We Don’t Trust Companies Anymore… We Trust People
March 25th, 2009 // 10:50 am @ Jim Kukral
Guy Kawasaki sent this article out on Twitter this morning, and wow, it’s great. It’s a story about how small is the new big.
The author states…
The gap of confidence between small companies and big ones is growing. We used to rely on the security of big companies. That’s why we worked for them. And hired them. And put our money in them. But with the virtual collapse of AIG, Lehman, Citibank, GM, Chrysler, and many more — now even GE is in trouble — all that’s changed. Now it’s a risk to do business with the big ones.
How true is that? And how much excitement and hope does that put in your heart as an entrepreneur and small business owner? It should.
Then the author makes the best point of the article.
We simply don’t trust companies anymore. We trust people. And in big companies, it’s hard to even find a person to trust as we scream “operator” into our telephones only to get transferred to another menu whose options have changed. That gives small companies a huge advantage.
He’s right, we don’t trust large companies anymore. We trust people, and that is why social networking has exploded so fast. We’re able to connect with one another and spread referrals using these tools when in the past we didn’t need to as much because we’d just “hire the big firm”.
If you’re not taking advantage of this trend right now, you’re a fool. Sorry to put it so blatant, but honestly, it’s time for you to wake up! It’s time for you to get going and build trust for you and your firm.
Look around… Trust is now more important than ever today. Do you have it? Are you building it?
It’s so easy to do nowadays. Not like it was when I started. Get started today.
Here’s a few more tidbits from the article.
Big investment banks are burning — but lots of small boutique firms, each with ten to twelve people, are opening up. And they’re doing well. They’ve gone back to the fundamentals. Finding a niche in which they have value to add and deals in which they are experts. And then sitting across from other people in the deal, building the relationship, making reasonable commitments, and following through.
Small companies with low overhead, reliable owners, a small number of committed employees, personal client relationships, and sustainable business models that drive a reasonable profit are the great opportunity of our time.
Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth. Trust is the new competitive advantage.
Category : Trust
Laurie Foley
1 year ago
Uh, I think you've been pimped by Guy. It's very interesting that he sent you an article about trust because lots of people on Twitter are having major trust issues with his "personal" tweets at this time. He's not an individual that I trust anymore – just my opinion. I think I would have trusted him more if he had been tweeting as his AllTop brand. Take a look at http://www.subscribersrule.com/?p=488. Thanks for letting me comment.
Jim Kukral
1 year ago
I get your point and value your opinion, but I agree with Guy. This is business, not fun social time. He's using the tools as he sees fit. You call it spamming? Spamming is sending unsolicited message to people who didn't ask.
If you don't follow him, or friend him, and then he sends you a message about Alltop, then you have a case, but if you're going to choose to follow him, then complain he's not sending messages you like and call him a spammer…
Well then, I think that's wrong.
ahockley
1 year ago
It's a great point. Several months back there was a well-publicized article about how folks didn't generally trust company blogs. Josh Bancroft made the observation that people don't trust companies, they trust people. The way for someone to trust your company is to become a person that they trust.
TriciaMeyer
1 year ago
I like the optimism of this post. At a time when everything seems so pessimistic financially, it's nice to see a silver lining. I absolutely want to take advantage of the mistrust of big business right now!!
Jim Kukral
1 year ago
Great news. I hope you do.
Dax Turner
1 year ago
Yes, you can. Its quite easy in the current scenario. You just need to adopt the right path. All the best!
Laurie Foley
1 year ago
Thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful reply. You've helped me think about it in a different way and that is the highest compliment I can offer someone. For the record, I didn't call him a spammer. I said and still believe that he no longer deserves MY trust based on his choices for how he runs his business. I unfollowed him yesterday for just that reason. And I won't be patronizing his business either. Isn't free choice a wonderful thing?
The "Twitter Rules" make his choices seem questionable to me, too: http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/26257/entries/1...
Nick DeStefano
1 year ago
Trust….Hmm.a weighty word..carrys a lot with it who ? why? when? if? geez I could go on in single wrd form.In the end though trust is simply placed on personal judgement isn't ?
If an individual is treated fairly in their estimation it opens a doodway to trust If not…well…
As for Guy well……..sign up for the @alltop feed.the stuff is timely, interesting and plentiful. Yes plentiful which is where I have a diff w/ him.
His lead line " I saw your comment on….." we all know is well..ahem…. and THEN Not just one but up to as many as SIX updates in a row ….Then here comes another two or three…………..Call it what you will..feels like spammmmmm. AND you know its Autofeed..
Dax Turner
1 year ago
Hey Jim… What you said is absolutely right. No one trusts big companies as it used to be. People are looking for real humans to interact and know more about a company. Personalization was the key few years back, but, it is interaction that counts today. This is the reason that brands like google and yahoo were forced to join twitter.
As far as current economic crisis is concerned, I dont think it had affected small businesses and individuals (we are still getting more and more business from small companies) as compared to bigger companies.
Anyways, great post from you. This gave an insight into the current scenario. Keep rocking!
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