7 aspects of trust as the basis of business relationships

In my columns, I’ve written a lot about the relationships that founders have with others, especially investors. The human factor plays a special role here, for example in negotiations. So I want to share a few ideas about the basis of any successful human relationship: trust.

people work with people

People work with other people. Even if, for example, the basis of a cooperation is a contract between two companies, this contract is “lived” by the people who implement the contract. If there are questions, new unregulated situations or disputes, then it is always the people who have to deal with these challenges. And the dispute becomes easier the more trust there is between these people.

Trust is the basis

Trust is the basis of every cooperation. It ensures that people approach each other with a positive attitude, because they are of the opinion that the other person doesn’t mean any harm to you, but rather is interested in a proper “up” solution for all parties.

For this reason, successful entrepreneurs sooner or later realize that they need a certain basis of trust with regard to their business partners and customers. We all know it ourselves: we trust, for example, that a manufacturer of shoes like Adidas will deliver a certain quality or that a Five Guys burger will at least taste pretty much the same everywhere.

Aspects of building trust

But I am always asked how entrepreneurs and, of course, founders can create trust. I always say that trust doesn’t come suddenly. It will be worked out over time. However, there are a few aspects that play an important role in building trust. I would like to introduce them briefly below. Anyone who wants to build and strengthen trust in their business partners, be they suppliers, customers, investors or team members, should deal with these aspects and check whether they exist or how they can be improved.

1. Competence

It may not be the most important point in terms of building trust, but it is certainly one of the simplest. A certain level of competence is important for trust in a business context. Because if I position myself in a certain area, then I should also “have something on the box” in this regard. If there is a lack of competence, then there is no proof that I can actually implement what I claim.

2. Values

Values ​​come next in my view. We all have these because we all stand for something. What that is exactly, only everyone can decide for themselves. A value can be, for example, that someone negotiates extremely hard and does not shy away from creating pressure, while someone else is more concerned with compromise. There is no right or wrong. But it is important that there is something at all that someone stands for. Because only then can you consider whether you want to deal with this person at all.

3. Integrity

Integrity means that someone stands up for their values ​​and beliefs and does not allow themselves to be swayed by them. In this context one also speaks of straight “types”. And that makes sense. Because on the one hand you want to know what the other person is up to, how they “tick”. On the other hand, you also want this person to show their value decisions again and again. This creates reliability and stability, thus protecting against unpredictable, erratic behavior and thus against unnecessary use of energy, because you don’t have to adjust to a person again and again.

4. Consistency

Closely related to integrity is the aspect of consistency. When you find someone whose values ​​appeal to you, you want to experience again and again that this person’s behavior is consistent, i.e. predictable in a certain way. Here, too, the aspect of energy and effort plays a role, because it is quite tiring if you have to keep thinking about how a person will behave in a certain situation. Rather, one would like to adjust to the other person and thus be able to assess them. As a result, this leads to a certain degree of predictability, which is intentional and therefore positive.

5. Fairness

A particularly important aspect, which unfortunately is not easy to grasp, is the aspect of fairness. We all want to be treated fairly. But what that means exactly is judged differently by everyone. What I consider fair may be quite unfair to someone else. Basically, however, it is about a certain average level of decency, which at least ensures that no malicious actions that are harmful to others are carried out. The Imperial Court of Justice coined the term “feeling of decency of all those who think fairly and fairly”, which makes a lot of sense. It is not always clear what individuals consider “fair”. In the mass of people, however, a consensus is formed fairly quickly, which then makes it clear when something is still okay and when something is harmful or indecent.

6. Loyalty

Trust is unthinkable without loyalty. Loyalty makes people stand up for something – and in relationships especially, people stand up for someone else. This is expressed, for example, in the fact that mistakes are ironed out that are not really your concern, or that you do an extra job even though you don’t have to, but it helps the other person. In principle, loyalty is trust that is repeatedly confirmed, because I will only want to deal with a person who is loyal to me, i.e. who does not stab me in the back with their actions, behavior or statements or who thwarts my own efforts .

7. Openness

The last aspect that I think is important when it comes to trust is the aspect of openness. Openness means that I reveal myself as a person, with all positive but also negative aspects. Openness is shown, for example, in dealing with mistakes that happen sooner or later, and in dealing with mistakes made by others. Anyone who is open makes themselves vulnerable. But he also shows that he is not a machine.

Trust as the basis of business relationships: conclusion

In my opinion, founders in particular are disproportionately concerned about emphasizing their skills and abilities as much as possible. Of course that’s not bad. But in my opinion, they should work to the same extent to create a sufficiently broad and resilient basis of trust among their business partners, customers, investors and the like.

This will pay off when things don’t go as planned and bad news needs to be communicated. It is said that trust is the basis of everything. A lot can develop from trust. However, if there is a lack of trust, then further developments are not even considered possible.

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