Trust--Better Than Money in the Bank, But When You Lose It....

Trust--pagtitiwala-- is better than money in the bank. You can re-earn money, when you have what  it takes, foremost of which is trust. But one of the most difficult things to retrieve in life is trust.

I have been thinking  lately of the likes of Mr. B. Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computer Services of Hyderabad. He is under detention and undergoing investigation for many counts of fraud, including creating fictitious bank balances to make it appear that the company was doing well, and siphoning off corporate funds to companies owned by his family. We are not saying he is guilty. Mr. Raju's case is now known worldwide. In business, which is a complex of human relationships,   trust is the first casualty of being so publicly charged.

Will Satyam, or any other organization similarly situated,  survive this erosion  of public trust in its top leader? Is Mr. Raju to be held solely accountable for his supposed misdeeds? What about his board of directors?

In a great many of the most celebrated corporate scandals of recent years, trust was betrayed by those at the very top, who were supposed to safeguard it in the first place. Trust was betrayed as well by systems that were weak and porous. CEOs were put up on pedestals, adored by investors and managements who allowed them incredibly huge salaries, fees and stock options. Normal constraints of accountability and openness did not fetter CEOs who delivered sterling financial results and public adulation.

It is high time that business protected itself from leaders, and boards of directors, who would trifle with the trust of its stake holders. Media have been faithfully recording the sins of corporate leaders, but this has not seemed strong enough to deter betrayal.

In the Philippines, the Institute of Corporate Leaders (ICD) has been promoting transparency, responsibility and accountability among corporations, with particular emphasis on preventing corruption.

Public Relations can help by strengthening the concept and practice of corporate governance. Relatively few CEOs in the Philippine business have been found with their hand in the till. This is good. But let us not wait for the time when betrayal of trust will be commonplace. Trust is what honors business, and holds it together.