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In an era marked by profound societal shifts and eroding confidence in traditional institutions, the call for a new approach to building trust has never been more urgent. Against this backdrop, Richard Edelman, CEO of the global communications firm Edelman, took the stage at GLOBIS University in Tokyo on March 17. The special seminar, co-hosted by GLOBIS, not only marked the 25th anniversary of the renowned Edelman Trust Barometer but also provided a critical platform to dissect the “Crisis of Grievance” gripping societies worldwide.
Drawing from the latest Trust Barometer findings, Edelman warned that societal fears and political polarization are fueling an ever-growing sense that the system at large is fundamentally unfair. This sentiment, he argued, is leading to an acceptance of aggressive action and placing immense pressure on institutions, especially business.
The following text presents a partial transcript of Richard Edelman’s remarks from the event, edited for clarity and flow, focusing on his core arguments regarding the “Crisis of Grievance” and the evolving role of business, particularly in Japan.
Please watch the full video to hear the complete presentation, as well as Edelman’s dialogue session with GLOBIS CEO Yoshito Hori.
The Competence-Ethics Matrix: A Stark View for Japan
Richard Edelman: So the question is, given all of these factors, what is the proper role for business?
Here’s the key argument. Business is the only institution both ethical and competent. It’s in the top right-hand corner [of the chart]. For all of you MBAs out there, this is the place you want to be: the top right corner. The place you don’t want to be is where the government and the media are: the bottom left. NGOs: nice people, not competent. We believe that they’re totally ethical, but oh well. They haven’t had a good COVID.
But here’s the thing: in Japan, we have not a single institution seen either as ethical or competent. You have nobody in the top right corner. This is nihilist behavior. This is not good for the home team. We’ve got to get institutions towards the top right corner, and especially business. It’s unusual that you have a low competence number for business. Why? “Well, because you don’t pay us enough, and you’re therefore not giving us what we need to succeed.”
Grievance Undermines Trust: Businesses Must Act, Not Hide
Edelman: Grievance undermines belief in business. If you have highly aggrieved people, every institution is in the bottom left corner.
We’ve got to get people out of this high grievance situation. This becomes an urgent matter for business. This is not optional. This is not for fun.
The classic behavior by business in a time of a storm is to imitate the turtle. What does that mean? You have a big shell. You stick your head inside the shell and you wait for the bad guys to leave. That would be the stupidest move you could make, because grievance is not going to go away unless you do something, and people want you to do more. They want you to do more about climate change. They want you to do more about affordable products. They want you to actually weigh in on misinformation because they think you have facts about things like AI that the media doesn’t. Also, on discrimination and finally on upskilling or retraining. And retraining is the secret sauce here because everybody is really nervous about job loss.
What People Demand from Business: Fair Pay, Reskilling, and a Civil Workplace
Edelman: What do we want business to do? Give us well-paid jobs. Pretty simple. But pay us more. Reskill us so that we can be competitive and compete for the future. And give us a civil workplace where we can have discussions.
You should have thought we could have these in the neighborhood. Not anymore. We have them at work.
So why does that matter? Because the highly aggrieved will believe [you] if you give them good, well-paid jobs, if you reskill them. And if you have a civil workplace. So we’re starting to get to solutions here.
Navigating CEO Activism: The “Yellow Lines” for Speaking Out
Edelman: The yellow lines for CEOs have narrowed, and especially in [America], where again, if you speak up on DEI or if you speak up on sustainability or whatever, you can get into trouble as being seen as woke or whatever and attacked politically.
The key criteria for CEO intervention and speaking up on issues publicly is: Can your company make a major impact through its supply chain, through how it trains people, etc.? So make a major impact. And the second is to improve your business’s performance. It has to not be about purpose. It has to be about performance. Making your business do better.
Also, if your company contributed to the problem, clean up your environmental mess, or whatever it is, especially if the issue actually could harm your employees or your communities. So these are the gating functions. These are the yellow lines that establish what is and isn’t good to talk about.
Brand Japan: A “Sunshine Moment” on the Global Stage
Edelman: I want you to be good and happy about one thing, because I’ve tried to depress you this entire presentation. Brand Japan is awesome outside of Japan. You guys may not like your own companies inside Japan, but outside Japan, Brand Japan, other than Canada—we’re tied for Canada—you’re the highest in the world in terms of reputation. This is a great thing.
This is Japan’s moment, actually, because you’re not American and you don’t necessarily have all the problems associated with that. You’re not Chinese, which also has massive [public perception] problems. You have a great record in terms of sustainability. You have a great record in terms of technology. So again, this is a sunshine moment for Japan.
Edelman’s Four Concluding Imperatives for Business
Edelman: I want to make four concluding points.
The first is we’ve got to address grievances. This is not a sustainable long-term situation. It is highly volatile. We are subject to populists and behaviors that are completely unpredictable. We want to get back to a place of predictability.
Second, it’s not that business has a license to lead. Business has a license to act. There’s a distinction. Don’t stick your chin out, but do something.
Third, you can’t do it by yourself. On something like reskilling, do it with the government. Do it with NGOs, do it with partners.
And lastly, we’ve got to get back to a place where we believe that the next generation can and will be better off. Optimism is the Z-axis. If you think about an X-axis competence, Y-axis ethics, we have to have a Z-axis where we get to the top right corner, and that’s the place where we have to win. Make sure that people believe that the next generation is going to be better off.
The Path Forward: Action, Partnership, and Renewed Optimism
Richard Edelman’s address at GLOBIS University offered a stark assessment of the “Crisis of Grievance” and a compelling call to action for businesses to step up, engage with societal issues, and actively work towards restoring trust and optimism.
While the challenges, particularly within Japan’s domestic trust landscape, are significant, Edelman’s insights also point towards opportunities for leadership and positive impact, especially leveraging Brand Japan’s strong international standing.
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