Trust

Last night went to see Malcolm Gladwell talking at Birmingham Town Hall. He does have the knack of stating the obvious, except it 's rarely obvious. Relevant to the stream of this discussion though was the conclusion to his talk. His theme was the battle of Chancellorsrville in the Civil War - the one that Robert E Lee was supposed to lose, but didn't - mainly because of Joseph Hooker's overconfidence based on capabilities, assets and prior record - despite the fact all the warning s signs had been seen and recognised by the troops. Gladwell applied the comparison to our beloved bankers.

His conclusion? - in times of crisis, experts needs humility, not confidence. If you have an organisation predicated on trust, you might listen respectfully to somebody who says the emperor has no clothes.