It's all about trust. We upgraded our website for a reason. There's so much information, so many options, it's really hard to know who to trust. But it's not only about people trusting us, it's about having an organization of employees who trust themselves; trust themselves to make the right decisions. Interesting study shows that if you make people feel self-conscious about their judgment they will make worse choices. So it's important to set up an environment where people have an opportunity to test and use their judgment over and over again. Self-consciousness is the enemy of accomplishment! Edison said, "There ain't no rules around here, we're trying to accomplish something." It's okay to have rules, but we need them to be simple. We need them to be things that can be not only easily followed, but easily changed if need be.

There's also an important self-consciousness that takes place when interacting with your customers and/or prospects. No one likes to feel down, everyone likes to feel accomplished and in the know. Part of the reason that people don't make changes to try new things or try new products is because of their innate fear of making a mistake or being perceived as not being all that smart. If you want to communicate with someone and you want to help them help themselves, try something new. Test a new product, try a new process, you must remove the risk and remove the "this is new, I don't understand it, I feel dumb." No one is going to admit those feelings. You just have to be smart enough to know that they're always ever present.

We've all heard the idiom, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask and yes that's a nice thing to say, but fact of the matter is many business environments do not encourage people speaking up asking the questions that probably most everyone else in the room have on their mind too. You have to create an environment of trust; you have to create a true environment where the only way you fail is if you don't try new things. Also it's important to create an atmosphere where you will fail only if you don't ask for the help you need. It may sound counterintuitive, potentially creating an organization full of people who just don't try that hard and are always waiting for someone else to help them, but that's certainly not the case. And yes, it helps to give encouragement, give pats on the back when things go well. The best way for people to trust their own judgment is to repeatedly use it over and over again, testing rules and having success. The faster someone has an opportunity to use their judgment, the faster you will find out whether the person has the capability needed to perform. And while it might not be pleasant, it is better to learn that sooner rather than later.

So yes, we upgraded our website. We put first and foremost that we believe "trust is the new currency," trust is precious and something that can be lost in the blink of an eye. As we continue to watch more and more young people enter into the workforce, we will witness a stronger and stronger need for trust. Our younger generations have grown up in a very diverse and somewhat unsettling world. They are going to be looking for organizations where they feel there is an intent to do good and to be good. The two are not in conflict with one another. So what do you think? Can you measure your judgment and those that you work with at the high end of the scale? If not, are you willing to look for opportunities to test it? Come join our discussion on our blog, or I welcome your feedback through email.