How to survive fall from grace

Falls from grace have been the theme of recent news stories. In swift succession government ministers Clare Curran and Meka Whaitiri, and Housing New Zealand have all taken big hits to their reputations. Curran left for scandals over undeclared meetings, Whaitiri got the boss’ no-confidence vote over allegations of roughing up staff, and Housing NZ had to apologise for throwing tenants out of their homes over its methamphetamine policy.

Reputation is a funny thing. In a few months, we won’t remember the details of these crimes against morality, except to recall the faint whiff of scandal. But if you’re down, does it mean you’re permanently out?

History is littered with falls from grace. Nixon and Watergate was probably the most famous, but the list of sports heroes, personalities and actors is long: Tiger Woods, Bill Cosby, Rolf Harris, OJ Simpson and Harvey Weinstein for a start.

Putting your reputation together is no easy feat. As the old saying goes, it takes years to build a reputation and one headline to destroy it. Managing the damage first depends on how you behave at the time of the transgression.

Sports broadcaster Tony Veitch’s standing has never properly recovered after his domestic violence conviction. Just last year he had to stand down from a Sky TV show after a public outcry. Criticism centred around the belief that he had never been seen to take full responsibility.

Falls from grace are big business for the PR industry. A panicked individual or business will open their chequebooks for help.

Some simple recovery tactics are to apologise and disappear. After international coverage of actor Hugh Grant’s dalliance with a prostitute he disappeared and then relaunched on talk shows showing great remorse. Since then he’s been nominated for a Golden Globe.

Lying low for a while also helped equestrian Mark Todd recover from a drug and sex scandal. Years later, when he returned to the sport, he was warmly welcomed.

Another ploy is to try to bury the story. There was no coincidence that Housing NZ’s apology was swiftly followed by the release of the Government’s working group on tax recommendations.

Some reputations may be beyond recovery. Cyclist Lance Armstrong spent so many years denying allegations of drug use before his final confession, it would be difficult to trust him again. And the Catholic Church has a crisis that won’t go away as allegations continue to emerge over the sexual abuse of children.

But Curran and Whaitiri need not despair. There are many examples of reputation recovery to inspire them. There’s former politician Jeffrey Archer, who was jailed for perjury but remains a bestselling author, and a member of the House of Lords.

And look at actress Winona Ryder, who’s made a comeback 15 years after shoplifting convictions. A PR maestro must be managing Charlie Sheen, who’s still one of the highest-paid actors despite a career littered with drug abuse and violence.

A good PR person will encourage you to make amends through actions. High-flying British politician John Profumo seemingly disappeared following sex and spy scandals. Turns out he became chief fundraiser for a charity and eventually received an OBE.

How we love to see our heroes fall. The internet is rife with websites recounting grisly details of the biggest stuff-ups.

I’m not sure how Meka or Clare or Housing NZ’s chief executive are feeling this week – but I suggest they spend a few hours Googling ‘‘major stuff-ups’’ and their problems may not seem so bad after all.