Why Trust Replaces Data in the New Economy

During my grad training (20 years ago), a Fortune 500 CEO shared something that stuck with me: "Trust is really hard to build and very easy to lose." I've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially as everyone keeps saying "data is the new oil" in the age of AI. I disagree. Trust is the new oil. People joke that AI has killed outbound email marketing because anyone can pump out personalised messages at scale using AI tools. They may be right. But they're missing the bigger picture. AI hasn't made human connection obsolete. It's made it priceless. I find myself spending more time than ever running around London for face-to-face meetings. Not less. More. People buy from people they trust. People use products they trust. People commit to projects when they trust you'll be ethical. The biggest challenge with AI isn't the technology. It's encapsulating trust in what we build. If people don't trust what you're building with it, none of that matters. That CEO was right all those years ago. In an age where AI can replicate almost any process, trust isn't just valuable. It's everything.

Fintech leadgen has a lot to learn from the old-school art of cold calling. Back in my early financial advisor days, I made thousands of cold calls using those generic lead lists. Were they outdated? Sure. Were they sold to five other advisors? Absolutely. But they gave me just enough to do something powerful: start a human conversation. “Hey Bob, we both live in town—got a favorite local restaurant?” Or, during my Vermont days: “How’s your sugaring season going?” Those small details—location, timing, chemistry, shared experience—made it possible to connect. And sometimes, that connection led to trust, meetings, and real business. I heard a quote just yesterday that sums this up beautifully: "“Two things are required for a good long-term business relationship, chemistry and timing. If the chemistry is right, wait for the timing; if the chemistry is wrong, the timing doesn’t matter.” Fast forward to today: Fintech lead gen tools now serve up far more data. Not just names and numbers—but donation history, job changes, mortgage balances, and more. And how are advisors being encouraged to use that info? “Hey, I saw you just donated to your alma mater, changed jobs, and have a jumbo mortgage... wanna chat?” C’mon. That’s not outreach—that’s digital stalking. More data ≠ more trust. Here’s what I’ve learned from both sides of the table—as an advisor and now working with fintech: 🔸The best lead gen tools don’t just surface data—they help you create connection. 🔸They empower advisors to start relevant, respectful conversations. 🔸And they focus on human context, not just digital breadcrumbs. If you’re building fintech for advisors, or you’re an advisor using these tools, ask yourself: Are you enabling authentic conversations—or just making it easier to be creepy at scale? Because in this business, trust is the product. And no amount of scraped data can replace that. What’s your take? #leadgeneration #financialadvisors #wealthmanagement #fintech

"Trust is the New Electricity!" When I continuously speak about trust as the new electricity, I mean this: without it, nothing runs. AI governance, enterprise adoption, health, education, consumer markets, all of them rely on a current of trust flowing between stakeholders. Break that current, and systems stall. A deficit of trust is more than a reputational bruise. It means stakeholders reject new technology before it’s even trialed. It means teams hesitate, delaying adoption and slowing the scaling of enterprise strategy. It means fractured relationships across supply chains, students resisting AI in classrooms, and customers walking away from brands. This is why we must start treating trust as a form of ROI. Unlike quarterly earnings, it doesn’t show up instantly. Trust compounds quietly, like interest, and matures into the long-term viability of your business, institution, or innovation. So what do we do? We make trust intentional. We set it as a target, not an afterthought. That means: Building good AI governance frameworks that turn principles into enforceable practice. Embedding responsible AI into organizational DNA, not just compliance manuals. Treating staff rights, transparency, and human dignity as strategic assets, not obstacles. Including trust metrics in procurement conversations; asking not just what technology costs, but what credibility it earns or risks. The return on trust is resilience: enterprises that can weather scrutiny, institutions that keep public confidence, and technologies that are not merely adopted but embraced. This is why I see 'surveillance creep' as not just a privacy issue but a profound market risk. Lumiera’s latest newsletter captures it sharply: when surveillance seeps quietly into our kitchens, classrooms, and boardrooms, the price is not simply data - it is public trust. And once lost, that is the hardest currency to recover. Read their full piece here: Lumiera Newsletter, Issue 84: https://lnkd.in/eCy33x7B