If we can’t trust other people, we’ll avoid interacting with them, which will make it hard to build anything, solve problems, or innovate.
Building trust isn’t glamorous or easy. And at times it involves making complex decisions and difficult trade-offs.
Takeaways of Note:
How Stakeholders Evaluate Trust
- Is the company competent?
- Is the company motivated to serve others’ interests as well as its own?
- Does the company use fair means to achieve its goals?
- Does the company take responsibility for all its impact?
How Do Companies Build & Rebuild Trust
Myth #1: Trust has no boundaries.
Reality: Trust is limited.
Trust has three main components: the trusted party, the trusting party, and the action the trusted party is expected to perform. It’s built by creating real but narrowly defined relationships.
Myth #2: Trust is objective.
Reality: Trust is subjective.
Trust is based on the judgment of people and groups, not on some universal code of good conduct.
Myth #3: Trust is managed from the outside in — by controlling a firm’s external image.
Reality: Trust is managed from the inside out — by running a good business.
Improving a company’s reputation is not the work of advertising and PR firms or ever-vigilant online image-protection platforms. Reputation is an output that results when a company uses fair processes. Be trustworthy and you will be trusted.
Myth #4: Companies are judged for their purpose.
Reality: Companies are judged for their purpose and their impact.
Myth #5: Trust is fragile. Once lost, it can never be regained.
Reality: Trust waxes and wanes.
