How many times have you heard me say, “Wealth is not about money, it’s about behavior?” At this moment in time in this universe in this there a more in-your-face-obvious example of that than Tiger Woods? Because of his behavior, Tiger Woods might end up holding two wealth records.
Forbes reported Tiger as the first sports star to earn $1 billion, much of that from endorsements and licensing that depend on his professional accomplishments, and the celebrity that has brought, intertwined with his choirboy public image. Now having behaved in ways that blew his choirboy public persona, Tiger might soon hold the record for the sports star to most quickly lose $1 billion dollars. While some of his sponsors have made no public comments on Woods continued endorsement role, Nielsen ratings company data reportedly show beginning two days after Tiger’s SUV mishap on November 27 until today, Woods has been at least placed in a quiet wait-and-see period while no company is showing Woods ads on TV.
This is not because Woods lost his golfing ability. Not because he is no longer a celebrity (he is now more reported on by media and talked about on the street than ever before). Instead, this is because Woods reportedly drove dangerously and had non-monogamous sex while legally married. Than the one reported public driving mishap and Tiger’s purported behind-closed-doors non-monogamous sexual behavior has already negatively threatened his wealth.
Since he was a boy Tiger worked at being a great golfer. He did that, rightly or wrongly, while being presented publicly as the kind of man straight women dream of finding. Those behaviors led to a clean-life, straight edge public persona and a golf-tournament-winning machine. They also led to Forbes reporting him as the first sports star with earnings of one billion dollars, mostly from endorsements and licensing. So why has revelations over the prior month about Tiger’s other behaviors been so damaging to his wealth, and let’s add personal relationships into this question?
That’s because Tiger’s recent experience also relates to another famous principle of mine, “In politics image is everything. In business image is important. But in love, intimacy is everything.” Tiger now has two strikes against him. With regard to intimacy, from what we see publicly, it appears as if Woods deceived his wife about his sexual encounters with other women. Deceit is not intimacy.
With regard to business, Tiger has behaved contrary to the public persona upon which he is marketed that earned him the billion-dollar paycheck. Tiger’s sponsors are rightly concerned that Tiger’s behaviors might affect their wealth. To sustain and grow their wealth, they have appeared to have acted, behaved to isolate the value of their wealth from Tiger Woods’ behaviors. Woods has performed behaviors often associated with the consequence of decreasing wealth. At this time, it appears to me that his sponsors have responded with a behavior to sustain and grow their wealth.
Note that I am not saying Tiger could not have made that money with other behaviors. He could theoretically gone with a Happy Gilmore public persona and other sponsors, possibly say a beer company, condom maker and Penthouse magazine, for example. Hell, he could even do a dramatization of his escapades to promote the TV show Cheaters.But he didn’t build wealth with scoundrel, a-man’s-man public behaviors. He built his wealth on the choirboy, kinda-guy-every-father-wants-his-daughter-to-marry, genuine American hero image. As for the third strike, I’m no expert at politics but would guess Woods should probably forget about Obama calling him to be his next vice presidential running mate.
What can Woods do from here to retain and grow wealth? Immediately he needs to know whether he wants to go on being the public persona “Tiger Woods” was until about a month ago. Or whether he wants to move on from here with the Happy Gilmore pubic [sic] persona. Tiger’s a big enough celebrity right now that either way he can grow wealth from it. But he does have to be more sensitive to maintaining whatever image he presents going forward as long as it is working for him. Note that is perfectly all right to change a public persona that never worked or is not working now. Professional wrestlers are a good example of that. Even the Rock went through various personas until hitting upon the Rock. So also the comedian Rodney Dangerfield. A struggling comedian, one day he spit out the words, “I don’t get no respect,” and the rest is legend.
The obvious thing anyone can do in Woods situation is to hire an expert to rebuild his image, and one to help ensure he never screws it up publicly again like recently happened. Listen to them and act, behave accordingly. And by comparison, saying this with admiration for his talent and respect for the dead, Tiger, don’t do what Michael Jackson did. Michael had a chance years ago for a comeback after child molestation accusations, and what did he do? He blew his second chance by performing surrounding himself with children refocusing media attention to that issue and setting his career back years more again. The last thing any non-pedophile wants to see is an accused pedophile who gets a Law and Order reprieve, go out and take that as a license to surround himself with children. That was Michael’s mistake. If people and sponsors give the old Tiger Woods a second chance, he should avoid especially even the appearance of any non-old Tiger Woods behaviors.
Tiger definitely still has profitable options ahead. But one thing is certain. If Woods wants to continue to work the choir boy persona, he needs to forever more walk the talk, at least publicly. But then again, if he wants to go for the Happy Gilmore golfer image, then have at those hookers, trees and fire hydrants and build up a new following accordingly just like Happy did. If anyone can do it, Tiger can. With the right behaviors.
