Rory McIlroy Claims Mulligan for Bad Business Decision

Happier Days:  Rory McIlroy and Horizon Managing Director Conor Ridge at the White House in 2012.

In March 2013 I wrote a post outlining the disastrous counsel to Rory McIlroy by Horizon, his management company surrounding the PR fallout after walking off the golf course during the Honda Classic tournament.  Rory McIlroy Should Look Beyond Horizon .  McIlroy split from Horizon in May, two months after the end of the tournament.

Yesterday I came across this follow-up piece  Rory McIlroy To Take The Stand In A Very Different Kind Of High Stakes Game that describes how the #1 golfer and Horizon are dueling in court about releasing McIlroy from his contract.

This issue reaffirms the benefits for celebrity brands of employing separate firms for management, legal counsel and PR counsel.    Although the "one-stop-shop" company may seem like an easy solution for the star athlete or entertainer, this cautionary tale shows the temptation for such firms to fulfill internal corporate objectives at the expense of their clients' interests.

A very costly error for anyone, let alone a trusting young man whose earnings for years to come may have to be shared with the firm that knowingly took advantage of him.

GOLFERS OFF COURSE SPELL TROUBLE ON THE PGA TOUR

McIlroy, Johnson, Woods, Allenby:  Golfers Off Course Spells Trouble on the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour must get out in front of a growing trend of troubling revelations about questionable behavior by prominent golfers or risk scrutiny of their policies and procedures that may cause further embarrassment and will prove difficult to maintain the honorable reputation of the sport.

Tiger Woods had his tooth knocked out by a videographer's camera earlier this week while in Italy watching girlfriend and World Cup ski champion Lindsey Vonn.  It's not the first time Woods' front teeth have gotten in the way of a blunt metal object.  He must have experienced flashbacks to the fateful early morning confrontation in 2009 when his wife at the time Elin Nordegren made a chip shot with a golf wedge into Tiger's mouth, chipping one of Tiger's front teeth after she confronted him about his extra-marital affairs.

And while on the subject of pro golfers' teeth, Rory McIlroy, currently the #1 golfer in the world, blamed a sore wisdom tooth when he abruptly quit playing on the ninth hole of the second round of the 2013 Honda Classic tournament while he was at 7 over par, walked to his car and left the course.  No disciplinary action was taken by the Tour.

More recently, pro golfer Dustin Johnson is scheduled to play golf again in February after taking himself out of golf last summer to seek professional help for 'personal challenges.'  It was widely reported at the time that Johnson, who has since married and had a child with Paulina Gretzky, was known to have slept with at least two other PGA players' wives and also had tested positive three times in the past five years for cocaine and marijuana use.  The PGA Tour stressed that Johnson was not suspended.  That curious statement raises more questions than it answers.

The most curious case of all involves PGA Tour Professional Robert Allenby, who stated that, after missing the cut at last week's Sony Open in Honolulu, he was kidnapped from a bar, drugged, robbed and assaulted by a group of men before they shoved him into the trunk of a car.  He awoke several hours later with no memory of any further details of the incident.

The response of the PGA Tour to the Dustin Johnson incident crystallizes the governing organization's inability to deal truthfully, fully and honestly with these situations.  The announcement of the Johnsons' newborn on the PGA website cites an AP story but strips the original content of any mention of Johnson's previous troubles.  Here is the original AP story about the birth.

It's no easy task for any organization to look internally and objectively analyze how current policies may be damaging to the goals and objectives of the business.  The NCAA is regularly maligned for the ineffectiveness and inconsistencies in it's dealing with member school infractions.  The problem with the PGA is different in that it is refusing to even acknowledge a rising tide of incidents that are proving damaging to the sport they are entrusted to protect.

A full, transparent and truly independent assessment of PGA Tour player discipline policies is required. When completed, all recommendations should be implemented and confirmed by another independent authority.  It's Jack Nicklaus' 75th birthday today -- who better to head up the evaluation than the most respected head-of-state of golf professionalism?

IF YOU WERE A STOCK WHICH WOULD YOU BE? MOTIF INVESTING MATCHES PERSONALITIES WITH STOCKS TO INVEST HAPPILY EVER AFTER

IF YOU WERE A STOCK WHICH WOULD YOU BE?  MOTIF INVESTING MATCHES PERSONALITIES WITH STOCKS TO INVEST HAPPILY EVER AFTER

48% of American adults don't participate in the stock market because of high profile deception...

intimidating middle-men...

and complicated legalese and limitations.

