Mapping Distrust
Your success depends on trust. And we are in a post-trust society. The post-trust society snuck up on us slowly and is now urgently here. Wherever the business of trust is in play, pivots will be required.
FWD 115: A Drastic Shift, A Longtime Coming
As longtime members of this community will know, I have a preference for the written form. Not just because I'm a lifetime camera-phobe, but because I think the evidence is pretty strong that the way our brains process long-form writing requires a different level of thinking than video blips or even audio. I love those mediums, but because thinking well is part of my core POV, and writing = thinking... I end up here quite a bit for core ideas.
That said, tomorrow I'm going live on the big topic of "what to do now." I spent much of last year, particularly Q4 carefully deconstructing the conventional wisdom on where we are with digital marketing and growth strategy. I worked hard to teach us how to follow the incentives of the platforms we foolishly depend on, even pulling partisan-agnostic themes out of the election.
Intentionally, this has left a pragmatic question: What should you actually DO?
While some of the big themes of this were discussed in my 2025 predictions, those of you who depend on trust to grow your business are in a very difficult mire. One that has been seeping around you like a fireswamp quicksand. Our work at CultureCraft (including research, framework design, and change management) is built for trust-dependent orgs meeting three criteria:
- Value is in the Eye of the Beholder: You deliver a product or service (including non-profit "transactions") that is complex, easily misunderstood, and/or difficult to quantify is worth. That doesn't mean it isn't valuable, it may be VERY valuable, it just is hard to put a number on. (Not easy.)
- Can't Pay with Cash: Your core constituents are asked to make a meaningful financial investment with you. This can come in the form of large (relative to the customer) direct payment, financial risk, or long-term embedded fee arrangement. (Not cheap.)
- This is Gonna Take Awhile: Your core client/customer works with you over a period of months or years and the relationship is meant to be transformational in some capacity rather than transactional. (Not fast.)
If your organization meets at least two of the above three categories, I'm not going to mince words: staying on the existing course is going to a giant pain in your ass with diminishing returns. Even more than it has already.
Your success depends on trust. And we are in a post-trust society.
The pillars and pathways of communication that build that trust have been decimated willfully, requiring one of two diverging paths. One of those paths is very unsavory (to my taste), the other is where the magic is. The post-trust society snuck up on us slowly and is now urgently here as if ported in from a mirror dimension. Wherever the business of trust is in play, pivots will be required.
I'm going to cover all of this in detail tomorrow. The first 50 minutes or so will be breaking down the necessary action plan for organizations dependent on trust for growth. What I call "Mapping the New Distrust." After that, I'll field questions from the session and if we have time do some general AMA because I know we've covered a lot of ground in the last several months of content.
Next week I'll be introducing the new content rhythm here at CC Editions for 2025 including some new ways for you to engage. Tomorrow's 11 am CT sessionhas been over a year in the making. I am 100% confident it will be worth your time.
We've got limited seating to ensure the conversation is effective. Please make sure you are registered below.
