The Business of TRUST

[Music]

ladies and gentlemen

hello bonjour and may i start by saying

how honored i am to be with you all

today

and today i will focus on trust and why

trust

is such a precious asset an asset we

take for granted the value of which

is often misunderstood or worse ignored

and an asset

that in the age of exponential change is

the glue to

and key ingredient for long-term

sustainable success

let me start by introducing myself and

explaining my own personal trust journey

i am charles bowman a recently retired

pwc partner

a firm i’ve worked with for 38 years

i also carry the snappy title of a

pass lord mayor which donates the fact

that from november

17 to 18 i served as the 690th lord

mayor

of the city of london those of you

who’ve seen the pantomime dick

whittington or visited the annual lord

mayor show

will know that this meant that i did

spend part of my meryl year

traveling in a gold coach carrying a

tricorn hat dressed in velvet robes and

jabbers

and wearing pairs of 60 denier tights

but as lord mayor the principal

representative of the city of london the

square mile at the heart of the capital

where london

began i spent the majority of my time

acting as a key spokesperson and

ambassador

for the business of the city and the

uk’s financial and professional services

sector

a sector that employs 2.3 million people

across the uk

accounts for more than 10 percent of the

national gdp

and returns each year from financial

services alone 76 billion pounds in tax

that is 50 percent of the uk’s national

health care budget

in a normal year a sector that is a

national and a global jewel

and looking at the role of the lord

mayor it is that juxtaposition between

the old and the new the guardian are

both an

historic and a modern purpose which when

set alongside its political independence

makes it both unique and trusted

the world over in my first week in

office

i found myself in the hall of manchin

house the lord mayor’s glorious

palladian home

set in the heart of the city of london

wearing the historic

and extremely valuable badge of office

ready

to travel to a meeting happening one or

two streets

away only to find the official car

and its driver lyon waiting to drive me

as a person who likes to exercise i

asked leon

if i might walk to the appointment

and leon looked me in the eye and

replied

lord mayor you are perfectly at liberty

to walk

sir the badge however

will be taking the car thereby

demonstrating that ancient and historic

chains and badges of office are

irreplaceable

individual lord mayors not quite so much

and i tell this story as it reinforces

to me

the importance of the institution over

the individual

an institution that has been a trusted

constant

for 835 years

i also tell you this story because

throughout my year in office

i made the business of trust a key focus

with its

objective of developing a legacy of

better business trusted by

society why trust

well the global financial crisis of 2008

had been the catalytic moment marking

the beginning

of a seismic shift in the relationship

between business

and society and despite new regulation

and improved business practice 10 years

on

trust in financial services remained at

an

all-time low the animal and trust

barometer reported in 2018

the single largest decline in trust in

the institutions of business

government media and ngos just

43 percent of people in the uk trusted

business

and nearly 7 in 10 respondents said

that building trust was the number one

job for ceos ahead

of delivering high quality products and

services

so what do we do well first we carried

out two streams of research

we convened a trust advisory group to

focus on the business side of this

trust issue and challenge the group to

review the many pages

of existing business guidelines

standards and

codes of conduct with the aim of

distilling these

often little red documents into some

simple

guiding principles to help build

trustworthiness

simultaneously we held a series of

day-long citizens juries in cities

across the uk drawing people from off

the street so as to understand better

society’s view of the state of trust in

financial services

and we were shocked by the emotion

behind the response there was a lot

of anger and bitterness but once that

had subsided

we tasked these groups to focus on the

behaviors they felt

were required from business to

demonstrate and rebuild

trust we brought the findings from both

the

trust advisory group and the citizens

jurors together and found to our

surprise

that the recommendations from both

barring the language used

reconciled almost exactly

giving us the confidence to distill this

research

into five simple prince principles for

improving

public trust the civic principles

competence in short business must do

what they do well

integrity business must do the right

thing

value to society business must have a

wider purpose

interests of others business must focus

on the customer

and other stakeholders and clear

communication

business must communicate clearly and

transparently

and it was these principles that formed

the foundations of the program

and during the year we relentlessly

championed them and the business of

trust

across the uk and beyond

we created the leaders of tomorrow

network a nationwide community of next

generation leaders

from across financial services

empowering them to take the agenda

forward

with their firms and the sector we

developed a longer term network working

with

school children developing a trust

resource for their schools

and beyond we also took the business of

trust

abroad on each of my international

visits some 110 days

visiting 30 different countries

and given the strength of support we

began an interview program

of high profile personalities including

nicholas sturgeon the archbishop of

canterbury mark carney

and for rugby fans amongst us all black

legend

sir john cohen it may be no surprise

given public perception that most

politicians spoke cogently

of the importance of integrity mark

carney referenced the important role

business should play

in wider society in tackling climate

change

and sir john cohen a first in his sport

to speak up on mental health

recognized trust as the cornerstone of

all relationships

and a critical foundation for strong

mental health

and finally given the interest we

developed a survey for the public to

complete which reach

business leaders regulators government

officials university students and school

children

across the world everyone from the

classroom

to the boardroom well

that was a little while ago where does

trust stand today

why is it so relevant and what should we

expect

looking forward at the time of the

global financial crisis in 2008

trust was very much a financial services

issue

in the years since trust has grown into

a

global problem manifest across the world

whether

in the uk referendums and general

election results

in the usa catalonia france hong kong

