The unedited transcript of Phalana Tiller's interviews with Ron Ashkenas and Paul Zak for the February 2012 episode of Drucker on the Dial entitled "Trust Me." First, Ron Ashkenas, a consultant and Harvard Business Review blogger, discusses the genesis of his article "Learn to Trust Your Gut" from the Harvard Business Review. He says that empowerment cannot be given nor granted, and that many times, people are not empowered in an organization because it is a lot easier not to be empowered. Ashkenas explains that empowerment requires a great deal of accountability and responsibility, and that in order to be empowered, you have to have the instincts to do what you think is right. He believes that wasteful work practices and rules get set in concrete in organizations, and that it is important for people to trust their instincts to say when these don't make a whole lot of sense. Ashkenas says that if you are going to trust others and listen to what they say, you also have to trust yourself to know whether what you are hearing from others makes sense to you, and if it doesn't, you have to be able to question that. He adds that when trust breaks down, you stop questioning somebody else. He explains that in his book entitled Simply Effective: How to Cut Through Complexity in Your Organization and Get Things Done, that a lot of people hide behind complexity, hide behind rules, and hide behind their boss, because they don't want to be accountable. He goes on to say that he would like to be remembered for creating some practical ways for people to make organizations more effective, more simple, and easier to deal with. Next, neuroeconomist Paul Zak, begins by saying that people are poor at reporting why they do what they do, and that the way that the brain is designed, there is no real evolutionary reason why you should be able to articulate the mechanisms behind decisions. He discusses his background in neuroscience and economics, and the beginning of his work on trust and oxytocin. Zak found that the four main factors that produce high trust within an organization are: the social structure, the economic structure, the political structure, and level of income. He explains that oxytocin is not just for trust, but that it is for a variety of virtuous behaviors, and that virtue is really about putting other people in front of yourself. Zak talks about Zappos and Morning Star Tomato, and how they are very well managed companies. Zak says that he found that Wall Street traders who see the world as "dog eat dog," tend to not be very successful. He talks about the interest in his TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talk and adds that bringing science to what human nature is, is invaluable. Zak explains that since he found that touch releases oxytocin, he began hugging people as a way to encourage people to be more loving, and to be more connected. He goes on to say that he would like to be remembered for increasing the love in the world.
Interviews Ashkenas, Ronald N Zak, Paul J Authorship Trust Instinct (Philosophy) Responsibility Decision making Books Herman Miller, Inc Leadership Simplicity (Philosophy) Neuroeconomics Oxytocin Business enterprises Filial piety
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