Exaggeration is often used, sometimes habitually, for two reasons. Some individuals use it as a form of emotional self-expression. Other times it is used to manipulate others. In either circumstance, it leaves others feeling deceived, tricked, manipulated, exploited, and abused. While exaggeration may sometimes be successful at achieving some short-term goals, it causes significant damage to relationships. There are ways of achieving the same short-term goals without hurting others in your life.
You interact with your colleagues and (in the best of cases) create a neighborhood of peers that you can rely on both to push the work forward and to share the joys and tribulations of the workday. That's why annoying colleagues can be a particular thorn. When you have a peer at work that you don't want to deal with, it disrupts the flow of your day and diminishes your intrinsic enjoyment of work.
Since prehistoric ages, humans had to decide on whether the place they are in is safe to stay in or not, if the strangers they meet on their way are safe to be around or not, and if the berries they were given by others were safe to eat or not. In psychology, trust is the willingness to rely on someone or something despite uncertainty. In tech, trust means believing that the system is competent, predictable, aligned with your goals, and transparent about limitations.
As a professor of negotiation and influence, I've observed a fascinating consistency in my students: They instinctively value behavioral concepts-the art of rapport, the dynamics of power, and the science of persuasion. Yet, they often struggle with their practical application. It's the classic gap between knowing and doing. On the surface, the principles seem simple (e.g., engage in conversation, listen, be friendly), but applying them effectively in high-stakes environments is the true rigor of leadership.
"I have blind, crazy, crazy trust that he's got what he's working on," Sakkijha said, adding that they're both "in it to win it." Masad said one advantage of working together is their ability to be direct. That level of openness helps the business move more quickly, he said. Both said that working together also brings out their individual strengths. Masad said he sees himself as detail-oriented, data-driven, and passionate about problem-solving and strategy, while Sakkijha thrives in communication, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.
Trust is the invisible currency of sports. Without it, even the most spectacular athletic achievements lose their meaning, reduced to mere spectacle divorced from the integrity that gives competition its soul. In an era when sports governance faces unprecedented scrutiny-from match-fixing scandals to judging controversies-the systems that build and maintain trust have never been more critical. For decades, tennis officiating has operated as a laboratory for trust-building under extreme pressure, developing frameworks that extend far beyond the baseline and into broader leadership contexts.
Simon was recently walking through the park with his three-year-old daughter. Autumn had truly arrived, and brown leaves lay scattered across the ground beneath the bare trees. Simon's daughter saw a small boy playing among the leaves and ran over to see what he was doing. The two quickly formed an unspoken bond as they joined forces, collecting the discarded leaves into piles. If you have children, you are almost certainly familiar with this scene, or one like it. Children naturally want to understand what's happening around them, and that curiosity helps them to connect with anyone, or anything, that intrigues them. When there's something new and exciting to discover, social anxiety is easily forgotten. Connections are easily forged.
Over the last two years, the value of content has collapsed. Thanks to the LLM revolution, the internet is drowning in an avalanche of indistinguishable output: an endless parade of fast-food writing, recycled reports, and SEO-bait fluff optimized for algorithms instead of people. That's why the only competitive moat left is the human story. For business leaders, this creates an urgent mandate: Storytelling is no longer a marketing tactic. It's a strategic business imperative-the only reliable engine for changing minds and shifting behaviors.
In a classic study, one-year-old babies were placed on clear plastic near the edge of a " visual cliff " that made it appear that the ground drops away and they could fall. Their mothers were placed on the far side of the cliff and the babies looked at their facial expressions to determine if there was danger. If the mothers expressed positive emotions, most babies would cross over the cliff.
The advanced and highly interconnected world, businesses are under increasing scrutiny. Customers, investors, and stakeholders are no longer satisfied with just the products or services a company provides where they are paying attention to how companies conduct themselves. Transparency in business ethics is no longer a luxury; it has become a necessity. From trust-building to regulatory compliance, transparency helps businesses navigate the modern landscape, fostering long-term success and sustainability.
At first, it sounds like a design problem. Or maybe a customer service one. Add new markets, new systems, new customers, and suddenly the challenge is keeping what was working while trying to understand what the future needs to become. But underneath, it's a question about honesty. What if the kind of growth that stretches empathy and deepens awareness (the kind we expect from people) could guide how organizations grow too?
Every product team is chasing the same dream right now - smarter, faster, more "AI-powered." But in all that optimization, we forget the thing no model can predict: what it feels like to trust a system you can't see. As Kym Primrose pointed out in "AI Won't Kill UX - We Will", the real threat to user experience isn't technology itself - it's when we let convenience replace care. I see that same tension in building apps that move money: AI isn't what erodes trust.
