Trust is the foundation of any personal or professional relationship. Trust in government, major institutions, big business, non-government organizations and the media has been consistently eroding for years. But trust is imperative for resolving conflict and building consensus. Here you can find our viewpoints, musings, and curated content about this critically important topic of (re)building trust, particularly as it relates to trust in government and institutions. Topics range from why people don’t trust to how we can help to rebuild trust. These handpicked articles seek to educate and illuminate. We look forward to hearing what you think.
Intentional disinformation, lies, fake news and just plain bull$%&# will be a bigger part of our future than it’s been part of our past, and artificial intelligence (AI) makes it easier and more widespread. As useful and beneficial as AI can and will be, everything has consequences – AI makes ...
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Hubris or arrogance – closely related, but subtly different emotions – are one of the biggest impediments to (re)building and maintaining trust in people who need to know that you’re credible. The challenge comes when highly qualified, well-intentioned people need to relate to those who don’t have that knowledge and ...
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We talk about the loss of trust in expertise and institutions and it begs the obvious question of what we can do to get it back. The answer to that question is a little more involved than this very brief answer, but it’s not a bad place to start. Be ...
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The results are in and the news isn’t good for political leaders. According to a recent and expansive U.S. News & World Report/Harris Poll survey, 72% of people don’t trust them. But on the encouraging side, people also said exactly what it will take for them to earn the trust ...
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As professionals who work with the public, and as U.S. citizens, one of the more confounding questions to ponder is trying to understand how easily 30-40% of the voting age population has been, and continues to be, deceived, fleeced and conned. In last month’s issue of this little digest, we ...
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The Annenberg Public Policy Center released a poll showing that just 71% of Americans think approved vaccines are safe – down 6% since April 2021. Just 63% think the COVID-19 vaccine is safer than getting COVID – a decline from 75% in 2021. This in spite of the fact that ...
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If you’re not quite sure whether or not to take disinformation seriously, consider the fact that people have suffered, and will likely continue to suffer, legitimate physical harm because of it....
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According to the Pew Research Center, 16% is the pathetic number of Americans who say they trust the federal government always or most of the time. That’s among the lowest level in seven decades. Lowest level in seven decades. That may not be the best news for this democracy. ...
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Trust in government is up! Some measurements of trust in government actually show improvements for the first half of 2023 compared to numbers from 2020 through 2022. However … it’s still putrid. Only one in four Americans has confidence in Washington. One in three has confidence in state and ...
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Your trustworthiness and credibility will likely mean the difference between career success or failure. If you’re untrustworthy but lucky, you might wallow in abject mediocrity. Most people who get into public service in the first place do so because they are the good guys – they just don’t often know ...
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