On Trust
Years ago, I attended a job seminar designed to help job seekers find work. After speaking for a while, the presenter made an observation that has always stuck with me: "Of all the things we talked about today, the most important tool you will use is your Rolodex." Yes, he said "Rolodex"—I told you it was a long time ago! Since our group was heavily weighted toward twenty-somethings, he stressed that networks put into place right now can be drawn upon during the course of one’s career.
Callow youth that I was, I disregarded his advice. The way he presented it felt slimy—the usual "scratch my back and I will scratch yours,” an opportunistic and seedy practice. However, my take was superficial, missing the entire point of networking. It wasn’t just about the immediate rewards of a transaction, but something far more powerful, profound, and, yes, even world-changing: trust.
Trust seems like a naive concept today, especially with the malicious meme of the "oppressor/oppressed" paradigm that is designed to dispirit. As I mentioned in a previous essay, corruptions born of defiance are dwarfed by the cooperation and contracts that exist everywhere. This network of cooperation is so vast as to be practically uncountable, well beyond human comprehension. At its heart lies the engine that makes such scale possible: trust.
Classical philosophers saw trust as the glue holding everything together. Aristotle argued that genuine civic alignment, or philia, is far more essential to society than strict legal codes, noting that when people share real character-based trust, formal enforcement becomes largely unnecessary. Instead of relying on fear or legal pressure, authentic trust depends on mutual goodwill and institutional integrity.
Stephen M. R. Covey, son of Stephen R. Covey of *The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People* fame, wrote that trust is not just mutual goodwill, but has the actual weight of an asset:
Trust is not a soft, elusive quality that you either have or you don't; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create.
Trust works like money; it directly speeds up or slows down everything you do. When trust is missing, progress stalls and costs skyrocket because extra checks, contracts, and oversight are needed. Conversely, high trust acts as a bonus that eliminates friction and allows decisions and actions to happen rapidly.
"Trust but verify," Ronald Reagan famously said (which, coincidentally, is exactly how to play the "Prisoner’s Dilemma," a classic trust game too involved to get into now). While verification is necessary at first to determine if a partner is honest enough to build a relationship with, the ultimate advantage of established trust is that you don’t have to verify. Once trust is firmly established, it becomes a veritable highway of activity where give-and-take is frictionless, leaving behind the time-consuming problem of constant verification.
Trust also builds on a macro scale. Nations with stronger social trust possess better infrastructure and a higher GDP. The efficiencies are measurable. Research indicates that a substantial increase in country-level trust correlates to measurable gains in annual real per capita GDP expansion. Furthermore, high-trust nations experience reduced litigation costs, accelerated bureaucratic approvals, elevated research and development investment, and broader access to credit markets. When high-trust countries trade with one another, that trade also proceeds much more efficiently.
So, dear reader, when you hear about networking, don’t think of it as an oily, insincere routine. In reality, you are building genuine connections with other people, sharing your talents with them and welcoming theirs in turn so you may reach your goals. Networking is not merely transactional; it creates the supporting architecture of whatever path you wish to pursue. Trust is the foundation of your achievements and will, over the long term, serve you well.
