Ryder Cup
It's not how you play the game, it's who has the winning score
It's not very often that one draws parallels between secondary education and professional sports, but thanks to golf's Ryder Cup and the New York Board of Education we have two excellent examples of crisis management -- or lack thereof.
Not only will the 1999 Ryder Cup stand as a testimony to bad sportsmanship, it may go down in history as a turning point in international communications. After trailing by a seemingly insurmountable score at the end of the first two days of competition, the U.S. came back to win by one point. And following the putt that put the U.S. in the lead, the entire American team, plus wives, girlfriends and caddies, erupted onto the green -- before the competing European golfer could attempt his final putt.
It took several minutes to restore order, and the incident could potentially have affected the competitor's putt.
Seldom before have we seen such a total divergence in coverage between U.S. and European press. While on this side of the proverbial pond, headlines blared predictable self-congratulatory hyperbole, British and European press referred to the U.S. team as the "United Slobs of America." Not since the bad old "Ugly American" days have Americans suffered such damage to our national image. We made the rampaging British football fans at the World Cup look good.
But in truth, the final score was nil-nil, with few gains in reputation on either side of the Atlantic. While the U.S. team clearly did little to encourage graciousness among the fans (and in fact their disruption clearly could have affected the outcome) the Europeans looked like sore losers, thanks to their tabloid headlines.
As always, by the time official apologies were issued, it was way too late.
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | F | What could have signaled an enormous worldwide triumph for U.S. golfers turned into a worldwide gasp of outrage at the behavior of both the team and the fans. The British media were particularly critical. | Remember that in most sporting events, this is now a global world and a global economy. The reason sponsors get involved is because of their international markets. As such, your words and actions will be heard around the world. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | F | Crenshaw's apology was too little, too late. And his words largely rang false because of the actions that preceded them. He apologized because he had to, not because he was truly sorry for the actions of the fans. One sensed that he was still basking in the glow of an amazing come-from-behind victory. Only after the furor erupted did he choose to apologize. Of course, had he not incited the crowds, he wouldn't have had anything to apologize for. | Actions, especially on the part of leaders, are always more powerful than words. Remember the camera never blinks, and chances are the media will soon figure out how sincere you really are. |
| Communication of key messages | F | Unfortunately the message that the U.S. team really did play some incredible golf was completely drowned out by the brouhaha. But both the team and the fans must share the blame for the obfuscation of messages. Clearly the team and its captain, Crenshaw, did little to encourage good manners on the part of the fans. | The lesson here is that no matter how good your news or your performance are, controversy and crisis are never far away. It's probably worth it to plan for your worst nightmare scenario, no matter what you're doing. |
| Management of negative messages | F | Unfortunately, the major news surrounding this year's Ryder cup revolved around how bad the fans behaved and how un-sportsmanlike the players were-not how great the players played. Crenshaw had an opportunity to put it all into perspective and he didn't. | When things are spinning out of control, make sure your messages are clear. Even an apology can help spread negative messages. |
| Impact on fans | C | Depends which side of the pond the fans came from. Most Boston fans probably didn't get the opportunity to see themselves called slobs in 96-point type, but one would hope they might feel at least a twinge of embarrassment. Nevertheless, chances are the event bolstered the popularity of golf by taking it another giant leap away from the grand old, stuffy, exclusionary, boring early days of the sport. | The European fans of course were horrified, and there's even talk of no more Ryder Cups on American shores. Interestingly none of the media actually took the time to interview any fans, so fan response is unclear. Nevertheless, every crisis plan should call for the identification of articulate fans or attendees who can support your key messages. |
| Impact on sponsors | C | It's unclear whether sponsors and/or their customers were as horrified by the behavior of the U.S. team and its fans as was the British media. But we'll be watching for a backlash against sponsors' products by outraged English consumers. | Many would believe that these are the only opinions that matter and sponsors wisely stayed out of the controversy. |
| Impact on athletes | C | Athletes were as divided as the fans. European athletes expressed universal disgust with the Brookline debacle, while the U.S. players focused on the remarkable comeback. It remains to be seen whether athletes will pay more attention to the behavior and manners of their fans going forward. | When all attention is focused on the stars, remember that their every move and word will be scrutinized ad nauseum. In this case, every encouragement of the fans was later interpreted as contributing to the overall poor behavior of the crowd. Beware of halfhearted and/or late apologies. They will only look arrogant. |
| Overall score | F | A classic example of how little control we really have over the media and public opinion. If last month you had told the publicists that American's winning the Ryder Cup would turn into a major PR fiasco, no one would have believed it. Clearly they weren't prepared. | No matter how good you think your news coverage will be, always be prepared for the unexpected and unimaginable. |
CTB/Graw-Hill
In New York City the score was school children: 1, CTB/McGraw Hill: 3000. That is, 3000 equals the number of kids who were erroneously forced to go to summer school because of poor test scores.
As it turns out, CTB/McGraw Hill had to acknowledge that it had made an error in reporting the scores.
Although CTB/McGraw Hill did the right thing in acknowledging the error and apologizing, this unfortunately didn't stop a number of states from launching investigations into the widely popular standardized tests. A growing body of educators has come out in opposition to those tests in recent months, and this incident was just the sort of fodder they needed.
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | C | Because so many states are now using standardized tests as means to evaluate their school systems, what started as a local New York City story got wide pick up around the country. However, the entire story came and went in a very short period of time. | Whenever your industry is in the headlines or you're offering a "hot-topic" story, be prepared for far wider distribution of your news than you may necessarily care for. Full disclosure and a quick, earnest apology will go a long way towards making the story disappear sooner rather than later. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | B | David Taggard, CTB/McGraw-Hill president, was very successful in getting his apology and message out early and high up in most stories. | Get your apology and statements out early and often. Make your president accessible. |
| Communication of key messages | B | Again Taggard was successful in expressing his concern and contrition regarding what happened. Almost all articles contained his quote. | There was nothing CTB/McGraw-Hill could do or say to get the egg off their face, so they did what they should have done under the circumstances: make a clean break of the situation and apologize. When you're in the wrong, admit it and the story goes away. Deny it and you'll leave the press with something to investigate. |
| Management of negative messages | F | The most pervasive message reiterated how much CTB/McGraw-Hill got paid for flawed work, which was presumably not something they wanted to see in print. This also opened the door for the anti-testing crowd to get their messages across. | Any crisis may give the opposition a platform to preach its messages. However, if it's only news for a day or two, chances are the exposure will be limited. |
| Impact on customers | F | All of CTB/McGraw-Hill customers have been affected, and they are now carefully rechecking all prior scores. The true test of CTB/McGraw-Hill's customer loyalty will be whether or not they renew their contracts. | After making the news value go away by being open and forthright, focus attention on key customers to ensure their loyalty. |
| Impact on investors | C | The stock price dropped significantly ($53 to $47) in the month of September, but it avoided serious coverage in the financial forums and the stock has since rebounded quite nicely. | Investors keep a keen eye on the news. If they're not discussing it, they're at least investing/divesting in light of it. Lack of online discussion may foster a stock price rebound. |
| Impact on employees | B | No doubt a few heads must have rolled, and clearly some employees were held responsible. | One of the biggest factors in ensuring customer loyalty is employee attitude. You need to carefully monitor employee attitude to prevent a reoccurrence and ensure that there is no systemic problem that caused the mistakes in the first place. |
| Overall | B- | Given the widespread interest in the problems surrounding testing, it is a tribute to a good communications plan that this crisis got as little coverage as it did. | Honest, open communications, and acknowledgment of flaws and failures all contribute to a well-managed crisis. |