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These are unpredictable, volatile times. But
whether it’s trying to rebuild confidence in the financial markets or
settling the Middle East crisis, Julie Meyer of Ariadne Capital believes in
one key catalyst: trust.
“Trust is efficient”. |
Four-and-a-half years ago, I
launched a global network of entrepreneurs called First Tuesday with those
very words. Recently, I found myself in the small ski resort of Davos
talking to leaders of countries and global companies, rather than the
start-up entrepreneurs I usually deal with. But the words kept coming back
to me.
From the demise of Moore’s
Law to the problems in Iraq and the Middle East, the world is more
unpredictable than ever. Why should we put our trust in a geopolitical
situation dominated by uncertainty and despair? When living conditions in
Palestine sink to the standards of sub-Saharan Africa, who can you trust to
find a solution?
And if I am sitting in my plush London office, managing my portfolio of
investments, does this really matter to me?
The beauty of the World Economic Forum is that the debate does not allow
even the most single-minded, hardcore individual to live a compartmentalised
life. I challenge anyone who heard Queen Rania of Jordan speak of her late
father-in-law, King Hussein, and his persistent search for peace – even in
the face of his own death – to say that the resolution of the
Palestinian/Israeli crisis is not also their personal priority.
There are no zero-sum games in this world – not in politics, not in
business, not in venture deals, not in start-ups. Somehow, the dialogue
between Elie Wiesel and Queen Rania brought this home. It is easy to forget
that the goal of good business, much like the goal of a life well-lived, is
to align all parties’ objectives as much and for as long as is humanly
possible. That is how growth is generated.
It is all too easy to impose yourself on others just because you can. The US
spends $400bn a year on defence and the military. No nation has ever
dominated the world as the US now does – not even the Romans at the height
of their empire. As Nato secretary-general Lord Robertson, echoing the words
Harry Truman, said: the goal is to speak softly and carry a big stick.
But there was palpable doubt in Davos that the US is worthy of the “trust”
it must be given. Yasser Arafat also faced criticism: at one point, US
Senator Joe Biden asked the auditorium if anyone trusted him to really work
towards peace in Palestine. We long for leaders we can trust – leaders who
are trustworthy.
Government by the people and for the people – democracy – has always been a
noble goal. But how do we engineer this in the Middle East? Does it come
before or after peace? Representatives from Arab nations were quick to say
that “participative government” must spring from within, not be imposed. But
as Hernando de Soto, president of the Instituto Libertad y Democracia in
Peru, observed: “Democracy in Peru, as in much of the emerging world, is
understood as elections. That’s all.”
Trust is vital in all aspects of our lives. Rebuilding confidence in the
financial markets was a constant theme at Davos. Financial Services
Authority chairman Howard Davies, Goldman Sachs’ president and co-CEO John
Thain, Deutsche Bank chairman Josef Ackermann and the new SEC commissioner
William Donaldson debated the accounting reforms contained in the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act. One point upon which everyone agreed is that both
management and auditors work for the stockholders. There has been a
realignment on that point.
More importantly, Ackermann repeatedly said that “integrity – perceived and
real – is the most important issue”. And that’s where it gets tricky – you
can’t regulate integrity. But it is the crux of the whole issue of investor
confidence and trust.
One of the cocktail nights I attended was on “Film and Storytelling”. Actors
Julia Ormond and Ron Silver, producer Anant Singh and co-founder of Phoenix
Pictures Mike Medavoy debated “The Hard Choices made by Storytellers”. But
it was Shekhar Kapur, director of Elizabeth, who summed up the essential
tone of the World Economic Forum for me: “We choose how we live. We choose
what stories we tell and essentially what we lie about. We don’t choose to
be born, or to die, or our parents. But we choose what we honour and what we
dishonour. We know we are deliberately leaving out essential truths in
telling a story. Fiction, unlike life, had better make sense. It had better
have some authority.”
If life is a play that is constantly unfolding – either with God as director
or with actors wandering aimlessly around the stage, depending on your
beliefs – then free will is the essence of the action. To embrace free will
is to know yourself. And those who do not know themselves cannot build
bridges of trust – whether they are in the workplace, the boardroom or the
combat zone.
More than one speaker suggested that the Middle East’s track record at
empowering its people has been dismal, and that its leaders have rallied
support by blaming their problems on the West, not by taking responsibility
for improving the lives of the people they claim to represent. The US may
not be able to bomb democracy into Iraq, but the future of the region will
depend on all of its citizens participating in the script.
The Financial Times recently ran an interesting article about how the
inherent inequality of a democratic and capitalist system is what makes it
great: people have choice. Some aspire to a better life and reap the rewards
of their labour. But it is a double-edged sword: despair can set in when
people feel they have no control over their own lives. This can lead to
bitterness, which can become radicalised and dangerous. And technology
enables that bitterness to spread more easily. Terrorism massively
destabilises markets, hindering growth and affecting everyone.
The World Economic Forum seeks to build trust between those in a position to
engineer a level playing field, and those who want to participate more
actively and effectively in our world. Power has always come with
responsibility – and our leaders must justify the trust we put in them.
Similarly, we must have faith in the markets, microcosms and systems through
which we conduct our lives – companies, families and governments.
Trust is not just some nebulous concept to be bandied around by politicians
– it is also key in the world of business. When we consistently invest in
others’ successes, we understand how efficient trust can be.
First
published: 13 February 2003,
Real Deals
This article was reprinted with the permission of Real Deals magazine.
For more information on Real Deals, see: http://www.realdeals.eu.com
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