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1-Page Summary of The Speed of Trust

Overview

“Trust” is a measurable concept. It’s not like love, which is abstract and hard to measure. Trust is something concrete that we can improve on with time and effort.

These points highlight the benefits of building trust in your relationships. Whether you run a business or want to improve your personal interactions with others, this advice can help change your life.

In this article, you’ll learn that it’s better to be honest and fair than to win at all costs. You’ll also learn why every time you go through airport security, you’re paying a trust tax. And finally, you will find out how important it is to forgive those who betray us…to a certain extent.

Big Idea #1: Trust makes everything better by increasing speed and lowering costs.

When you read a newspaper, you are confronted with headlines about trust. Trust is important because it affects everything in our lives. However, what exactly is trust? How do we build and maintain trust?

Trust can be defined as confidence in someone’s abilities. For example, you might trust that your friend will pay back the $100 loaned to him or her.

Trust is beneficial to us because it makes communication easier. For example, if you trust someone, then they’ll be able to understand what you’re saying even when your words aren’t clear. On the other hand, if you don’t know someone very well or at all, then even though they may speak clearly to you, it will be harder for you to understand them.

In addition to friendships, trust is also very important in business. Trust enables us to do things faster and less expensively than without it. For example, before 9/11, airport security for national flights took 30 minutes; after the attacks (lowered trust), clearance time increased by an hour and a half. This was due to fear of terrorist attacks (lowered trust) that resulted in slower speeds (slower progress), which led to higher expenses related to security machines and personnel (increased costs).

So, we see that the traditional formula of strategy x execution = results is inadequate. We must add trust to this equation in order for it to work. There are two forms of trust: internal and external.

There are two types of trust. One is a tax, and the other is a dividend. The formula for determining success with either one would be (strategy x execution) x trust = results.

In the airport security line, that would be a trust tax. It leads to a slower and less efficient end process. If you distrust people, there are many problems that will arise from it.

Big Idea #2: Learn how to trust yourself by becoming credible.

Being trustworthy is crucial because people won’t trust you if they can’t trust you. In order to be trustworthy, you need to have credibility and adopt The Four Cores.

The first is integrity. Integrity means being honest and doing what you say you’ll do. An example of someone with integrity is Andy Roddick, who displayed it in a 2005 tennis match. At the end of the game, his opponent’s serve was called out by the referee but Roddick showed that it was actually in play. He lost the game because he had to continue playing after showing everyone that his opponent made an error on their call, but he kept his integrity intact by not allowing himself to be cheated at any cost. One way to increase your own personal integrity is to make commitments and stick with them even if they are hard or inconvenient for you personally. If you keep small commitments like this, then eventually your self trust will grow stronger as well.

Humans are made up of three core elements, which is a way of prioritizing human attributes. The first element is Psychological needs, such as the need to be respected or have purpose in life. The second element is Moral motives and behavior, such as being trustworthy or compassionate towards others. Finally, the third element is Skills, such as learning musical instruments that will make you more self-confident and therefore improve your life quality overall.