We’re In A Trust Crisis
Here’s what we can do about it
When I lived and worked in Ukraine, it was commonplace to see men in camouflage fatigues and Uzis in the waiting rooms of offices around town. They weren’t there as security, or to rob the place, but to help transfer money between businesses. It was cumbersome and inefficient, but in an atmosphere of mistrust, it was a necessity.
In most countries, we’re still a long way from armed couriers as a daily routine, but according to Edelman’s recent Trust Barometer, we’re headed in that direction. Entitled “The Cycle of Distrust,” it details an overall collapse of confidence, finding that roughly two-thirds believe that journalists, government leaders, and business executives, are “purposely trying to mislead.”
That’s a problem for all of us. Mistrust is corrosive to the norms that help our society run efficiently and the costs are very real. Our lack of trust in government prevents us from making needed investments. Suspicions about law enforcement undermine public safety. Mistrust in the workplace undermines performance. We desperately need to rebuild trust.
The Value Of Trust
Trust isn’t our natural state. Economists have developed a number of models to show how fragile it can be. For example, in a prisoner’s dilemma, two suspects are brought…
