Recently, I had a troubling thought as my jet was taking off. If business were an airline, would I fly it? Would you? Would you trust that you were in the hands of a seamless system, piloted by experienced and responsible professionals? Would you feel your flight was guided by the right risk controls and chain of accountability?

If you're not sure, you're not alone. A recent Edelman survey of global opinion confirms that, for the public, business is pretty much grounded when it comes to trust.

That said, however, I am convinced that trust can be restored through a "back to basics" approach emphasizing common sense, rigor, and discipline. The steps, then, will not be radical, but the energy and focus required will be. Winning back the public's confidence will take time, consistency, and unswerving executive will.

The task begins with a clear understanding of what the public perceives about the commitment of business—and business leaders—to the public good. In the Edelman survey, two-thirds of respondents say they trust business less today than they did a year ago. In the U.S, a mere 38 percent said they trust business to do what is right—a 10-year low, and even lower than it was at the time of the dotcom bust.

Particularly disturbing to me, a mere 17 percent trust the information they hear from a company's chief executive—less than one in five. When you look at numbers like this, then factor in what the public hears almost daily about frauds, bonuses seemingly unrelated to performance, and irresponsible risk-taking, it's clear that the restoration of trust and confidence will be a monumental undertaking.

Here, it seems to me, we might learn from an enterprise like the airline industry, in which safety is non-negotiable. Today, global air travel is by far the safest mode of transportation. In the 10 years from 1998, the accident rate was cut by almost half—from 1.34 accidents per million flights to 0.75. Why? Because our skies are protected by a global system characterized by community, connectivity, and absolute accountability. In my view these are the three most critical ingredients in managing risk and maintaining trust.

First, organizations need to create a risk-management community based on inclusivity. In other words, involvement in the risk-management process needs to be wide, not narrow, and integrated, not disconnected—an end to stovepipe thinking with a clear and connected vision of the future.