Some simple fundamental errors in crisis management have turned what could have been a routine car accidental into an international media circus.

Whether his moral compass is below par is one question, but the complete amateurishness with which his team treated the issue seems unforgivable. But it that true? I would suggest their hands were probably tied because they advise one of the most arrogant sports stars in history. He doesn’t listen and fires anyone who dares to have an opinion.

Throughout his career, Woods’ alienation of stakeholders has become legendary. Broadcasters were told to dance to his tune, promoters were required to fork out large chunks of appearance money, police escorts ring-fenced him on the links of St Andrews.

The public were asked to forked out billions of pounds to buy his good, while being told to respect his privacy… and don’t you dare ask for an autograph!.

Well now we know why.

Now we know that Tiger is a serial philanderer. And when the lurid allegations began to fly, the tabloids gorged themselves, frankly it is payback time. He has abused them on his way up and they are now taking their revenge.

By turning away the Florida State Troopers on three occasions and fobbing off the public, Woods and his handlers created an information vacuum into which wild speculation flowed.

Theories abounded that his wife had pursued his car armed with a three-iron, taking out several windows of his Cadillac Escalade as he attempted to make good his escape only to collide first with a fire hydrant before his inglorious progress was halted by a tree.

In the hours and days that followed, the disdain with which the media was treated by his spin doctors and lawyers and legal counsel, has only made the media dig deeper.

We are close to finding the number of mistresses is into double figures… a score Tiger never achieved on a golf course!

Trying to buy off one of the kiss and tell candidates, has only meant more have emerged to put their noses into the trough.

As one tacky tale followed another, Woods, acting on poor advice and misguided logic, cowered behind bland statements on his own web site, rather than confront the crisis head on.

“I am dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means,” he wrote.

“But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy.

“For me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.”

He has a point of course, but is it realistic to actually achieve complete privacy when you are the most famous man in the world? He can say it is unfair but to a certain extent when you reap the rewards of endorsements, the sacrifice is you have to behave in a reasonable way.

Woods is a richly talented golfer, with 14 majors to his name. . In 2008 he earned over US$100 million from winnings and endorsements. He is the world’s foremost individual sports brand with personal worth of US$1 billion. He is icon and role model. It is on this last point that the world feels let down..

On every main principle of crisis management, Woods and his team failed. failed. 1. Have a plan for when crisis strikes; 2. Tell your side of the story – quickly, honestly and accurately; 3. Establish and control messaging.4 Make friends with the media in the good times. 5. Allow your media advisor to give advice and listen. And tell him/her the whole truth.

One American commentator wrote: “The warning signs were there at least a week before it all started to unravel. The tabloids had linked Woods to New Yorknightclub host Rachel Uchitel, who was reported to be in the same Melbourne hotel as Woods while he was competing in the Australian Masters.

“Woods had time to ponder the impact of the two issues – first that the media sharks were circling over claims of a dalliance, and second the confrontation with a fire hydrant and a tree near his Orlando home.

“Woods ignored at least three opportunities to talk with police investigators about the incident. He delayed, losing opportunities to take control of the messaging. The delay aroused suspicion and media speculation grew.”

I don’t blame his advisors – as I said earlier, I suspect he didn’t listen. But by not being proactive quickly he has been overwhelmed by the negativity.

If you leave a gap in the market in media management someone will fill it – and the tabloids have had a field day at Woods’ expense.

The difficulty organisations like the Met Office have in the PR stakes is that they are always slow to react. They will debate issues, discuss the pros and cons rather than give their comms director the opportunity to get on the front foot and be proactive.

The newspapers and broadcast media will go on the attack and by the corporate affairs team have moved into gear, the news agenda has moved on.

I would advise them not to be so cautious but to be prepared to take risks and accept that sometimes there may not be perfect PR, but more often than not the media appreciate the fact that you are at least trying to work with them.

In December 2003 the Met Office were forecasting the following day maximum temperatures with 82 per cent accuracy and minimum temperatures with 77 per cent accuracy. Today those figures are 87 per cent and 85 per cent. The longer range forecasts have improved by 26 per cent in nine years.

Now that is a good positive story for them, but I suspect a lot of media organisations would turn a deaf ear to it because, after all, their readers and viewers love moaning about the weather forecasters getting it wrong.

The only solution is to make the presentation of it unique. Why not get a well-known forecaster out on Question Time; they are, after all well educated, bright people.

Why not show how the forecasts work these days - can TV cameras come into the centre and watch the sophisticated satellite systems at work? They work on oceanic and atmospheric readings, but how?

They then need to roll out a programme for schools so that the adults of tomorrow are familiar with how the system works and just how accurate it really is.

Only then will the clouds that surround the Met Office show they have a silver lining…

One of the great problems for PR professional is trying to turn the tide of negative publicity when readers of a particular newspaper do not understand the issues at hand.