Wealth, Behavior, Tiger Woods- Any Questions?
How many times have you heard me say, “Wealth is not about money, it’s about behavior?” At this moment in time in this universe in this there a more in-your-face-obvious example of that than Tiger Woods? Because of his behavior, Tiger Woods might end up holding two wealth records.
Forbes reported Tiger as the first sports star to earn $1 billion, much of that from endorsements and licensing that depend on his professional accomplishments, and the celebrity that has brought, intertwined with his choirboy public image. Now having behaved in ways that blew his choirboy public persona, Tiger might soon hold the record for the sports star to most quickly lose $1 billion dollars. While some of his sponsors have made no public comments on Woods continued endorsement role, Nielsen ratings company data reportedly show beginning two days after Tiger’s SUV mishap on November 27 until today, Woods has been at least placed in a quiet wait-and-see period while no company is showing Woods ads on TV.
This is not because Woods lost his golfing ability. Not because he is no longer a celebrity (he is now more reported on by media and talked about on the street than ever before). Instead, this is because Woods reportedly drove dangerously and had non-monogamous sex while legally married. Than the one reported public driving mishap and Tiger’s purported behind-closed-doors non-monogamous sexual behavior has already negatively threatened his wealth.
Since he was a boy Tiger worked at being a great golfer. He did that, rightly or wrongly, while being presented publicly as the kind of man straight women dream of finding. Those behaviors led to a clean-life, straight edge public persona and a golf-tournament-winning machine. They also led to Forbes reporting him as the first sports star with earnings of one billion dollars, mostly from endorsements and licensing. So why has revelations over the prior month about Tiger’s other behaviors been so damaging to his wealth, and let’s add personal relationships into this question?
That’s because Tiger’s recent experience also relates to another famous principle of mine, “In politics image is everything. In business image is important. But in love, intimacy is everything.” Tiger now has two strikes against him. With regard to intimacy, from what we see publicly, it appears as if Woods deceived his wife about his sexual encounters with other women. Deceit is not intimacy.
With regard to business, Tiger has behaved contrary to the public persona upon which he is marketed that earned him the billion-dollar paycheck. Tiger’s sponsors are rightly concerned that Tiger’s behaviors might affect their wealth. To sustain and grow their wealth, they have appeared to have acted, behaved to isolate the value of their wealth from Tiger Woods’ behaviors. Woods has performed behaviors often associated with the consequence of decreasing wealth. At this time, it appears to me that his sponsors have responded with a behavior to sustain and grow their wealth.
Note that I am not saying Tiger could not have made that money with other behaviors. He could theoretically gone with a Happy Gilmore public persona and other sponsors, possibly say a beer company, condom maker and Penthouse magazine, for example. Hell, he could even do a dramatization of his escapades to promote the TV show Cheaters.But he didn’t build wealth with scoundrel, a-man’s-man public behaviors. He built his wealth on the choirboy, kinda-guy-every-father-wants-his-daughter-to-marry, genuine American hero image. As for the third strike, I’m no expert at politics but would guess Woods should probably forget about Obama calling him to be his next vice presidential running mate.
What can Woods do from here to retain and grow wealth? Immediately he needs to know whether he wants to go on being the public persona “Tiger Woods” was until about a month ago. Or whether he wants to move on from here with the Happy Gilmore pubic [sic] persona. Tiger’s a big enough celebrity right now that either way he can grow wealth from it. But he does have to be more sensitive to maintaining whatever image he presents going forward as long as it is working for him. Note that is perfectly all right to change a public persona that never worked or is not working now. Professional wrestlers are a good example of that. Even the Rock went through various personas until hitting upon the Rock. So also the comedian Rodney Dangerfield. A struggling comedian, one day he spit out the words, “I don’t get no respect,” and the rest is legend.
The obvious thing anyone can do in Woods situation is to hire an expert to rebuild his image, and one to help ensure he never screws it up publicly again like recently happened. Listen to them and act, behave accordingly. And by comparison, saying this with admiration for his talent and respect for the dead, Tiger, don’t do what Michael Jackson did. Michael had a chance years ago for a comeback after child molestation accusations, and what did he do? He blew his second chance by performing surrounding himself with children refocusing media attention to that issue and setting his career back years more again. The last thing any non-pedophile wants to see is an accused pedophile who gets a Law and Order reprieve, go out and take that as a license to surround himself with children. That was Michael’s mistake. If people and sponsors give the old Tiger Woods a second chance, he should avoid especially even the appearance of any non-old Tiger Woods behaviors.
Tiger definitely still has profitable options ahead. But one thing is certain. If Woods wants to continue to work the choir boy persona, he needs to forever more walk the talk, at least publicly. But then again, if he wants to go for the Happy Gilmore golfer image, then have at those hookers, trees and fire hydrants and build up a new following accordingly just like Happy did. If anyone can do it, Tiger can. With the right behaviors.