From Red Carpet to Risk Tables: What Cinema Teaches Us About Trust
The juxtaposition that reveals a truth.
At first glance, cinema and insurance appear to live on opposite ends of the human experience. One is about spectacle. The other is about protection. One sells emotion. The other sells assurance. But beneath the surface, they share something essential: a deep dependence on trust, discipline, and emotional resonance.
The unseen parallels in product development.
In both industries, the product is invisible until it works. A film might take seven years before its premiere. An insurance product might spend just as much time in development, shaped by data, actuarial modeling, and regulatory hurdles. In both, success is not guaranteed. What connects them is a shared tolerance for risk, a heavy investment in preparation, and a brutal clarity when things go wrong. Failure is not a learning experience; it is a loss, both financial and reputational.
Trust is built emotionally, not logically.
This is the paradox: clients do not buy protection because they read every clause. Just as audiences do not attend films because of cinematography specifications, they buy based on their feelings. Reassurance. Hope. Relevance. Emotion is not fluff. It is infrastructure. It creates the connection that data alone cannot.
As leaders, we must recognize that even our most rational products are adopted emotionally. The premium is paid, the policy is signed, because someone believes. And belief is not engineered through spreadsheets. It is earned through presence, clarity, and a human-centric approach to delivery.
Charisma gets attention. Discipline keeps it.
Charisma matters in film and in leadership. It opens doors. It draws audiences. It inspires. But charisma without execution is just noise. A film fails not because the lead lacks charm, but because the production falters. An insurance company loses trust not because the CEO lacks vision, but because delivery stumbles.
Credibility is built backstage. In process. In preparation. In performance under pressure. Discipline is what sustains momentum when the lights dim and the narrative must hold.
Technology enables. But trust anchors.
AI and digital tools are transforming both industries. In film, they allow for smarter marketing, adaptive storytelling, and deeper audience insights. In insurance, they offer faster onboarding, tailored coverage, and predictive support. But neither industry can automate belief.
A client may interact with a chatbot. However, the decision to stay, renew, or refer is emotional. It is based on whether they feel seen, heard, and respected. We must stop treating technology as the solution and start treating it as the support act. The main performance is still human.
Leadership as a balancing act.
Leadership is not about choosing between risk and discipline, or between data and emotion. It is about holding both. About managing uncertainty without losing empathy. About scaling systems without losing human contact.
I have seen insurance leaders who resemble film producers more than CFOs. They are not just managing numbers. They are casting talent, protecting narrative coherence, and watching for audience reaction. They know that behind every successful product is not just a good model but a cohesive team, a resilient process, and a unifying sense of purpose.
Actionable takeaways for executive readers.
Reassess how your product feels: Beyond features, what emotion does it create? What belief does it reinforce?
Audit your backstage processes: Is your execution tight enough to justify the promises made on stage?
Don’t over-rely on AI: Use technology to support trust, not to replace human interaction.
Embed emotional intelligence into leadership: Your leaders must be able to read the room, not just the numbers.
Tell the story well: If your client cannot explain why they trust you, they will not.
In the end, whether you ask someone to sit in a theatre or sign a policy, you are asking for something profound: their belief. You are asking them to commit time, money, and attention based on trust. And that trust is not won through logic alone.
It is earned through clarity, through execution, and through emotional resonance. That is the real business we are in. And it’s one worth doing well.
François Jacquemin.
P.S.: Want to watch the video version of this article? Go to https://www.francoisjacquemin.com/covered/charisma-discipline-and-trust