How much faith do you have in trust?

“Trust is the glue that holds relationships together.”

I love this phrase, because it’s true. Certainly I have experienced situations and circumstances failing through lack of trust. Relationships doesn’t have to mean marriage or friends, it applies to the business and corporate environment as well.

Trust materialises itself in many forms. People won’t do business with you unless they like and trust you. Strategic alliances happen through understanding, affinity, mutual connectivity and trust. You trust your accountant to do a good job, you trust your solicitor to help you through a court case, you trust your supplier to deliver on time.

Your trust increases when a contact gives you a great referral, when you gain added value from purchasing a great product, when the expert regularly comes up with fantastic information, when the conference venue delivers what it promises, when the subject matter of the workshop provides exactly what the title says.

Trust has to be earned, and then it becomes more valuable, and steadfast. Mistrust happens after bad experiences, and it can taint your experience when real trust is offered. Certainly it’s not a good idea to be totally trusting, as not everybody is good and ‘trustworthy’, but experience will teach you when to take on or learn to trust again.

Sometimes trust is an immediate response, or it can take time to develop. It would be wonderful if we all learned which elements can develop trust, so we can use them to the greatest effect. It would also be fantastic if all trust was true and real, so we could all benefit from it. But when real trust is found, revel in it, because it can only be a good thing.