Trust is a fundamental aspect of meaningful interactions, developing confidence in individuals, organizations, and governments. It is a persistent trait in many living organisms, playing a crucial role in early human survival within healthy social communities. It's worth noting that trust is often misunderstood and negatively perceived. People tend to focus on the potential risks, fears, harms, and losses associated with trust rather than recognizing its positive impacts on our psychological well-being.
YouTube has grown tremendously over the years and has become a popular place to earn a living for many talented creators, while others use it for entertainment. They complemented each other and helped YouTube grow the way it did since its inception. In addition to this mutually beneficial relationship, Google's algorithm deserves credit for YouTube's meteoric rise to become one of the best streaming platforms.
Not long ago, hackers claimed to have stolen nearly 19 million customer records from TalkTalk. Within hours, that number appeared in headlines across the U.K. and beyond. The problem was that it was not true. TalkTalk later pushed back, calling the claim "wholly inaccurate" and "very significantly overstated." But by then, the damage was done. Customers, regulators, and journalists had already absorbed the hacker's story as fact, and TalkTalk's correction barely registered in comparison.
While consulting for a national DIY automotive store chain, we discovered a common pattern. Auto enthusiasts (gearheads) who could evaluate spare part technologies and verify quality on their own did not care which store they patronized, as long as the products they needed were always available. On the other hand, relative amateurs and novices who lacked sufficient technical knowledge developed loyalty to retail stores where they felt they received trustworthy guidance to help select the right products for their needs.
For many of us, the workplace in recent years has been dominated by anxiety. How will we keep our people safe? How will we adjust and adapt to hybrid work? How will we continue to be productive and profitable? How will I prove myself indispensable in the age of AI and keep my job? In this high- stress and high-stakes environment, some of this worry is a positive motivator, encouraging us to anticipate and prepare for future challenges.
Have you ever been a part of a product launch that felt more like a daunting experience, rather than an exciting or thrilling one? The product launch where users got more confused and felt helpless? Where they could not even point out what was wrong, because the product team worked so heavily on improving the tech and the UX, that it actually changed the way they were used to working before.
People don't support those who are just credible and reliable; they respond when valued and understood. Emotional closeness and trust predict willingness to help far more than formal authority or job title. When support is seen as self-serving, reciprocity drops. Genuine altruism inspires stronger responses. Building authentic, ongoing relationships makes it natural for others to want to help when you need it most.
Trust is our basic response to people and the things they tell us (Grice, 1975; Schwarz & Jalbert, 2020). If someone tells us something, we tend to believe they are doing their best to tell us the truth. If we walk into a store, we trust the prices listed are what we'll pay. We trust that the item inside the box is what's listed on the outside of the box.
Have you ever been a part of a product launch that felt more like a daunting experience, rather than an exciting or thrilling one? The product launch where users got more confused and felt helpless? Where they could not even point out what was wrong, because the product team worked so heavily on improving the tech and the UX, that it actually changed the way they were used to working before.
The race for supremacy among major artificial intelligence (AI) providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, is approaching peak intensity. Alongside this growth, concerns about customer trust and distrust have become paramount. These concerns are appropriate-our own work suggests that in the face of the ambiguity and uncertainty typically accompanying a new technology such as healthcare AI, customers and users rely heavily on their trust in the provider to dampen risk and obtain peace of mind.
Surely there is magic at play. That lawyer is the ultimate charmer who serendipitously happens to be in the right place at the right time-every time. Whatever the secret, you need to figure it out because referrals drive law firm business. And while referrals may feel like random acts of magic or serendipity that are beyond your control, they are not. They are the outcome of something much more human and down-to-earth: real, authentic relationships that are nurtured through intentionality and planning.
We have been together for three years. Our love was steady, warm, and full of promise. One evening, during a friend's wedding, I noticed that my husband was laughing a little too freely with a woman I didn't know.Inside me jealousy clawed. My mind whispered: "Who is she? Does he like her? Am I not enough?" The old me would have kept quiet and let the resentment pile up. But this time, I chose honesty.
We've all heard the phrase, "underpromise and overdeliver." Unfortunately, I often see businesses that tend to " overpromise and underdeliver," failing to meet customers' expectations. For me, it all comes down to trust. Can I rely on a company to consistently meet and exceed my expectations? As entrepreneurs, this can be a difficult question to confront. However, if you're unsure how to respond, it may be time to reflect on your practices.
1. Respect Is Not Control - It's ConsiderationLetting your partner know where you are, who you're with, or when you'll return home isn't about surrendering your freedom - it's about being considerate and showing RESPECT. It's a simple way of saying, "You matter to me," and that small gesture can build enormous trust. 2. Little Updates Communicate CareWhen you share your plans with your partner, you're not just giving information; you're saying, "I care about how you feel." These small actions show that you value their peace of mind and emotional security, especially during long hours apart or busy seasons.
