Chapter 1 Excerpt

As environment, social, and governance topics became more relevant and the pressure kept mounting, I had more and more leaders coming to me saying, “I don’t know what to do,” or “We don’t know where to begin.” In some cases these were Fortune 50 leaders, the people directly in charge of governance for their companies. If business leaders knew they needed to act, and were willing to act, but they didn't have the leadership, skills, or tools to do so, I wondered what was holding companies back. 

My conclusion was that it comes down to trust. Without knowing it, businesses erode trust all the time, and yet they are still the most trusted institutions. 

According to Pew research, right now we have near record low levels of trust in government (19 percent) and media (34 percent), and the highest trust in business at 61 percent. What’s even more interesting for me is that the majority of employees, 77 percent, say that they trust their employer. As a company, for employees—trust is paramount. Trust must be seen and felt. Trust in action is all about the fearlessness we face as we interact with the norms and rules surrounding how we should act and think.