Do you trust too much? Or not enough?

• Author: Scalzi, Jeff
• Position: Editorial

He Said

The June 2009 issue of The Harvard Business Review features a cover story entitled "Rethinking Trust" by sociologist Roderick M. Kramer. In the article, Kramer argues that most of us trust others too easily. With the Madoff scandal, the credit crisis and even the demise of once-infallible white shoe law firms, media pundits bespeak the importance of rebuilding the public trust in our institutions as a necessary prerequisite to economic recovery. Kramer suggests, however, that we should proceed with some skepticism and learn to temper our trust. I agree. Trust is critical to business success, but doesn't the economy provide an opportunity for us to rethink the definition of success (and therefore, build trust carefully)? How does this apply to law firms and how can legal marketers lead this discussion at our firms and with our clients?

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Fortunately, the majority of us have not fallen victim to the dissolution of our firm-employer, either driven by perceived impropriety or by economics. Yet the Dreiers and Heller Ehrmans of the world were our peers, our brethren, and the circumstances befalling those firms are ones that affect all of us. Trust is at the very core of the provision of legal services, and Kramer offers lessons in his article that we would be wise to heed. Even if our firms or lawyers are not grabbing headlines of the scandalous kind, Kramer's rules for rebuilding trust actually shadow many of the basic tenets of marketing and business development.

Rule 1: Know yourself. Kramer segments people into two buckets: those who are overly trusting and those who are too mistrustful when entering into a relationship. He encourages people to identify into which bucket he/she falls in order to change behavior. The economy presents a huge opportunity for firms to think introspectively--at least for a moment--so as to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the firm and refocus efforts and client service accordingly. Make sure that the perceptions that the lawyers have of themselves and of the firm match what clients perceive; otherwise, that disconnect will quickly become a disadvantage.

Rule 5: Recognize the other person's dilemma. In times of economic duress, our own concerns and dilemmas are exacerbated and tend to overshadow those of our constituents. Where Rule 1 teaches us about client service, Rule 5 shows us that our lawyers and firms need to demonstrate more than ever that they...