I recently finished a book called, The Speed of Trust. The book simplifies the definition of trust down to Character + Competence. When there’s a high-level of trust, both elements are present.

For example, think about a time when you interacted with someone who is an “expert” in their field, but they were also disrespectful, deceitful, arrogant, etc. This is competence without character and it makes it really difficult to trust them. That feeling in your gut just won’t allow you to.

Same thing with someone who has a lot of integrity, is good natured, respectful, honest and fair. However, they make a lot mistakes, are always late, are careless, have poor follow-through, etc. That’s character without competence and you can’t really “trust” them either.  

For companies, this can have serious implications. When there is a low degree of trust within an organization or in a relationship, it acts as a tax that makes everything harder, more expensive and slower to do. Conversely, high trust acts as a dividend, enabling things to move faster, more easily and at a lower cost. 

This manifests in both our personal and professional lives. The more trust we establish with our friends, loved-ones and clients, the more we can accomplish.

In your interactions with each other and clients, remember that to create trust people want to experience your competency first-hand and have that backed-up by good character. It’s not easy to build trust. It takes time and is often earned by first giving it. 

I’ll leave you with the wisdom of Warren Buffet:

Have a great weekend!