TTL 43
The invisible engine that keeps societies — and teams — running is trust.
When a financial crisis hits, what truly collapses isn’t the capacity of production or the appetite for consumption.
It is trust.
People stop trusting the economy, and the economy crashes as a result, validating the lack of trust, in a downward circle.
It’s the same inside an organization: once trust breaks, everything slows down.
Let me explain this with a simple metaphor: public transport.
Paris & London, zero trust
In London and Paris, when you go on the subway (or the métro), you have complex automated doors that are closed, and you need a ticket or transport card to open them.
No one is trusted by default, and everyone has to prove they are allowed on the subway before getting in.
It works, but it creates bottlenecks. At rush hour, the lines pile up, and the system feels slow.
That’s what happens in teams where you don’t trust people: the process becomes more about control than movement.
Vienna trusts (almost) blindly
None of that in Vienna. You enter and exit the transport system without doors or anyone checking your ticket. No congestion, regardless of peak traffic.
The downside is that this system doesn’t truly scale. It has prerequisites, like a transport card that is incredibly affordable compared to the population’s purchasing power. Still, it can’t defend itself if the culture changes and cheaters grow in number.
The same happens on your teams. If you trust people blindly, as you scale, you’ll be proverbially punched in the face.
Tokyo, trust and verify
In Tokyo, there are gates, but they default to open, and close only if your ticket isn’t valid or if you don’t tick it.
No congestion, even though rush hour is more intense than anywhere else, but the culture is constantly maintained by the reminders that entering without a valid ticket is not ok.
That’s what works best with your teams, and scales. Trust people upfront, and regularly verify that your trust is well placed.
Whether you’re running a country or a company, the principle is that trust makes things move, but like any engine, it needs maintenance.
Not bureaucracy, not control — but trust & care. Clear expectations and accountability are what keep it running smoothly.
That’s it for today, see you next time.
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I also publish on paolo.blog and monochrome.blog.
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