Living in a Low Trust Culture

We are all on edge and all on our guard. That is the downside of living in a low trust society. A while back, Stephen M.R. Covey (son of the more well known Stephen Covey) wrote a book called Business at the Speed of Trust. In it, he refers to a trust tax. A trust tax imposes a broader penalty of a tax in every relationship, every transaction, every communication, and every dimension of life. When I turn on the t.v. to watch a game and I see that every other ad is for a personal injury lawyer, I have to question whether we have truly disintegrated into a low trust society. When the default mode for relationships is suspicion, then we are living in a low trust society.

A lot of people don't realize the implications of the trust tax. The economics of it are that everything costs more. If there are chronic lawsuits, the cost of defending has to show up somewhere and it is reflected in the price of things. A number of years ago, my daughter was in a fender-bender type accident at the age of 17. My mail started filling up with requests to represent us for the "pain and suffering" my daughter experienced. There were no injuries, just car damage. Some letters implied we should invent injuries.

Do you assume people are at their best or at their worst? Have you ever questioned the motivation of people that ask you for help? I would rather be defrauded and assume the best in people than live with the constant suspicion of others. In Covey's book, he also refers to a trust dividend which is the benefit of living in a high trust society. You may be wronged and likely will be. But you will live a life free from constant suspicion and people may surprise you.