“Lose money from the firm and I will be understanding, lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I’ll be ruthless.” - Warren Buffett
For 25 years the annual Edelman Trust Barometer has been tracking the erosion of trust, around the world, in the key societal institutions of government, media, NGOs and business.
The theme of this year's report, published just a few weeks ago, is:
‘Trust and the Crisis of Grievance’.
The document tries its best to capture the global sentiment of increasing nihilism and the growing response of demonstrable grievance towards governments, technology, ‘the rich’, and businesses that appear to be taking advantage of their positions of power.
The pervasive sense of injustice in the world is fuelling a rising tide of resentment and violence to perceived abuses. This discontent is reflected in widespread pessimism about the future; in most developed countries, less than 20% of survey participants believe that future generations will have better lives, and the real fear of discrimination is at an all-time high.
A threat to democracy
The declining public trust in institutions, that can be traced back to the 1980s, is a major threat to democracies.
Institutions, with their complex networks of norms, relationships, and rules, are essential for the proper functioning of modern societies and the economic prosperity they generate.
Trust in these systems is vital, as strong institutions provide a sense of security and agency, creating the conditions under which individuals and organizations can create value. Rule of law is crucial in this context, providing the necessary social contract to transform potential into prosperity.
The historical push to deregulate institutions to stimulate economic growth has resulted in impressive economic gains in some countries, it has also created a culture that lauds the weakening of regulatory friction. With time the consequences of these actions are socially destabilizing wealth and income inequality and the concentration of extreme wealth in the hands of a few.
But after decades of frictionless, market-led booms and busts, the perception is that those in power have manipulated institutions to their own benefit. The sentiment is that ‘game is rigged’ and hopes that the current system will be able to recalibrate the status quo are all but gone.
How might business respond?
In this context, business leaders are obliged to act purposefully to prevent reputational damage, but under these dystopian conditions lie the seeds of opportunity too.
Drawing directly from the Edelman report; in a concerted effort to strategically build trust with the society within which they operate, it is recommended that business leaders directly address issues such as climate change and systemic injustice and discrimination in their chosen operational approach, take the issue of fair pay and skills development seriously, and not just pay lip-service to a commitment to transparency and accountability.
Adhering to regulatory compliance today should be reframed, not just to avoid penalties and sanctions, but as a strategic framework to develop sustainable relationships with stakeholders with the ultimate intention of cementing stronger bonds through the building of a reputation of trustworthiness.
The ultimate strategic advantage
With concerns rising about powerful new technologies like artificial intelligence and the effects of climate change, now more than ever organisations can derive significant benefit from successfully building agile, resilient, sustainable businesses that enable broad stakeholder prosperity through the mechanism of good governance.
By consistently facilitating good judgment and decision-making corporate governance serves as the critical foundation that unlocks outperformance for a complex operational entity. Trustworthy organisations attract more customers, better talent, eager collaborators, investors, media exposure and favourable terms from their suppliers. Powering a virtuous cycle of confidence, trust is the social lubricant that spurs the creation of goodwill and opens the door to desired futures.
When trust is in short supply those that can successfully cultivate it are at a significant advantage to their peers.
In PWC’s 2024 Trust Survey it was made clear that ‘there isn’t just a moral case for building trust — there’s a business case as well, with 93% of business executives agreeing that the ability to build and maintain trust improves the bottom line.’
Despite there being broad consensus on the theory, executives grossly overestimate the amount of trust that their customers and employees have in them.
The PWC research indicates that 90% of business executives think that customers highly-trust their companies, while only 30% of consumers do (a 60-point gap). Similarly, 86% of executives think that their employee trust is high, compared to 67% of employees who say they highly-trust their employer (a difference of 19-points). It’s this glaring trust gap that creates the dangerous illusion that actively building trust isn’t an urgent strategic priority.
Successfully cultivating a corporate culture of good governance and oversight for most businesses is an act of transformation that takes persistence and the development of an organisational mindset that understands, and truly values, the benefits of compliance for the long-term trajectory of the organisation. It takes far more than simply ticking boxes to appease the regulator, but that’s also why getting it right is so commercially rewarding.
Measuring and making of trust
Laws and regulations are constantly changing and compliance requirements to manage risk are unique to each business, making effective oversight and compliance a challenging task without the right information and technology.
Identifying this need, LexisNexis, South Africa’s leading legal resources provider, created a 3-step compliance suite, which is intended to be a holistically packaged solution that facilitates an organisation’s compliance obligations.
The suite manages a compliance portfolio and informs executives of compliance developments through the powerful combination of three of their leading products: LexisNexis Assure, LexisNexis GRC and LexisNexis Practical Guidance to ensure that an organisation achieves compliance and stays compliant.
A sincere commitment to trust-making starts with an agreement on which trust-related metrics are valid and then developing approaches as to how these metrics might be improved and consistently monitored.
Regulatory compliance is an important starting point, but accurate oversight of the quality of the relationship between the organisation and its customers, employees and other important stakeholders needs to also be included.
Trust needs to be at the centre of strategy and embedded at all levels of an organisation for it to become a powerful enabler in the competitive pursuit of performance.
With new technologies and data services the task of achieving compliance and remaining compliant is far less daunting and when coupled with the right mindset, becomes a powerful approach to developing an organisational reputation of trustworthiness that serves as a lever of growth.
Sources
FANews. (2021). IRMSA compliance now powered by LexisNexis [online].
Financial Management Magazine. (2025). Business still viewed favourably, but signs point to eroding trust [online].
Fair Observer. (2025). America’s Trust Crisis: How Crumbling Faith in Institutions Threatens Our Prosperity [online].
Pew. (2024), Americans’ Deepening Mistrust of Institutions [online].
Edelman. (2025). Crisis of grievance puts pressure on trust [online].
PWC. (2024). PwC’s 2024 Trust Survey 8 key findings [online].
IPSOS. (2018). America’s Trust Deficit [online].