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No. 114 · People · Sociology

Trust

Trust lets us cooperate without watching every move, but it lasts only when betrayal has a cost.

Trust is our confidence in the reliability, honesty and competence of people and systems. It lets us delegate, cooperate and trade without checking everything ourselves, and it rests on track records, reputation and consequences for betrayal.

To use it, extend trust in small, testable steps, rely on systems with real accountability, and protect it in relationships by keeping even small promises.

In the Almanac

“The Maghribi traders”, 1000s · “Buurtzorg”, 2006

Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.

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Trust

Questions

What is Trust?

Trust is our confidence in the reliability, honesty and competence of people and systems. It lets us delegate, cooperate and trade without checking everything ourselves, and it rests on track records, reputation and consequences for betrayal.

How do you use Trust?

To use it, extend trust in small, testable steps, rely on systems with real accountability, and protect it in relationships by keeping even small promises.

When does Trust matter?

Trust is one of the 60 mental models for people, the situations where you ask: Why do people act as they do, and how do I work with them? Within that, it belongs to “Cooperation and trust”, alongside Cooperation, Free Rider Problem and Game Theory.

What is an example of Trust?

Two stories show it at work: The Maghribi traders (1000s) and Buurtzorg (2006). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.

Which mental models are related to Trust?

Tit for Tat, Principal-Agent Problem and Adverse Selection. Trust itself comes from sociology.