Why Leaders Are Losing Their Most Valuable Currency
In this section, authors comment on economic and financial topics.
Branding is not about logos or slogans. It is about living and growing a strong culture. A healthy culture comes from three simple steps: listening, understanding, and adapting. The real value of a brand is its reputation, what people say about it and how they speak of it. When leaders ignore these voices, they lose trust, the most valuable currency in politics, business, and society.
How Quickly Trust Is Lost
Recent cases are clear warning signs. Credit Suisse collapsed not only because of weak risk and compliance management, but also because of greed-driven investment banking. This created a culture failure and a major loss of trust. The World Economic Forum (WEF) looks increasingly trapped in itself, stuck in an elitist, dogmatic monologue instead of being a true platform for global exchange. Brands like Budweiser and Heinz lost customer trust, and brand value, through careless campaigns.
The lesson is the same everywhere: those who do not listen, lose their foundation.
«Those who do not listen, lose their foundation.»
Leaders who listen capture the mood and turn it into clear messages. Many politicians, however, talk past their voters and govern past them too. Business and politics repeat the same mistake when they ignore real needs and focus only on themselves. The West is losing itself in symbolic politics. «Wokeness» is replacing substance and culture, while people demand real solutions for energy, water, infrastructure, and security.
A good example of lasting success comes from Shenzhen. From a small garage, Frank Wang understood what users wanted and built drones for photography and videography. Today, DJI is a world leader. Success came from listening, understanding, and acting with consistency. While DJI keeps growing, Swiss politics and its financial sector too often remain stuck in regulatory complacency and routine.
The key question is: Is Switzerland truly listening – to its values, its voters, its people, its partners, talents, and the next generation?
«Swiss politics and its financial sector too often remain stuck in regulatory complacency and routine.»
Success means to understand, test, and act. «Wokeness» means to react, moralize and lose. The future will belong to those who choose dialogue over monologue, who combine empathy with clarity, and innovation with responsibility. Only they will strengthen brand value and protect trust, the most precious currency of all.
«He who does not listen, will not understand.» Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)
Based on 40 years of experience in brand strategy and design, Florin Baeriswylis a serial entrepreneur and consultant for international brands and institutions. In 1987 he founded «dai Zurich», a design agency providing corporate design services in Zurich, London and Shanghai. Because of his early involvement in China, he quickly became a recognized expert in enterprises' strategic development between East and West. Subsequently, he was appointed by the Beijing-based DeTao Group for the Fudan/SIVA University and DeTao Masters Academy. He also launched the Institute for Swiss International Branding (ISIB).