A new player, Motif Investing, eliminates many perceived negatives and ...

...creates personalized portfolios to simplify the investment process.

Investing in the stock market is a frightening proposition for many Americans.  Despite stock market indices reaching record highs, investment in the stock market is at a record low in the U.S. according to Gallup which has tracked this statistic since 1998.  Only 52% of American adults say that they or their spouse own any stocks either individually or as part of a fund.  The percentage of Americans owning stocks has declined steadily since the financial crisis.

Low participation in the stock market is due in part by fear of risk, coupled with long-standing perceptions among potential and active investors that the market is for a small club of wealthy people and self-serving brokers that feed off of and take advantage of neophyte investors with exorbitant fees, difficult legalese, non-sensical regulations and questionable guidance.

What the huge market of 48% of American adults are searching for is a way to simplify the investment process with a familiar platform, understandable fee structure and connection with their individual business and lifestyle preferences.

Enter Motif Investing, one of the Top  Five Disruptive Business Concepts in 2014.  Look at it as a combination of online dating and stock market investing.  Motif users select up to 30 stocks to create a unique 'motif' or choose from among hundreds of pre-made motifs.  Many pre-made motifs center around themes that strike a personal chord with potential investors including "Battling Cancer," "Repeal Obamacare, "Eating Out" and "Pet Passion."  The commission structure is straight-forward and competitive.

The site includes an assessment that claims to help determine your  "investing DNA," matching your interests with motifs to personalize the investing process.

Founded in 2010 by Hardeep Walia, an ex-Microsoft executive and backed by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, Motif Investing responds to a void in the market with a solid concept, experienced leadership, legitimate backing and elevated branding that, if plotted on a graph, would be trending on a steep uphill trajectory.

"AND THE 'HEAD IN THE SAND' OSCAR GOES TO..."

AND THE 'HEAD IN THE SAND' OSCAR GOES TO...

Awards marketing for Birdman with Michael Keaton...

exposes some antiquated Hollywood strategies...

that the fashion industry recognized and changed 20 years ago...

and Cary Grant pioneered in the 1950's.

In the early 1990's while directing marketing at Donna Karan Menswear, I began receiving requests from 'online media' for access to seasonal runway shows.  Initially skeptical because there was no body of work to judge their merit, we were among the first to recognize this growing contingency of influencers and validate their contribution with show invitations.  Today, popular bloggers and you- tubers dwarf their traditional media counterparts in audience, in influence and at that time, in immediacy of information dissemination.

As an industry that relies on setting trends, the fashion business is usually among the first to entertain new visual creative marketing concepts.  With marketing for film and fashion now strongly linked, I was intrigued to learn that a movie marketing practice that became obsolete years ago is still being employed.

One of the films with great Oscar buzz is Birdman, the art-imitates-life comedy starring Michael Keaton.   Sohpisticated lobbying campaigns have been underway for months by producers to get Birdman and other films selected as winners in the upcoming awards season.   And the stakes are high.  It is estimated that a Best Picture win at the Academy Awards translates into an additional $14 million jump in box office receipts, according to IBIS World.  The film began as a limited release in NY and LA on October 17.  Movies with themes thought to be challenging by their studios often start as limited releases prior to broader release at a later date.   Birdman was selected for limited release because it straddles two genres -- part comedy and part biopic -- that may create audience confusion.  It became available to the rest of the country on October 31.

This 'delayed discovery' strategy by studios harkens back to a day when audience feedback could be limited geographically and 'controlled' by Hollywood.  It's completely useless today because bootleg copies of DVDs sent to Academy members and social media make a mockery of any attempt by power-brokers to limit exposure.   The 'limited release' is counter-productive because in the two weeks from Birdman's initial release until its general release, the film became 'old news' to many potential movie-goers who must have felt they'd already seen it given the amount of information made available in the interim.

It's a relic of the old 'studio system' when Hollywood held their stars under ironclad contracts that broke down in part when the stars themselves, specifically Cary Grant, discovered that they, not their studios, were what the public craved.

Limited release?  Unlimited anachronism.  As discussed in Jeff Simon's review in the Buffalo News, it's time for this marketing relic's extinction.