Take a look at the stories running about the bankers in the newspapers this week. They are all up in arms that the guys who they perceive caused the financial meltdown are now being paid bonuses again.

I suspect that for banks to thrive, deliver value to the shareholders and ultimately pay back the British taxpayer for the bail-out last year, they need to keep the very best talent.

There are as many bad investment bankers as there are good one, but the latter will always command high salaries and big bonuses because the potential upside of what they can do in enormous. If you don’t reward them for their expertise, they will go elsewhere.

The days of £20 million bonuses must surely have gone. Thousands of failed bankers have lost their jobs and many are struggling to find new employment. It is not a case of those who created the problems are back cashing in again, although there will clearly be exceptions.

We should remember our own Government encouraged Lloyds to buy HBOS, a millstone that will take some time to shift from that particular corporate neck.

But readers of most national newspapers love a witch-hunt. The reality is, whether we like it or not, the banks need to prosper for this country to recover. To do that they must retain the best talent and whether you are a footballer or a banker, the top performers are paid for delivering.

The difficulty for the PRs of the banks is the audience has gone deaf… and it suits the Government to promulgate stories about the bad bankers because it covers their own mistakes.

Isn’t it time that instead of looking to the mistakes of the past we look to the future and how we rebuild the institutions we rely on. We are not going to prosper if the banks are run by quit, choirmasters from Shrewburyness.

We need bold leadership… and that costs money.

Today I am doing a talk on crisis management to Davies Arnold Cooper, a highly respected legal firm based just off Fleet Street in London. The talk will also be broadcast to Manchester and Madrid simultaneously.

Crisis management is probably needed more now than at any time when companies and individuals are dealing with the media, be it print journalism or broadcast.

Why? Well clearly we are going through difficult times, but I feel that there has been a real change in the media landscape in the last 10 years with a philosophy which seems to suggest it is attack first, ask questions later.

It is my view that anyone in the media spotlight has to go on the front foot. Simply saying no comment leaves a giant void for journalists to fill with their own interpretation of what is going on.

So many clients say to be: It is just not fair, this is my private business, this is not for public consumption, I shouldn’t be a target etc etc

My answer is always there is no point bleating, the media play by their rules and you can either join them or be destroyed by them. Play by their rules, give them a true story or a better story and their appetites will be satiated.

Many high profile celebrities call in media lawyers at every turn and while that is a valid option in extreme cases, it creates huge residual resentment and can often mean the famous are more in the sights of the media big guns than ever before.

Building relationships is essential. If you make friends in the good times, they will look after you in the bad. Many clients only call for help at the moment the media come knocking on the door, while we advocate all-year round relationships whether it be with the business media or national.

Remember you are the best eye witness for your business and you know it better than anyone else and in my experience giving The Press a full explanation, which is balanced and in perspective, often neutralizes a media attack because there are always two sides to a story.

The other common flaw we find is companies so often exclude their communications expert from the top table, so they find themselves trying to defend a corporate reputation without knowing how the story has developed and with a briefing from the chief executive which is inadequate, flimsy and without the bigger picture perspective that allows the department to fight from a position of real knowledge.

Everyone screws up sometimes and too often people in the media firing line try to spin their way out of trouble. The lies and deceit only lead to further analysis, the story runs on and on and often the hole they are digging becomes so big it engulfs the organisation.

Saying sorry is always the best approach, particularly when it is coupled with a well thought out explanation of why the mistake happened. The media feeds on deception so tell them the truth!

Katie Price is one of the media phenomenas of the 21^st century. It seems everything she touches turns to gold. She connects with a generation of young women and has developed her talents from a glamour model, to book author to TV star.

Who can blame her for fleeing the country when the news broke her marriage was in trouble. She knew she would be surrounded by the media and the difficulty is when you live by the media, you can also die by them if they turn on you. So the ever shrewd Katie has bought herself some time.

The difficulty with leaving a void though is the Press will fill it with whatever they can find… and someone is dripping poison on Miss Price and painting her husband Peter Andre as a saint.

So many clients of our have tried to bury their heads in the sand when trouble comes knocking on the door. My view is if you are a media person, good or bad, that is not going to work long time. You have to address it, become proactive, there will be a few knocks along the way but the positives will win through in the end.

I guess what I am saying is it is time for Katie to come back and face the music… and with her knack for survival I have no doubt she will end up conducting the media orchestra rather than being drowned out by it!

I was recently asked to do a Q&A session for a UAE publishing group, ITP on crisis management after debating the subject at the recent FT Conference with Alisdair Campbell.

I can’t reinforce the message enough, it’s essentail that the comms person is a top table influencer. Many a mistake has been made when tackling a crisis by not taking a proactive stance and advising the right people. Often there is only one chance to get it right. So often companies only seem to get their act together after the media damage has been done:

What types of crises are companies facing, and what types are becoming more prevalent?

