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The trust equation

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This simple equation from Charles Green considers what makes someone trustworthy.

It breaks down trustworthiness as the sum of a person’s credibility, reliability and how intimate or safe they help you feel divided by the self-orientation of the person.

You can think of self-orientation as whether they focus their attention more on themselves or if they are genuinely interested in you and your success.

Self-interest reduces trustworthiness, while having common goals strengthens it.

It’s much easier to trust someone when they are qualified, consistently show up, create a safe atmosphere and when you believe their interests align with yours.

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This sketch appears in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures

Charles Green has written about the trust equation in several books, including The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition, Free Press, 2021. More at Trusted Advisor .

Published 9 Feb 2019

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Alternatives researched, well qualified, books bought and read, desk clean, no disruptions, sitting comfortably, inbox cleared, coffee in hand, ready to get started? It’s easy to be paralyzed by choices, unsure of our expertise, gnawed by doubt and uncertain if we’re ready to give something a go. For many of us, the threshold is high to get started on the projects in our heads, the actions to improve our finances or the exercise we plan to do. It’s so easy to think we’re not ready. Here’s the actor Hugh Laurie with one of my favourite pieces of advice: “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that, actually, no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” — Hugh Laurie Getting started allows us to start learning. Sure, our first steps might be the wrong ones, but in starting, we soon find the right ones. This sketch is in the style of the financial advisor Carl Richards who publishes at behaviorgap.com. His simple, minimalist drawings do a great job of hitting home a point, and he also shares the wise advice: “The only mistake you can make when it comes to financial planning is doing nothing.” When I worked as head of user experience and design at Nutmeg I saw, time and again, that the largest mistake people made with their finances was putting it off and, ultimately, doing nothing. Worried about making a hash of something? Don’t worry. The first draft is always perfect. Here are more of my sketches with my thoughts on getting started. This sketch was revised (see original) for the book Big Ideas Little Pictures.Alternatives researched, well qualified, books bought and read, desk clean, no disruptions, sitting comfortably, inbox cleared, coffee in hand, ready to get started? It’s easy to be paralyzed by choices, unsure of our expertise, gnawed by doubt and uncertain if we’re ready to give something a go. For many of us, the threshold is high to get started on the projects in our heads, the actions to improve our finances or the exercise we plan to do. It’s so easy to think we’re not ready. Here’s the actor Hugh Laurie with one of my favourite pieces of advice: “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that, actually, no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” — Hugh Laurie Getting started allows us to start learning. Sure, our first steps might be the wrong ones, but in starting, we soon find the right ones. This sketch is in the style of the financial advisor Carl Richards who publishes at behaviorgap.com. His simple, minimalist drawings do a great job of hitting home a point, and he also shares the wise advice: “The only mistake you can make when it comes to financial planning is doing nothing.” When I worked as head of user experience and design at Nutmeg I saw, time and again, that the largest mistake people made with their finances was putting it off and, ultimately, doing nothing. Worried about making a hash of something? Don’t worry. The first draft is always perfect. Here are more of my sketches with my thoughts on getting started. This sketch was revised (see original) for the book Big Ideas Little Pictures.

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