The challenge of rebuilding public trust in business has perhaps never been harder. The chips are down in communities across our nation, and the bad or misguided decision-making by a few companies has tarnished the reputation of all companies. While some people want to charge all free market activity "guilty" by association, President Obama said yesterday that we can’t allow the "recklessness of a few to threaten the prosperity of all."

I know for a fact the news in the business community is not all bad. Case in point, on Monday BCLC will officially unveil more than 200 examples of businesses stepping up to the plate all across the nation to offer tools and resources that will help Americans overcome the recession. More on that next week.

For now, I’d like to share a recent article by corporate reputation strategist Ruth Kinzey.  From Kinzey, on low public trust:

Why should you care? The less Americans trust the free market, the more likely they will want federal intervention. This usually means greater government regulation and supervision. When government oversight increases, business costs typically rise, whether from additional tracking and reporting requirements or increased regulation compliance.

Kinzey goes on to provide steps that any company can take to build back trust—actions such as satisfy your customers, admit mistakes, don’t overstate what you do. They sound simple, but in this emotional national climate, the task might seem daunting. But the rewards will be worth it.  From Kinzey:

Trust provides you with a license to operate, creates a sales advantage in a highly competitive marketplace and builds goodwill that can help you during a crisis.