Paradigm Shift: the “Trust Crisis”

The following text outlines Guido Weber‘s point of view regarding the international context of nowadays. Guido is a Delegate for the sixth edition of the South American Business Forum and, as such, we thank him for his generous contribution to our blog. We invite the rest of the SABF community to enrich it with your opinions.

Today’s world seems to be whipped by one of the worst crisis in human history. Instead of facing a financial global problem we are stuck in a “Trust Crisis” – a definition from Cristóbal Montoro, Spanish politician responsible for the economic area of the Popular Parliamentary Group. This crisis transcended the financial, economic and political field and reaches every single human being on our planet. Nowadays, the idea of recovering lost money, increasing business volumes o saving some companies does not longer matter. The big issue is how to satisfy the basic needs of a worldwide population in growth with a planet that is producing beyond its capacities, in a recessive and trustless context of our actual model. No doubt this is an outlook without previous similar records and where exist few or none ideas related with “how to drive with your eyes closed in an unknown highway”.

Every single moment of crisis – like the one I am talking about – brings, as a consequence, the breaking of the present paradigm, making place to a new business worldview and a new role of the citizen, inhabitant, institution, company and government. Obviously, the financial problem is the inflection point that led to think over the way we live, we produce and the way business are done. We have in front of us uncertainty.  It is extremely needed the presence of new alternatives, concepts/ideas, new agents of change and leaders that broadcast the future rules of the game. All of this will allows us to see the reality in which we are all immersed.

Lately, issues related with environment, natural and energy resources and the health of our unique planet had started to increasingly occupy a space in countries, companies, organizations and institutions agendas. This is a dazzling time to wake up our leaders and agents of change present on these spaces to lead us in a new path, not only in business, but to enjoy life in general terms.

The mentioned “Trust Crisis” lets the consumers be more rational and to question themselves more deeply which are the actual leaders, how are they performing their leadership, how do they employ Earth’s resources and especially: Is this a sustainable model?