HBR: Rethinking Trust by Roderick M. Kramer (2009)
Here is a summary of the key points from the article “Rethinking Trust” by Roderick M. Kramer:
– Trust is important for relationships, business, and society, but people often trust too readily and get betrayed (e.g. Enron, Madoff). This raises the question – do we trust too much?
– Humans are biologically predisposed to trust due to large brains, physical immaturity at birth, and need for social connections. Trust has evolutionary advantages.
– However, human judgment in trusting is often poor due to cognitive biases like confirmation bias, stereotyping, inflated self-confidence, and transitive trust.
– Two illusions also cause people to underestimate risks and be overly optimistic when trusting. Simple cues like appearance can be faked.
– To trust more prudently, Kramer suggests 7 rules: know your trusting tendencies, start small, write an escape clause, send strong signals, recognize others’ dilemma in trusting you, consider roles not just individuals, and remain vigilant in questioning.
– Trust is fundamental but tempering it is important. More research on trust judgments is needed but following rules like these can help trust wisely.
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