Generic trust in companies has gone. It’s time to be trusted for who you are.

TLDR - As a company, you don't need to be all things to all people to have a good reputation. However, you do need to know your lane and excel at it. In this messy and chaotic world, three corporate archetypes are thriving. Which one does your company want to be and what will it take to truly live it?

The old rules of what makes a good corporate reputation are broken. Trust has collapsed, leaving almost no-one fully trusting companies or governments any more. Globalisation is in reverse, boxed in by tariffs and sovereign supply chains, while place and provenance grow in significance for consumers. And where once corporate size denoted success and power, it now often conveys complexity and faceless technocrats.

It's no surprise CEOs are pivoting from ESG manifestos one moment to efficiency drives the next. They are zig-zagging because they've lost sight of their core identity.

I'm less focused here on the trends themselves than what it means for companies and specifically - which companies are thriving at this moment and why?

Let me introduce three corporate archetypes which represent categories of companies, each of which have strong and credible reputations. What's interesting about the archetypes is that they each bring with them benefits and challenges, and to excel at any of them requires dedication and a single-minded focus of corporate leadership.

The first is the 'Utility' company. In the absence of corporate trust, these companies build their reputation not on what they say but what they do. Think Uber or Amazon. Rather than relying on vague promises, we can validate their behaviour in every interaction, delivery or ride. Their operational excellence means governments also rely on them as dependable solutions-providers.

To be an effective Utility requires a key set of attributes - consummate consistency in delivery, always thinking about the customer, constantly improving, and with little faff and internal bureaucracy to get in the way.

They also communicate in a specific way - almost always talking about and through the product. Their brand is their product, and they spend little to no time on wider 'reputation' themes unless they cross the line to impact customers' product experience.

Utility companies are currently some of the highest ranking for customer reputation. They may not always be loved but they are respected for doing exactly what they say, a quality often in short supply.

The second is the 'Connector' company. If Utilities are all about the functional benefits of the product, Connectors are all about their extrinsic meaning. Instead of faceless corporates or generic product mediocracy, these companies create intimacy with their customers, connecting to place and origins to add significance to their services. Examples abound in every community - from local drinks brands to garments made from ethically sourced fabrics. There are lots of global Connector brands too, like Patagonia or Airbnb, and lots more wanting to build stronger local connections with people and places.

For this to work, Connectors need to stand for something, to locate them with an audience, and they need to hold true to that brand promise. To build intimacy, they can't be faceless - we need to feel like we know them. They also can't be ubiquitous - the product or service needs to feel special or personal in some way.

They also show up in a different way to the Utility company. They are all about the brand, not just the product. They regularly have a point of view on big themes and are good at building communities of people who share the same feelings.

The third archetype is the 'Navigator' company. In the face of growing uncertainty and complexity, Navigators help us by curating and decluttering, making it easier for us to get what we need. Think Monzo in financial services or Apple in tech.

To be effective, Navigators have to be simple to deal with, with streamlined processes, not an endless multiplying of different internal divisions. They also need to be expert and authoritative, the guide to help consumers and stakeholders get to their goals.

If Utility companies are about the product and Connectors about the brand, Navigators are about the issues that matter. They show up with a clear voice and perspective on a range of topics relevant to their clients. Think Octopus Energy - their plain-speaking customer comms and the wide range of YouTube videos and campaigns on energy have helped their CEO to move from customer champion to an advisor to the UK Government.

These three archetypes all have their strengths, and their challenges. Utilities can usually overcome reputation headwinds so long as they keep delivering to customer expectations but, with little brand loyalty to fall back on, they're vulnerable if the special service they provide ceases to be unique. Connectors have huge advantages in the emotional bond they hold with their stakeholders but face big issues with authenticity - they can't fake it or flip-flop - which can make adapting to change difficult. Navigators are prized for their skill at helping us get to solutions easily - yet often the bigger they get, the more complex they become and the less able they are to make the world seem simple.

When thinking about your company, this isn't just a test of which archetype is most desirable, but which is most true and what would it take for your organisation to fulfil a different role properly.

However desirable it might seem, it's sadly not possible to be all of them at the same time. While they all require focused leadership, it's on different things - customer experience versus brand meaning versus simple solution-finding. Fudging this fundamental question is where many brands come unstuck.

In a moment of change, corporate leaders are often trying to be all things to all people. Too often, that is a self-defeating strategy. Far better, to understand the lane you are in, or want to be in, and what it takes to excel at it.

Generic trust in companies has gone. It's time to be trusted for who you are.