Why Trust is a Consequence of a Purpose-driven Organization
I find Saturday mornings a wonderful time to sit and reflect over a coffee. This past Saturday I watched news reports of the Eastern US being bombarded by a storm that, if you’re to believe US newscasters, was of biblical proportions. Here in Canada we merely shrugged and said “We call that Winter”
Schadenfreude aside, I’ve been watching another theme emerge in my online conversations with alarming but welcome regularity.
That’s the theme of Trust or, more accurately, the alarming decay in that trust between average citizens and all institutions.
If my newsfeed is vaguely representative, you know that this past week the world’s elite gathered in Davos Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. It is easy to deride the event as a bunch of one-percenters earnestly wringing their hands and soapboxing about changing the world, whilst sipping chilled champagne in one of the most exclusive postal codes on the planet. And there may be some truth in that. WEF Founder Klaus Schwab pulled no punches in his remarks about the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the agenda theme for 2016 — when he said:
If we are to seize the opportunities, and avoid the pitfalls, of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we must consider carefully the questions that it raises. We must rethink our ideas about economic and social development, value creation, privacy and ownership, and even individual identity.
In the same week, PEW Research in the US released a very interesting report on privacy and sentiment in the US around the subject. As these verbatims attest, the findings weren’t news and certainly not a surprise to any marketer who has worked in old world of “direct marketing” or in the realm of digital:
“It’s hopeless.”
“I’m not hopeless, just resigned.”
“Loss of privacy is inevitable. I’ve accepted that.”
“Nothing is completely safe. That’s just life in these times.”
“[Loss of privacy] is a major annoyance.”
Perhaps the part that saddens and disappoints me is that these comments were as prevalent a decade ago as they are today. Sad that many Americans genuinely believe they’ve no control over their data and how it is used, that their communications aren’t secure, that their data isn’t safely stored and prone to hacking. All sentiments that, IMHO, point to institutions — government and business — that haven’t held up their obligation to the people we serve and service.
But, there are some signs of hope.
And that hope seems to rest squarely on the shoulders of the most important and influential group in the world today.
Business leaders
Business leaders like you.
Since 2000, Global PR firm Edelman has been tracking Trust in an annual Trust Barometer which tracks 4 areas — NGO’s, Media, Government and Business — and tries to ascertain how trusted they are. Interestingly the 2016 results show that Business made the most gains, closing the gap with NGO’s that have traditionally held the top spot. Cynics might suggest the disparity was so large, Business could only improve.
But I see this is an encouraging sign.
As a die-hard believer in the power of Purpose to focus organizations on delivering a positive societal impact in conjunction with a positive financial impact, this seems evidence that the Purpose mantra is starting to gather momentum.
And, inevitably, that momentum is redefining the role of business in our society. Businesses are taking on tasks that historically would’ve been left to government or other institutions.
As Michael Hayman and Nick Giles proclaim in their great book “Mission”, businesses are becoming campaigners.
Airbnb is touting the tax revenues to be earned if cities more actively allowed them to operate.
Ride-sharing business UBER is seriously flexing its political muscles as it attempts to get US regulators onboard. You may question their motives but it certainly lines up with their Purpose of making “Transportation as reliable as running water for everyone everywhere”
Other trusted organizations have a long history of acting overtly and publically in pursuit of their Purpose. Ben&Jerry’s tackling GMO’s. Starbucks’ Free Trade sourcing. No-one is surprised to see Patagonia actively campaigning for US political candidates who take environmental concerns seriously — their “Vote The Environment” is merely the latest manifestation of striving toward their Purpose.
Ultimately, as the executives at VW might grudgingly acknowledge, Trust is one of the most powerful and flimsy assets an organization has. Once broken, rebuilding it is an expensive and long task.
Purpose isn’t a Polyanna but, I’m steadfastly convinced, organizations that have embedded a purpose-driven culture are more likely to act in the common good and be seen as saints, not sinners.
Perhaps this quote from the recent Pew Privacy research states it more eloquently than I can:
“Not hopeless, necessarily — I think that the landscape has so fundamentally shifted that we have an entirely new paradigm to deal with.”
Peter Drucker always considered profit a consequence, not an objective, of a well-functioning organization.
In a similar vein, I’d say Trust is consequence of a Purpose-driven organization.
