On Trust

By Todd Henry

 Child CareI came across this ad as I was out driving a few days ago. 

Seriously? Am I going to look at a placard like this and think, “Hey…what a wonderful solution to my child-care problem!” 

Now, I’m certain that the people behind this ad are wonderful, child-loving people, etc., but c’mon…any parent (barring those in a desperate situation) is going to think twice before picking up the phone.

Why? I think it’s a matter of trust. When it comes to the care of my children, I need more assurance of the quality of the provider. A method that might convince me to fork over $2.99 for a twelve-pack of Pepsi will fall short on getting me to hand over my kids.

I need something that is trust-worthy.

So how does this relate to creating? I think it’s important for each of us to think about the level of trust-worthiness we convey to our collaborators and clients. And to our peers. While most of us have the big stuff buttoned up, (we realize that we can’t drop the important things), we neglect the small details and relational nuances in which trust is earned.

Back to the sign. There’s nothing in the wording or the proposition that seems untrustworthy. It’s the context. It’s the communication medium. It just seems to…in some way…devalue my children.

It is in the nuances that we earn trust. It’s in the small commitments, the details, the “context” of the relationship. We can get the message right, but we must also ensure that we’re not devaluing or violating trust because of familiarity or laziness. It’s in how we value the ideas of others and operate according to an ethic of generosity.

Be trust-worthy. This is a commitment of mine for the forsee-able future, and I hope you’ll join me.

Avatar of Todd Henry

About Todd Henry

Todd is the founder of Accidental Creative, the author of The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice, and an in-demand speaker and consultant for creative teams. Connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.


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Comments

  • Lee

    We earn trust in our attention to detail. You sound like Seth Godin here.

  • http://www.flyovermarketing.com Kevin Behringer

    Todd:

    Great post! This really got me thinking about the concept and function of design. I posted on this and how too often companies are satisfied with functional instead of going to the level of something that is pleasant to use.

    Keep up the great work!
    Kevin

  • Jase Miller

    Todd, I agree with your assessment of the importance of trust in our communication and relationships, and especially appreciate your comment about the importance of context. I’m curious if anyone has thoughts about what the owners of this sign could do to better communicate their trustworthiness with children… (and just to steer ideas away from the obvious, let’s assume they cannot change their stenciled font)… any ideas?

  • http://www.alvalyn.com Alvalyn Lundgren

    Great point about how the “packaging” of a message builds trust. As a designer, I need to create to build trust for my clients with their clients, and I need to be sure that I am trustworthy with my clients, and that the substance of my relationship with them matches what I promise in my “packaging”.

  • Lucy Garrick

    Your comment: We can get the message right, but we must also ensure that we’re not devaluing or violating trust because of familiarity or laziness.

    How many of us treat the ones we are closest to, the worst. How many of us take our loved one for granted. My father used to ask this question. We wouldn’t think of treating our boss or out clients the way we treat our spouses, children and closest friends. Its the shadow side of trust.

    What allows us to disrespect our most cherished relationships? None other than trust. We trust that those people whom we love most will forgive our shortcomings. It’s not something to feel bad about, it just is. But it is something to pay attention to and choice you can make in order to be more “trust-worthy.”

  • Lucy Garrick

    Your comment: We can get the message right, but we must also ensure that we’re not devaluing or violating trust because of familiarity or laziness.

    How many of us treat the ones we are closest to, the worst. How many of us take our loved ones for granted? My father used to ask this question. Would we think of treating our boss or our most important clients the way we treat our spouses, children and closest friends? It’s the shadow side of trust.

    What allows us to disrespect our most cherished relationships? None other than trust. We trust that those people whom we love most will forgive our shortcomings. It’s not something to feel bad about, it just is. But it is something to pay attention to and a choice you can make in order to be more “trust-worthy.”

  • http://www.roneckberg.com Ron Eckberg

    My first thought as I studied the picture was the lack of professionalism. I realize not everyone is a marketer / graphic artist / media consultant but I’m azazed how many people in business totally miss the importance of professionalism in presenting their message. The lack of professionalism in the sign leads me to believe that there is very possibly (maybe probably) a lack of professionalism in the way they operate their business. If I’m being asked to entrust my children to them, that is a risk I am not willing to make. Being from a small farm town in a very rural area of Illinois, I have seen such signs as these over and over again. I’ve thought seriously about pointing my business in the area of “main street USA” even though it would not be massively profitable. There are so very many small business and small business owners that could benefit from serious, cost effective marketing and media consulting. Maybe others have some views on this?

  • Jase Miller

    Lucy, I think your comment about the “shadow side of trust” is really insightful. Sometimes when we seek to communicate a message we aim to convey ‘trustworthiness’ as an end in itself without realizing that trust ultimately comes from something deeper—perhaps integrity or love. Sometimes we can fool people into trusting our message, but if it is not the by-product of something deeper, once they discover they’ve been fooled, it is extremely difficult to regain that broken trust again.

    Ron, I wondered about the sign-owner’s professionalism, too, and assume (rightly or wrongly) that the sign represents the reality in terms of how they would care for our children. I agree that’s a fair association. Yet…

    I realized with further thought that I am not personally acquainted with the context of this sign. I’ve made a lot of assumptions based on my own context that may or may not be correct. How much does context affect whether or not we deem those behind the sign trust-worthy? What if, for instance, this sign was placed among a lot of other advertisements which were ‘highly professional’ but the community at large felt that the ‘less professional’ sign conveyed more of a human connection and they implicitly distrust ‘slick’ advertising. The sign in question could convey more trust to that community than it might to others of us. Understanding these dynamics is a serious challenge for designers and communicators when working in a different culture. Anyone have any stories about communicating ‘trust’ among cultures other than your own?

  • Catherine Basil

    I saw the same sign the other day, had a visceral reaction (given that my 2 year old was sitting in the backseat) and then pontificated about the horror of it to my husband for 10 minutes. Thankfully, I’ve found your blog and now have somewhere productive to go with these feelings… : )