and rising population worldwide most

recently

well after a year of unprecedented

turbulence the coveted 19 pandemic

with its associated economic

consequences the related uncertainty a

global outcry

over systemic racism increased

polarization

and overall political instability the

2021 edelman trust barometer revealed

and i quote an epidemic of

misinformation

and widespread mistrust of societal

institution

and leaders around the world the kobit

19 pandemic with more than 2 million

lives lost

and joblessness equivalent to the great

depression has accelerated

the erosion of trust edelman continued

by saying

that adding to this is a failing trust

ecosystem

unable to confront the rampant empademic

leaving the four institutions of

business government ngos and media

in an environment of information

bankruptcy

and with a mandate to rebuild trust and

chart a new path forward

the examples are everywhere and at the

center for our news

every day whether it’s vaccine efficacy

vaccine demand and vaccine supply chains

critical

to our safe passage out of this pandemic

or the growing tensions between west

and east or the implementation and

application

of the trade and cooperation agreement

and the related relationships beyond

that success of all these issues is

dependent

in large part upon trust

so what are we to learn and what can we

do well let me start with three

observations

firstly there exists an

intergenerational difference between the

values

and principles that underpin public

trust today

our business of trust survey asked

people to prioritize the five

civic principles and the results were

clear

those over 30 years old voted

overwhelmingly

for integrity and those under 30

voted overwhelmingly for value to

society

and these differences are beginning to

manifest themselves in changing

expectations of business

its purpose and its practice

secondly technology is part of the

problem

and must form part of the solution the

digital revolution has changed the frame

of reference

and keeping abreast of technological

developments will be

critical to earning trust in this new

age

thirty years ago a teenager growing up

in the small

rural east anglian village where i live

two hours north of london

would have built their knowledge base

from conversations around the kitchen

table

on the school bus in the village shop

from their teachers

grandparents and perhaps a bit from the

newspaper tv and radio

today that same teenager needs only a

mobile

and wi-fi and with these can access

any amount of information and worse or

better still

share their views across the world at

the press of a button

and that same teenager will build his or

her trust in the outside world

through new methods including

crowdsourcing

and the number of likes on social media

something my generation

find hard to understand technology

does not have to be something to

undermine trust instead

it should facilitate trust as one

wise fintech ceo reflected this

fourth revolution is a revolution of two

parts

a technology-based revolution and a

values-driven revolution

and thirdly success is about the long

term

winning over the short term and we

should not forget

that trust arrives on foot and leaves

on a galloping horse the coffee company

that was perceived to have failed to pay

its fair share of tax

paid dearly and quickly when its

customers voted with its feet

and left for the competition

and what next and what recommendations

again three thoughts from me firstly

purpose and a specific recommendation

for business

have a clear purpose beyond solely

profit maximization

and communicate that purpose with

clarity and authenticity

my own two daughters both at university

would rather spend

their money buying from businesses with

purpose

and every day we see best in class young

talent being attracted

to those companies and organizations

which by way of example actively promote

climate action

as part of their wider social purpose

secondly leadership business and all

organizations should recognize that

hierarchies

and leadership models are changing the

playing field

is getting flatter therefore empower

leaders

at all levels particularly the next

generation of leaders

and support leaders through education

the agenda of trust should be discussed

openly and honestly and as early as

possible indeed

i would encourage schools to consider

including it within their curriculum

and thirdly communications

clear balanced and transparent

communications

must play a role to help slow the tide

of misinformation

and help develop trustworthiness in this

increasingly polarized world

again those businesses that communicate

with authenticity

pushing their hands up when they get it

wrong are most likely to build

trustworthiness

with their stakeholders and as a final

word of encouragement

to us all today take personal

responsibility

it is through practical and individual

action that trustworthiness is built

and it should be the responsibility of

each of us as members of society

to play our part in creating a

trustworthy environment

one inspirational mentor gave me a very

helpful piece of advice

concerning personal responsibility

charles he said whenever possible use

the prana

pronoun we or i instead of they

we are living through extraordinary

change grappling with the issues of

climate change

exponential population growth scarcity

resource

inequality digital transformation and

very much more

whilst at the same time coping with the

consequences of this global pandemic

a key foundation to our successful

navigation through this

age of change will be trust

it is trust that underpins collective

responsibility

trust that is the cornerstone of all

relationships

and it is trust that acts as the glue

for the components

that deliver long-term sustainable

success

and whilst none of us have all the

answers it will be those people

businesses and institutions that put

trust

at the core of their dna that will most

likely thrive and survive

through this age of change

ladies and gentlemen it has been a huge

honor to attend today

and as a token of my thanks and

appreciation i do

have a small gift for the organizing

team

it is the same gift that i gave

throughout my meryl year to visiting

dignitaries

and to those who kindly hosted me on my

travels abroad

and it is a pepper pot um

symbolic as i explained to all because

in times past

trust was often assured in english

contracts through the exchange

of a peppercorn and it gives me great

pleasure to think

that many of my meryl guests and hosts

and finance minister in peru

the finnish ambassador a president or

two of african nations

and the head of financial services

regulation in japan

to name a few might in enjoying their

daily breakfast be reminded

of the importance of the business of

trust

and i can think of no better symbol of

my thanks

to the whole of the tedx plus museum

organizing team

for coordinating this conference and for

inviting me

to be part of it today merci

thank you