We only trust business, and Democrats trust business more than Republicans, according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer

Well this sounds like a stretch.

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer has been released and people around the world believe that business is “that’s all An institution considered competent and ethical. As such, the PR giant says business has emerged as an ethical force for good in a polarized world. means we are looking for a CEO to be a leading voice in

Now let’s unpack this a bit.

Now in its 23rd year, the online survey, which typically kicks off the World Economic Forum in Davos, sees governments, businesses, the media and NGOs scramble to the bottom when it comes to who is the most untrustworthy. It starts with a set of stats that show you are engaged in competition. (If you want to compare how we feel about his CEO to how they feel about the world, I’ve cited some recent research in this article.)

According to Edelman’s survey, 62% of 32,000 respondents in 28 countries say they trust businesses. About 59% said they trust NGOs. This may not sound like a big difference to you, but it puts it in what Edelman calls the “neutral” realm. Government and media are 51% and 50% respectively. (I apologize. Please give me another shot.)

Technically, the top results look exactly the same as they did a year ago. Business technically went up one percentage point. But, of course, the devil is in the details, and it is clear that the countries with the most political polarization are paying a heavy price in terms of trust. When the scores are tallied, business now leads government by 53 points on competence, and he is 30 points ahead on ethics.

Message: Government is failing delivery.

Here in a country that took 15 rounds to vote for the Speaker of the House, it may come as no surprise that the United States is right in Edelman’s “extremely polarized” quadrant. This is calculated as a combination of perceived polarization and the belief that those divisions can be overcome. Also included in that quadrant are Argentina, Colombia, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. (Note that Saudi Arabia, China, and India are the least polarized in this metric.)

If you dig deeper into the United States, you’ll find that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say our differences are insurmountable. say they do, but a third of Democrats say they don’t. He trusts the media even more, with only 26% of Republicans trusting the government, compared to 61% of Democrats. Only 23% of Republicans think their lives will be better five years after him, compared to 48% of Democrats.

We can go on and on about the quirky differences and what they mean. People are understandably uneasy about the economy and fed up with divisive tactics to secure businesses and votes.

CEOs, is this the moment you step up and become the moral beacon you always thought you could be? Edelman CEO Richard Edelman thinks so. Trust gives leaders the license to influence and act in the world. But it can also inflate expectations and be difficult to meet. Good luck.