The Brand Trust Network
It’s a business imperative … and trust is the most valuable asset you have
I’ve felt the pain of watching smart strategies fail—not because the ideas were wrong, but because trust was not there.
I’ve led through enough transformation, change, turnaround, and growth to know trust isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It’s the decisive factor in whether your strategy takes root—or falls flat. You can have the best plan, product, capital, and talent—but if employees don’t believe, customers doubt, or leaders are misaligned, momentum stalls. Every time.
Trust isn’t the job of one function. It’s not just the brand officer, compliance, HR, or operations. Trust is the responsibility of every leader—and it must be built as both foundation and system.
On my journey, I’ve come to believe trust is the most valuable asset we have. Trust can be built, and leaders can intentionally weave it throughout their system. Yes, I believe you can operationalize trust and measure it.
At SGNL, we’ve built the Brand Trust Network to help leaders map, operationalize, strengthen, and measure trust so performance can follow.
My Journey with Trust
Early in my career, I thought the right strategy and relentless execution drove results. I still believe both matter—but I’ve learned they only work when trust is strong enough to carry them.
Again and again, I’ve seen the same pattern: talented people, solid strategies, even strong execution plans—but trust is missing underneath. At Starbucks during the 2008 recession, it was about helping a shaken team believe in one another and what was possible again. In another role, it meant repairing broken trust with the field after new systems failed them. Later, it was a high-talent leadership team slowed by politics and infighting. And in a new company, it was a lack of clarity and identity that left people with nothing to believe in. Different contexts, same issue: not a strategy problem, but a trust problem.
The Business Case for Trust
Trust is an asset you can measure, manage, and grow.
It shows up everywhere: in how quickly teams align and act, in whether great talent stays or leaves, in the credibility customers grant your brand, and even in valuation when you’re raising capital, having a quarterly call, or preparing for a sale.
Trust isn’t abstract—it’s performance fuel.
In my experience, trust shows up in five critical ways:
Speed: Teams with trust don’t get stuck in endless debates—they align and act.
Retention: Employees stay when they believe in the system; they leave when they don’t.
Customers: A trusted brand earns loyalty that no marketing spend can buy.
Resilience: In crisis, trust is the buffer that lets you recover faster.
Valuation: Investors reward credibility—multiples rise when leaders are trusted to deliver.
That’s why I say trust is measurable, it’s manageable—and it’s money.
Operationalizing Trust
Too often leaders treat trust like an invisible force—either you have it or you don’t. But trust isn’t mystical. It’s operational. You can design for it. You can measure it. You can manage it.
Operationalizing trust means embedding it in the way decisions get made, in how information flows, and in the consistency between what’s promised and what’s delivered. It’s about creating systems that make it easier for people to believe: transparent scorecards, fair performance processes, leaders who show their math when they make tough calls.
This is the real shift leaders must make—from old ways of leading to trust-anchored ways of operating:
FROM transactional leadership → TO trust-anchored leadership that unlocks agility
FROM culture–brand mismatch and rising attrition → TO engaged employees who feel the congruence
FROM stakeholder skepticism and reactive pivots → TO a clear, owned strategic narrative aligning investors, board, and employees
FROM fragmented culture and siloed truths → TO a cohesive, high-trust culture with shared language and aligned priorities
FROM customer-facing cracks between story and delivery → TO trust reinforced at every touchpoint
FROM scaling by brute force → TO scaling through clarity, focus, and aligned behaviors that compound impact
FROM reactive, top-down bottlenecked decisions → TO trust-informed, distributed leadership that speeds decisions and reduces risk
FROM performative and triggering ESG/DEI → TO trusted actions that create competitive edge, valuation lift, and employer brand strength
When leaders make these shifts, trust stops being a “soft” ideal and becomes a competitive advantage. Speed increases because people don’t second-guess. Execution improves because employees believe the system has their back. Value compounds because customers and investors can rely on what you say.
The Brand Trust Network
The Brand Trust Network is a way to make trust visible and actionable. A way to map, measure, and strengthen trust across the system. It’s not a culture survey or an offsite. It’s a practical, business-led approach to connecting leadership behaviors, cultural norms, brand promises, and stakeholder expectations—so leaders can see where trust is strong, where it’s weak, and how to close the gaps.
Trust isn’t soft. It’s the foundation of performance. When leaders measure, build, and protect it, they unlock speed, credibility, and growth. That’s why I believe trust is not just a value—it’s the most valuable asset you have.
