cannot live in the public spotlight as long as he has without having to explain his transgressions, his possible sexual addiction. It will be a form of public “intervention” to hopefully end what appears to have been a succession of sexual liaisons.

Americans have demonstrated over and over again a willingness to forgive and the rest of the world is likely to follow suit.

The public readily understands addictive behavior and has seen it manifest across a broad spectrum of public figures, particularly Hollywood actors and politicians. The sexual element of Wood’s addiction, if that is what it is, adds a measure of titillation, but also adds to the level and length of interest that will be manifested.

At the heart of Woods’ negotiation to regain public acceptance and forgiveness will be time and in every negotiation time plays a critical role. In my book, “Start with No”, I counsel that one should not worry about rejection. “Fear of rejection is a sign of neediness—specifically, the need to be liked.”

Tiger Woods did not need to work hard to be liked. His game did all the work for him. Everyone likes a winner, but Tiger was famous for keeping his private life, private. At this critical time in his life he must take care to avoid making some inopportune choices in his desire to regain his former status. I have seen many top-ranked corporate executives sabotage success in their desire to close the deal swiftly.

Too much compromise, too early in any negotiation can be a deal-killer. Thus, Woods has to take the time for the media firestorm to recede. He appears to be doing this and whoever is counseling him in this regard is giving him good advice.

After the media firestorm will come the confessional period. It can be mercifully short, but it will be necessary. He need not offer “juicy” details, but rather convey genuine regret and a brief discussion of the reasons why he felt compelled to engage in numerous relationships.

Once Woods returns to playing in tournaments, his remarkable prowess will be sufficient to reinstate him among his core of supporters and admirers. Time will dull the impact of the initial revelations.

This is now the greatest negotiation of Tiger Wood’s life. Everyone wants him to succeed.

Jim Camp is the author of “Start With No” and “No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home.” He has coached people through thousands of negotiations from Fortune 500 companies to many smaller companies in a wide range of industries. He maintains an Internet site at www.startwithno.com.