{"id":2354,"date":"2014-11-22T09:01:34","date_gmt":"2014-11-22T14:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2014-11-21T10:56:22","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T15:56:22","slug":"trustgiving2014-trust-boosts-risk-taking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=2354","title":{"rendered":"#TRUSTGiving2014 : Trust Boosts Risk-Taking"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"TrustGiving<\/a><\/div>\n
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Welcome to\u00a0TRUSTGiving 2014<\/a>, our first annual weeklong trust awareness campaign. \u00a0Join the\u00a0Alliance of Trustworthy Business Experts<\/a>\u00a0as our members help our readers navigate the complexities of trust. We\u00a0will be blogging (several times a day) and posting on Twitter #TrustGiving2014.<\/p>\n

Deb Mills-Scofield provides some insight on the intersection of trust and risk taking.<\/p>\n

Taking risk requires trust – to discover, try, re-try, be okay with uncertainty, imperfection and even fail.\u00a0 That\u2019s why learning how to inexpensively and quickly Experiment-Learn-Apply-Iterate<\/strong> is critical to building trust.<\/em><\/p>\n

Experiment<\/strong>: Identify a market, customer segment or business model that needs shaking up.\u00a0 Start with the market\/customer needs first, not the solution, the product or service.\u00a0 I call this \u201cRushing to Discover, Not to Solve.\u201d Create a cross-functional team with air cover so they are free to try things.\u00a0 Create some prototypes of potential solutions after you\u2019ve discovered!<\/em><\/p>\n

Learn<\/strong>:\u00a0 Watch how your customers respond to your prototype.\u00a0 Remember, this is still an experiment and you\u2019re still testing hypotheses. Watch them use it, touch it, interact with it. Watch how they respond to what it does\/doesn\u2019t do, where their eyes go first, where they seem stumped or frustrated, where they seem excited.\u00a0 Ask questions to clarify and understand, not to advise or judge.<\/em><\/p>\n

Apply<\/strong>:\u00a0 Take this learning and change your potential solutions, prototypes, accordingly.\u00a0 You will be wrong about a lot! Go back to your customers with the changed prototypes and test again.\u00a0 The purpose is to test your hypotheses so you can create a solution that really meets your customers needs, not your needs.<\/em><\/p>\n

Iterate<\/strong>:\u00a0 Repeat Experiment-Learn-Apply until you create a meaningful, valuable solution for your customers or determine you can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The ELAI model is pretty straightforward.\u00a0 Don\u2019t overcomplicate it.\u00a0 Get out and do it! You\u2019ll be surprised at the level of trust and know-how you create!<\/em><\/p>\n

Deborah Mills-Scofield<\/a> has her own consultancy on innovation and strategy<\/a> & is a partner in a Venture Capital<\/a> firm.\u00a0 Deb writes for Harvard Business Review<\/a>, Switch and Shift<\/a> & other venues, including her blog<\/a>, & has contributed to several books. Her Bell Labs patent<\/a> was one of AT&T & Lucent\u2019s highest-revenue generating patents.\u00a0 She can be reached at @dscofield<\/a> or dms@mills-scofield.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Barbara Brooks Kimmel<\/strong>\u00a0is the Executive Director of\u00a0<\/span>Trust Across America-Trust Around the World<\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning\u00a0<\/span>TRUST INC.<\/a>\u00a0book series and the Executive Editor of\u00a0<\/span>TRUST! Magazine<\/a>. In 2012 Barbara was named \u201cOne of 25 Women Changing the World\u201d by Good Business International.<\/span><\/p>\n