The weekly conversation for people who shape how organizations work

Madison Square Garden told staff their championship rings had arrived. The link led to a mandatory cybersecurity course. Chuck opens with it as a fair answer to a question the rest of the episode keeps circling: why is anyone surprised that trust inside companies is at a record low?

It’s a report-heavy week, and Jenni makes no apology for it. Edelman’s Trust at Work study finds trust in CEOs, managers and co-workers at the lowest point in its data. The Guardian reports on companies quietly walking back their AI rush. G-P’s World at Work survey of 7,100 people finds sky-high confidence alongside widespread job fear. And crisis comms specialist Amanda Coleman asks a question designed to annoy the profession: is PR damaging society?

Do your people have what they need to do the job? Korn Ferry looked at listening data from nearly 1.4 million employees and found that question predicts retention and revenue per employee better than whether people feel engaged. Jenni has been waiting a long time for someone to say it. Chuck is annoyed with himself for not making the connection sooner, having worked alongside sales and marketing enablement teams for years.

The rest of the week is about what leaders tell people, and what they leave out. McKinsey research says most of the jobs expected to change because of AI are frontline and support roles, but nobody seems to be telling those workers what to learn. BCG finds that vague AI messaging does more harm than saying nothing. And an alleged bugging case at OpenAI raises a question every company handing AI agents access to calendars and files will need to answer: what can the tools see, and do employees know?