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Build Stakeholder Trust Before You Need It
By Patrick Milan
October 16, 2026
A company can make the right strategic decision and still damage the relationships it needs to succeed. This is the growing risk for Minnesota businesses navigating an extraordinary period of change. Artificial intelligence is transforming operations and customer behavior. Workforce capabilities are shifting. Economic pressures, regulatory changes, and leadership transitions are forcing organizations to rethink how they do business.
Leaders are investing enormous energy preparing their organizations for these changes. They’re developing strategies, evaluating technology, restructuring operations, and making difficult financial decisions. But are they spending enough time preparing the people whose trust and support they’ll need to succeed?
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In recent Tunheim conversations with business executives, a common challenge keeps emerging: The business may be ready to change before the relationships that sustain it are ready to evolve.
When the right strategy isn’t enough
Consider a retailer investing in artificial intelligence to improve merchandising, customer targeting, and profitability. The strategy makes sense. The technology promises better decisions and greater efficiency. Leadership understands why the investment is necessary. But an experienced retail executive recently shared a different concern with us: What happens when employees believe in the strategy but lack the skills or adaptability to execute it?
It’s an important distinction. Agreement isn’t the same as readiness. And the challenge extends well beyond employees.
Customers may love a retailer but become frustrated when changes affect the shopping experience they’ve come to expect. Employees may believe in their company’s future but worry about whether they have the skills to succeed in it. Communities may support a health care organization but resist changes to services they’ve depended on for years.
These aren’t necessarily signs that leadership has chosen the wrong direction. They may be signs that critical relationships aren’t transforming as quickly as the business.
We’ve begun calling this period The Breaking Point: when the business must change faster than the relationships that sustain it are evolving. The danger is that leaders may not recognize the gap until it begins affecting performance, reputation, or their ability to execute the strategy.
Trust cannot be built on demand