Richard Lambert, the new head of the head of the CBI, Britain's leading business group, chose the theme of trust for his first major speech today.
Business gets a raw deal from the public, the media and politicians, with even David Cameron, the Tory party leader, distancing himself from big business, he said.
Mr Lambert acknowledged that business has made a rod for its own back with scandals such as Enron. His larger point was that the lack of trust in business made it harder for the business community to make the argument for the free movement of people, capital and services - globalisation in effect - at a time when protectionist forces in the US and Europe are gathering strength.
It was a thoughtful speech, befitting a former editor of the Financial Times, its tone more measured than that of his pugnacious predecessor, Digby Jones.
Mr Lambert said. "Too often, business is presented as a zero sum game. The impression is given that if an individual, or a company, is making lots of money, it must be at someone else's expense."
That ambivalence emerges most clearly when companies such as BP and HSBC report record profits. It does mean tax receipts for the government to spend on the NHS and other social services and healthy pension schemes as these funds invest in big companies, but at the same time many people wonder whether HSBC is making such huge profits through high banking charges.
Mr Lambert also mentioned the issue of "fat cat" pay. Globalisation, he said, has helped to push up the pay of senior executives, while those lower down the food chain find themselves competing against workers in developing countries.
Most people expect top executives to be well-rewarded because of the heavy responsibilities they bear. But what sticks in people's craws are the legal tax dodges of the ultra-rich. In July the Guardian traced more than 650 directors of British companies who give their current address as Monaco. This hardly encourages trust in business.
Mr Lambert also talked about being open to change. Most people acknowledge the need for change and the need to adapt to new circumstances, but they get rattled when change comes too quickly.
Even the CBI thinks too many eastern European migrant workers have come to Britain since Poland and others joined the EU in 2004. It is now calling for a "pause" when Bulgaria and Romania join next year.
So, cut down on those big pay awards, acknowledge corporate resistance to change on matters such as the environment and perhaps trust in big business might increase.