It is usually around the leadership of the company - an individual being blamed for the company’s failings and there is a ripple effect because the media will then look at the person’s family background, past record/mistakes leading to their reputation being destroyed.

Is crisis PR an exact science? Do agencies differ in approach?

Agencies can be more direct with their approach because they do not have to play office politics. In other words they can tell the company leader the truth because they do not depend on that person for their future. It may be telling the boss, you were wrong. In-house comms people can’t be that honest. It is not an exact science, every situation is different, but knowing how journalists think is the key.

What were your impressions of crisis PR approaches during your editorial jobs?

I understood they had a job to do and was prepared to work with them, though my aim was always that the story should appear.

What are the main mistakes companies make?

They do not have the comms director at the top table, they believe if they say nothing it will go away. I always advocate the proactive approach, realise that a journalist has pages to fill and fill them for him/her. But with the side of the story you want out there. And don’t forget the media has an affect on your staff morale so ignore it at your peril.

What is the role of a CEO in crisis response?

To be decisive, to agree the message and then help the comms person deliver it.

What is the role of the legal department?

To be proactive and advise, not to wait to be asked. In Britain there are so many ways to handle a crisis through the law, particularly when journalists are not sure of their facts. There are libel laws, privacy, breach of confidence etc etc

Tarique Ghaffur began the fight to restore his reputation this week with a three-page interview in the Mail on Sunday.   He is one of the most dynamic, decent men it has been my good fortune to meet in 35 years in the media.   A front line cop, straight forward, forthright views, he is probably considered politically incorrect these days because he doesn’t believe in the politicisation of the police force.   Traique was heavily criticised when he left the Met Police because he felt there were forces working against him from within and said so.   But I believe the public will share my view as he begins to publically fight for what he believes in. Watch out for him on TV, radio and in the printed media in the coming months…

It was good to bump into my old mate Alistair Campbell at the Financial Times Sports Conference.

We were the guests on a panel about crisis management and though we have disagreed about various issues in the past (usually his support of Burnley Football Club), we were in complete agreement this time.

The fundamental issue with crisis management is leadership. If that is right, the rest falls into place.

It is true that every company of high profile business should have a crisis plan and that does not necessarily mean for a crisis of nuclear proportions.

It could be a whistleblower as in the case of Haringey Council and Baby P. Trying to injunct the very person who is trying to wrong a right, is not the copybook approach by the way.

It could be a lesser crisis like an employment tribunal or a fall-out between two senior executives. Or in my past it could have been at Hello magazine when a set of wedding pictures we had paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for came out blurred.

Whatever it is the old adage is true Prepare … or be prepared to fail.

By the way there was one thing Alistair and I did not agree on and that is what can rightly be called a crisis. His view is it is a situation that becomes all consuming to the point it takes over your life.

I guess when you have crisis managed wars; you might see things a little differently.

My first thought when managing a crisis is perspective, which I guess dovetails into what Alistair is saying. Usually when a client is in a crisis, they feel nothing else matters, that their business is about to end.

It is amazing how quickly the media agenda will move on - but that is not to say that the media storm could not have been stopped with proper planning and leadership.

With the advent of a new series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, I am reminded of the terrible plight of one Kerry Katona.

After Max Clifford abandoned her recently amid his accusations that she was drinking too much, a TV production company of our acquaintance asked us to meet the much criticized former pop star.

On the basis that you should also take people as you find them, rather than as they are portrayed by other, we agreed.

A meeting was set for 5.30pm in my office in Dean Street, Soho, 10 days ago.

Sadly Kerry did not arrive. I was called to be told that she was too distressed after being booed at the MTV awards the night before.

A new meeting was set up for last Tuesday. This time she did not arrive after she claimed she got half way to us, but had to return home for her medication that she had forgotten.

Another meeting was arranged but this time we stood down on the basis that we were not convinced the much maligned Kerry really wanted to help herself.

Sadly the following day I got a call from Heat magazine to tell me Kerry had been seen outside a London agent’s office hurling abuse at an associate and seemingly worse for wear.

I think we all hope she can pull herself together before it is too late… but the reality TV syndrome is something we are becoming all too familiar with.

Ordinary folk appear on a show, do well and then feel they are an example - or role model - that we should all look up to.

The Apprentice is not like real business. X Factor is not a real talent show and I’m A Celebrity is not a real test of survival - there are 700 staff out there for a start!

There is a real danger that it will end in tragedy… when ordinary people get the chance to experience extraordinary attention and then it is all snatched away from them, it leaves a deep hole, a terrible expectation, than can never be fulfilled.

At PHA Media we have met many people who have been touched by the reality TV genie then cast aside.

Kerry is not unique in being left alone with her demons once the circus moves on…