PRAYING FOR A GREAT CUP OF COFFEE

PRAYING FOR A GREAT CUP OF COFFEE

RESTORE COFFEE ROASTERS:  Look Behind the Curtain

During the holiday season, when goodwill and kindness are stressed, the only sentiment I experience when shopping is the 'stressed' part, brought on by too many people and too few parking spaces.  While picking up last-minute items earlier this week in the Boynton Beach mall, I came across Restore Coffee Roasters and decided to take a break.  

The branding of independent coffee houses varies as widely as the quality of their coffee, but Restore achieves the highest level of both measures.  With an entrance completely open to the mall, the storefront is immediately inviting.  The design, product selection and corporate identity of this two-year old single unit location equal the image of Starbucks, which has perfected their formula over 43 years and in over 21,000 shops.  The Restore employees I met were engaging, friendly, efficient and knowledgeable.   A customer experience this positive piques my interest.  Then I was handed my large lemon ginger tea and muffin for a little over $3 and was informed that the operation is 100% not-for-profit with earnings benefitting local charities.  I was convinced there was something more to this place.

As I sat in a comfortable chair trying to reconcile the costs and returns from this business, double doors at the end of the lounge opened and several people came into the store.  Curious, I walked through the doors and entered a modern, spacious open area leading through another set of doors into a huge auditorium that used to be a Dillard's store and is now -- the Christ Fellowship Church.  

After confirming with a store employee that Restore is part of the Church I marveled at the sophistication of their concept.  Rather than "Restore" referring to a 'green' theme, the business's motto is "Restoring hope, one cup at a time." Without mentioning one word to me as a customer about their faith, Restore allowed me to discover that this church represents, quality, service, hard work, value, vision and charity.   It is the single best example I've encountered of outreach by a religious enterprise and, rather than feeling the wool was pulled over my eyes, I am astonished and impressed by this passive yet impactful strategy to increase awareness through community involvement.

Commercial enterprise and religious institutions can inform each other about best practices and when combined as they are at Restore Coffee Roasters, great things are happening.   Read about Restore Coffee Roasters here.

Celebrity Legal Woes Prompt Employers to Replace Courts

CORPORATIONS IN DARK ABOUT DISCIPLINE FOR CELEBRITY EMPLOYEES

Recent legal woes of celebrities including Canadian journalist Jian Ghomeshi, comedian Bill Cosby and NFL players Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice illustrate how public opinion prompts employers to impose punishment in lieu of due legal process.

In each case, when employers for each man first learned of misconduct, their reaction was muted.  And in each case, when new information appeared on social media and was promoted in traditional media, public outcry and sponsor concerns prompted employers to impose much stricter punishments without regard for legal implications of their decisions.

When Ghomeshi first had conversations with his superiors after allegations surfaced about his practice of rough sex, he was put on indefinite leave -- not fired. http://bit.ly/1ya1wm4   Ray Rice was suspended two games by the NFL when he was charged with assault in February after punching and knocking his then fiancee unconscious in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino.  http://bit.ly/1vyp55W  Reports of Cosby assaulting women were circulating for years before his latest partnership with NBC to create a new family comedy to debut next year.  http://nyti.ms/1rIg4Yy  When Peterson in May was found to have disciplined his four-year old son by hitting him with a wooden stick called a switch, the Minnesota Vikings de-activated him for one game in September.  http://bit.ly/1HPPkdj

To date, legal proceedings are progressing against Ghomeshi, Rice and Peterson.  However the NFL, CBC and NBC cut ties with Peterson, Rice, Ghomeshi and Cosby in advance of any legal resolution or decision of current cases.  The NFL ruled Peterson ineligible to play football again until the 2015 season.  Rice was suspended indefinitely by the NFL.  Ghomeshi was fired by the CBC.  NBC canceled the show Cosby had in development and Netflix cancelled a stand-up Cosby comedy special.  Several concert venues have cancelled their dates and TVLand pulled lucrative re-runs of The Cosby Show from their schedule.  http://reut.rs/1B3rnxb It's clear these employers were motivated to punish their employees more to respond to the outcry of the public and sponsor concerns rather than protect the rights of the accused.

