This video hit home with me. It’s about the bond created between a small dog and an elephant. It was sent to me by my friend Patti Creghan-Ciuffetelli. The message of how their story is connected to trust comes out towards the end of the video. We can learn a lot about trust from these two guys, check it out.

As of tomorrow at 1:20 in the afternoon, I will have blogged everyday for 100 days. Wow! This seem like a lot to me, but I am only at 10% of my goal of 1000 days of trust. On the eve of my 100th day I was thinking maybe it would be appropriate to have some kind of celebration. Instead, I find myself feeling solemn, even sad. Today I have a familiar but uncomfortable feeling; doubt has arrived on my doorstep. This is the kind of visitor you hope won’t stay long. Doubt is the opposite of trust and works to undermine everything…your work, your beliefs, your life. It fosters a lack of confidence, delays decision and saps your energy. That is how I feel right now.

Some of my doubtful thoughts sound like this: maybe I should focus on work that gives me more financial security… maybe I’m all alone in my passion… maybe the message is too idealistic… maybe I am being to honest and open… is any of this going to make a real difference… am I wasting my time?

I am not sure why I am feeling this way… maybe part of it is other stresses going on in my life. I suppose that everybody has days like this, I certainly have had my fair share. The answers to some of these doubtful thoughts may be No… maybe I won’t have the impact on people that I want… maybe I won’t be able to make enough money to sustain the effort… maybe I don’t have as much to say about this subject as I would like.

There is a famous quote from the play 1776 where George Washington sends a messenger to round up supplies for his troops with the message, “Is anyone there? Does anyone care? Does anyone see what I see? “

He was fighting the most important battle of his life and he needed help. I guess that is how I feel about trust in our world. Does anyone else see the mess that we are in? Does anyone else see where we are headed? We have a great future but in order to get there we need a real shift in the way we collectively think and act.

No matter what, I have to pursue what I believe is important. I know there are no guarantees and every worthwhile project requires risk. Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that I am on target. So as uncomfortable as it may be, I need to keep going. What else could be more important to our future than this issue of trust?

I think I might have just talked myself into picking myself up and moving on. It’s hard to be at your best when doubt is present. Tomorrow will be another day and I will have a chance to start again. For now I accept my doubt knowing that it will not last forever. I hope to make a comeback tomorrow… we shall see. I have not given up,  just feeling very human today.

This Toddcast is an interview with Robert Porter Lynch about the growing gap between technology and trust and what it means to our society.

Check out my interview on Trust with Lehigh Valley Entrepreneur TV

In my conversation with Robert Porter Lynch we discuss the fact that Darth Vadar is everywhere. He shows up in our families, non-profits, businesses and government.  Robert shares a few tools that can help better identify him. Click on the arrow below for the interview.

I caught up with my friend and partner Robert Porter Lynch at his home in Naples Florida. We sat down to talk about trust over some tea and coffee. The picture to the left is the view from Roberts window. Click on the arrow below the picture for the interview. 

Last night I met Alice, she is a retired labor union attorney. She and I were at the bar (I was eating, not drinking – really). I offered her my bread and made a new friend. I asked her about trust. She began to give me a history lesson about why the unions exist. I must have asked a pretty dumb question because she seemed bewildered at my ignorance. At the end of her speech it was clear she needed me to understand that unions exist because of distrust, and each new version of the union movement is based upon this foundation. Infusing trust in this relationship is heresy and there is no way that is was going to happen in our lifetime. Maybe I should focus my attention of something more achievable like eliminating world hunger. I am kidding here. . . Alice and I had a very animated and respectful conversation and I fully enjoyed it.

Of course, when someone says trust can’t be achieved that always gets my attention. I started to wonder what change needs to happen to bring people in the same company into alignment. We need to start creating a new kind of union… a real one… one between the leaders and their people. This is what a union should be. The definition of integrity starts with the word “whole”. In order for a company to weather economic storms it has to be whole, anything that divides it threatens to kill it. I am not saying that the unions are wrong or that management is wrong. I am asking for some thoughts about how we can transcend the divide and create a bridge to collaboration. I do not have answers yet, I will be working on this subject more during the Trust Tour.  If  we are going to survive into the future we are going to need a new outlook. I am putting it out here for you to think about. I am interested in your opinion about the future of unions.  Tell me what you think and remember to take the poll.

Do you think the future is going to be closer to co-creation or annihilation or something in between?

Submitting Results

• 11Check
  Relationship
• 22Check
  Guardianship
• 33Check
  Friendship
• 44Check
  Partnership
• 55Check
  Creationship

• -5-5Check
  Annihilation
• -4-4Check
  Nullification
• -3-3Check
  Aggression
• -2-2Check
  Manipulation
• -1-1Check
  Protection

What is the Trust Scale?

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  Creationship
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  Annihilation
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  Nullification
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  Aggression
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  Manipulation
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  Protection