Guest article by Corin Dennison

Are we more driven by facts or by the emotional pull of our own beliefs?

I was watching Fox News the other day – not for any sense of reliable journalism but purely for the spectacle.

If you’re ever in a dull moment and want to be emotionally moved in an instant, just tune in. Even the weatherman has strong opinions, stepping far beyond (what we in the UK would consider to be) his lane to weigh in on the latest outrage.

This time? Cows and climate change.

With the EU introducing methane-reducing feed additives for cattle, the Fox News meteorologist declared he was going home to put a massive T-bone steak on the BBQ – because, as he put it, nobody tells me I can’t eat steak.

That statement alone tells us something important. Are we really making informed decisions, or are we just rebelling against what we’re told? Is the problem the issue itself, or is it the idea that someone else is making the rules?

This mindset got me thinking about the changes happening on the high street. Some of the biggest legacy retailers are crumbling: WH Smith is being sold; Boots is on the market; Poundland is looking for a buyer. The high street is reshaping itself, or perhaps, the world is reshaping the high street.

We all say we’re sad when a brand disappears, but how much do we really care? Woolworths vanished, Fine Fare turned into Gateway, which became Quicksave… and then that, too, was gone. How long before we forget? Does the loss of these brands cause anxiety for consumers, or is it just the natural order of retail evolution?

The easy answer to why this is all happening used to be e-commerce. But are consumers changing their habits, or have these retailers simply over-expanded? If there’s a Poundland on every corner, are we really that shocked when some of them collapse?

While watching Sky News, I saw a story about a British tourist being held in the US for visa violations. The headlines framed it as an injustice, the family pleading for public support. But the details? A 29-year-old had entered the US on a tourist visa, fully intending to work their way across the country.

This wasn’t a visa mistake, it was a deliberate choice. And the reality is, if someone did this in the UK, they’d be deported just the same. Yet, in a world driven by emotional narratives, the story wasn’t about accountability. It was about victimhood.

That’s the shift we’re seeing. We live in an age where everything is always someone else’s fault. At what point do we start taking responsibility for our own actions?

It starts early: childhood decisions on whether to tell the truth or lie, weighing up whether the short-term pain of honesty is worth the long-term consequences of being caught. Some of us learn that the truth always comes out, and it’s best to own up early.

Others spend their lives looking for the loophole, the way to sidestep blame. And now, we see this behaviour magnified in the way the world tells its stories.

This need for accountability and honesty is something we grapple with constantly at Cotton Associates. Just this week, we were working with a client on a significant fraud investigation. In the past, uncovering fraud was seen as a success – you identified it, scoped it, mitigated it. That was a win.

Now, it’s different. If fraud has been ongoing for a year or more, the first question isn’t how did this happen?

It’s why didn’t we see this sooner?

Instead of celebrating a successful investigation, the company is left wondering where to place the blame.

As consultants, we don’t just uncover problems and move on. We navigate the emotional and political fallout. How do we frame these findings so the business sees the value in what we’ve uncovered rather than feeling exposed by it? How do we deliver transparency and honesty in a way that protects relationships and ensures trust?

I never expected this level of emotional management to be part of my role. But in today’s climate, it’s not enough to simply solve the problem. You have to manage the perception of the problem, too.

It’s similarly ironic that the BBC now has BBC Verify – an entire branch dedicated to validating news because even their own reporting can’t always be trusted at face value. The world has become a place where we ingest headlines, react emotionally, and then rely on fact-checkers to confirm whether our outrage was justified.

At Cotton Associates, we take a different approach. We face the brutal truth, tackle problems head-on, and strip away the spin. Whether it’s fraud investigations, risk management, or retail transformations, we believe in calling things what they are. Without the drama, without the bias, and without the unnecessary distractions.

The world needs more accountability. More honesty. Less noise. So maybe the question isn’t whether someone tells you that you can’t eat steak. Maybe the real question is whether you ever stopped to ask yourself if you should.