The law punishes some crimes much less harshly than the public expects.  For example, according to New Jersey prosecutor Jim McLain, even if Rice had been tried and convicted of second-degree assault, he would not have gone to jail.  http://bit.ly/1y0yQa6 .  Added to this societal-legal imbalance is the long time span for the legal process to run its course in these times where instant gratification is expected in all things from overnight delivery to legal decisions. 

These examples are the pioneering steps into a dangerous area of corporate 'frontier justice' where innuendo and media sensationalism prompt snap judgments that replace measured decision-making based on evidence and due process.  Corporations are appeasing the public today with punishments that open themselves up to future legal challenges from  the accused that could have serious implications on their businesses.

It's a "shoot first, ask questions later" strategy that sacrifices long-term stability at the alter of short-term expediency.  As a precursor of the messy situations created by these corporations, an arbitrator on Friday 11/28 overturned the NFL's indefinite suspension of Ray Rice, making him immediately eligible to play football again for any team he signs with.  http://nyti.ms/11GdmWV
The decision called the penalty 'arbitrary' and in conflict with the facts of the case.  

Companies have wide latitude to treat employees as they choose and to revise and adjust discipline according to corporate guidelines and employment agreements.  A better solution for high-profile cases that involve criminal charges may be to impose an indefinite suspension with pay while legal issues are resolved while allowing the accused to seek other employment and end their current contract if they are hired elsewhere.

A consistent and measured response by management that can be applied equally to all employee activity involving criminal investigation or charges is in the interest of both parties.

TRUE LIES: LEBRON MASTERS MEDIA AND BASKETBALL WITH 'THE ESSAY'

King James rules the NBA and the media...

...much like another leader who compelled people to disregard the obvious

TRUE LIES:  LEBRON MASTERS MEDIA AND BASKETBALL WITH 'THE ESSAY'

It is rare when the world of sports affects people that don't pay attention to it.  The Olympics provide the majority of these moments because the Games are linked to our national identity.  The success of the U.S. soccer team at the recent World Cup piqued our interest as well.  LeBron James' announcement made Friday that he was leaving the Miami Heat of the NBA to return to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, created similar seismic ripples across the country.  For an individual to wield this type of attention has no precedent.  James' ability to galvanize the public is as stunning an accomplishment as his skill with a basketball.

After a period of uncertainty over the past few weeks about whether LeBron would stay in Miami or move to another team,  the best basketball player in the world announced his decision in a written statement that appeared Friday on the Sports Illustrated website.  Titled "Im Coming Home" LeBron called the piece an 'essay.'  That terminology is significant, because the verb 'essayer' in French means 'to try,' and in twelve succinct paragraphs, he tries to let the reader in to his emotional rationale that prompted his decision to return home to Ohio.

The actual piece is bylined "By LeBron James as told to Lee Jenkins."  Jenkins, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, did a masterful job taking LeBron's words and crafting an article that paints James in the most positive light possible.  With the potential to sway public opinion against James, Jenkins instead centered the piece around LeBron's deep desire to return to his hometown, which apparently was the perfect recipe to appease Miami fans and also enable Cleveland fans -- many of whom branded James a traitor for bolting Cleveland in 2010 to play for Miami -- to forgive and embrace the prodigal son once again on his return.  Written in first-person as if by James himself,  Jenkins elicits sympathy by personalizing the story for every reader.

The real media mastermind here though, is King James.  Ad Age magazine reported on the scoop by Jenkins in a story titled "Here's How Sports Illustrated Got the LeBron James Exclusive," in which  SI Managing Editor Chris Stone asked Jenkins if there were any preconditions James was demanding in return for the exclusive.  Jenkins responded that there were none.  So, how is ghost-writing a story totally from the point of view of the subject and sanitizing the session into twelve paragraphs all tied up with a beautiful bow, not a pre-condition?  No follow-up questions.  No differing opinions.  Reinforcing this edict, Jenkins devotes a single paragraph of James' essay to the line from LeBron that, "I’m not having a press conference or a party. After this, it’s time to get to work."  

Of course, this isn't journalism.  It's advertising.  The exclusive story, which was posted around noon Friday, is "the biggest traffic event in the history of the magazine" according to SI top editors.

Despite what any defender thinks while playing against him in the paint, LeBron's power is just as dominant over the media.  He has been criticized heavily in the past, but at this moment, James calls the shots for the entire NBA and for the media that covers him.  

It's a unique position of authority usually reserved for political dictators.  And we're lapping it up.