“I’m not upset that you lied to me. I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche
In any of our relationships, trust is expected — so we don’t get points for trust.
On the other hand, if we’re not fully trusted, that is noted by everyone.
If I’m your customer, I expect that you’ll be transparent and fair about our business dealings.
When it was exposed in 2016 that Wells Fargo employees were encouraged to order credit cards for pre-approved customers without their consent, Wells Fargo violated their customers’ trust and damaged the bank’s continuing reputation.
If I’m doing business with you, I also trust that you’ll respect me. A number of years ago, Goldman Sachs (and other Wall Street banks) were criticized for making money at the expense of clients who did not fully understand the complex financial products with which they were dealing.
One Goldman banker said that securing an unsophisticated, or “muppet,” client was the top goal of the bank’s salespeople.
When I work with you, I expect your statements and claims to be truthful. In 2015, Volkswagen admitted cheating on U.S. emission tests.
“We’ve totally screwed up,” VW America said. We’ve “broken the trust of our customers and the public.”
There are certainly more examples.
Lots more. When transgressions of trust are exposed, “commercial divorces” or even fines or financial settlements in response don’t fix the cultures that allowed them to happen.
What’s the point?
To protect ourselves and our own businesses, we need to disassociate ourselves and avoid any business dealings with those who are unpredictable, disrespectful or dishonest, even if they’re long-term relationships. And let’s be honest with ourselves.
If they treat others inappropriately, it’s a reasonable assumption that they will at some point treat us similarly.
If they speak unfairly of others, it’s safe to assume that in certain forums they will similarly speak of us.
If they don’t meet their commitments, and even ignore written agreements that they’ve signed, we’re associating with a wrong partner.
And even if we can’t quite put our finger on a nagging concern, our years of internalized experiences have built a moral compass that will tell us when something’s not right.
Respect and predictability underpin trust. But just abdicating to habits or existing relationships could provide fertile ground to cultivate a crisis of trust.
We need to protect our businesses, ourselves and our reputations. We’re known by our conduct but also by the company we keep.
We choose with whom we associate, so the adverse effects of an untrusted relationship are largely self-inflicted. If we’re not sure a relationship is right, it’s probably wrong.
Do you have total trust in the people you know or with whom you deal?
