DONALD TRUMP OR KAREL FRIELINK: WHO WOULD YOU TRUST MORE?
In doing business trust is a necessary element
One (Donald Trump) is famous, built an empire (a.o. the famous ‘Trump towers’) and can be seen on various TV channels around the world and throughout the week, the other (me) is an attorney practising law in a rather remote area (a small island in the Caribbean Sea), without any relevant media exposure whatsoever. Who would you trust more?
Can you trust people you do not know? Fact is, you can decide to trust someone just because you have seen his/her face on television (and many people actually do), but is this a good idea?
In general, you will trust someone who has a reputation of being honest, reliable and responsible. But is this about ‘knowing’ based on personal experience or ‘feeling’ (believing), or (sometimes) both.
According to Ron Kurtus trust in another people has several meanings:
1. Trust means that you feel that the person is honest and will not lie, cheat or steal from you.
2. It also means that you can count on the person to do as he or she promised and that the person is reliable.
3. Finally, trust in a person means that you feel he or she can be counted on to do something important, will not shirk from duties, and will take personal pride in what he or she does.
Kurtus: “An illustration of trust can be seen when you are on a trip, and you stop at a filling station to ask the attendant for directions. You trust that he will not purposely give the wrong directions. You also trust that he is competent and responsible in being able to give correct directions. If he says he has to go in the back to get a map and will return right away, you trust that he will do just that and not take off for lunch.”
Apparently, you can trust someone before you build a relationship, or even without ever building any personal relationship with him. And especially when doing business in the virtual world called the Internet this makes sense. It is almost impossible to get to know all of your contacts / prospects before doing business with them.
However, there are different levels of trust: that I let you borrow my car, does not (necessarily) mean that I let you baby-sit my daughters. As far as it concerns baby-sitting my daughters, I really want to know you and I want to trust you based on past actions and the character you have shown. Period.
What criteria do you set yourself to be able to trust someone? Or is it just instinct or gut feel? And in the virtual world: what is it about a website or person that makes you trust? Is a picture of relevance? And who would you trust more: Donald or me? And why?
Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner
