Podcast about TRUST and trustworthiness, and how to form habits that change behaviors, build trust, and transform organizations.

In 2008, I started working on my doctoral dissertation. My main research question was “why are people more creative when they work for startup companies than when they work for large, mature companies.” I worked in both environments, so I could feel the differences. After two years of research and a 348-page dissertation, I could really boil down the answer to one word: trust. That’s when I started writing books about trust. In 2015, I decided to dedicate the rest of my professional career to the topic. At the time of this interview, I published 19 books, more than 400 articles, and more than 100 podcast episodes.

My work resides in the intersection of the science of trust and the science of habit forming. I have several (research-backed) beliefs that make my content (and podcast) unique:

1. Trust turns a group of creative and productive individuals into a creative and productive team

2. Trust is Relative. The same behavior that would cause one person to trust you could cause another to distrust you

3. My trust in you is the product of my willingness to trust people and your trustworthiness

4. Your trustworthiness is made of who you are and what you do when you interact with me

5. If you trust someone and you show them that you trust them, they will behave in a trustworthy way.

6. If you eliminate one bad behavior, you will increase your trustworthiness more than if you added one good behavior

7. Forming a habit takes as long as it takes until it is easier to continue than to stop it, and you don’t need extrinsic motivation anymore

My background: the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute, the author of the most comprehensive trust book, The Book of Trust, and the host of The Trust Show podcast. Published 19 books and more than 400 articles on Trust, Innovation Culture, and Entrepreneurship. I hold a Ph.D. in organization and management, an MBA, a law degree, and an engineering degree. I’m a 3-time TEDx Speaker, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at SMU, former executive, elected official, and pilot.
 

When a client books me to deliver a keynote, they ask whether they should buy my (main) book, The Book of Trust (3rd Edition), for all attendees. I typically tell them that giving this book to attendees is a “cruel and unusual punishment.” The book is 550 pages long, with almost 200,000 words. Instead, I recommend getting The (MINI) Book of TRUST. A much more “reasonable” version.

So, they ask me why I wrote The Book of Trust, if I don’t recommend it to people. I explain that it is for exactly the same reason that I recorded more than 60 hours into the podcast: because I don’t know if I will wake up tomorrow morning, and if I don’t, I want to leave something behind.

I started recording this podcast on May 25, 2021. It took me less than a week to release my first episode. It took approximately 10 hours to record, edit, upload, and set the podcast up. Now that I have a process, it takes me less than 90 minutes to record, edit, and upload an episode. The power of the experience curve…

Personally, I can’t listen to podcasts. My mind drifts. But that’s just me. Many people prefer podcasts, so I record one for them. Not for me.
 

I release the podcast every Tuesday at 6 AM, 48 weeks a year. I record a season every three months, or a quarter. A season has 12 episodes, so at the end of each season, I take one week off. In that week, I consider any changes to the format or even content, and then I start recording the next season.

How do I find the time? There is a saying that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. I’m busy. That’s how I find the time…
I bet I would have dropped it a long time ago if I didn’t have a system, a weekly schedule for the release of episodes. See my answer to question 5 for details.

My episodes are approximately 30-45 minutes long each. It takes me approximately an hour to record an episode. It takes me no more than 20 minutes to edit it. I make sure that I don’t say anything I would have to edit out, and if I do, I edit it out as soon as I say it. I record directly into Adobe Audition, so I can edit on the fly. But I keep it real and authentic, so editing doesn’t take long. It only takes minutes to upload the episode into Podbean.

I don’t spend much on the podcast and fund it myself.
 

I can’t point to specific gain solely from podcasting. I reach my target audience where they are, and based on their content-consumption preferences. I make my content available through my books, blog, podcast, newsletter, and published articles in different publications.

I don’t have, nor do I need sponsors. In fact, given the topic of my podcast, trust, I prefer not to have sponsors, so that nobody ever has to question my lack of bias.
 

The process is on a weekly basis:

• Every day is a good day to have an idea

• Cycle around a Tuesday 6:00 AM release

• Saturday before: finalize outline and research

• Sunday, record, edit (I record directly into Adobe Audition)

• Upload and schedule (Podbean)

• Monday, write an article

• Tuesday, podcast releases

• Create a <60-second promo > post on LinkedIn

• Wednesday, release the article on LinkedIn newsletter

• Thursday, post article in blog, and send a newsletter

I typically don’t have guests or interviews on my podcast. Most episodes are solo episodes. More recently, I started bringing guests every now and then. Those episodes are not interviews, but rather discussions with people who are experts and care about the topic. I then use streamyard.com, download the locally recorded files, and use Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition to edit.
 

I believe that everything is connected. So, I use multiple venues and platforms to promote my content (not only the podcast), and each platform is a reference point to the others.

On social media, I promote it on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

I also make guest appearances on other podcasts and promote my podcast (and content) in the process.

I promote it in my email newsletter, articles, and blogs (mine and other publications).

The podcast itself is available through multiple platforms, but 71% of the views/download take place through Apple podcast (it’s also the link I promote, even though the podcast is available on virtually all platforms)
 

First, decide why you want to launch a podcast. How do you expect it to fit into your overall business strategy?

Then, don’t reinvent the wheel. See what others in similar areas to yours are doing.

Decide about the format (solo, interview, discussion, anything else?)

Consider the platform.

Do you have enough content? Enough guests (if you need them)? Before you know it, you will have 100 episodes. Don’t run out of content. At any point in time, I have ideas for the next 50-60 next episodes…

Do an honest estimate of how much work it will take, and decide whether you can afford to do that on a consistent basis, and on time.
 

Website: www.trusthabits.com
Email: yoram@yoramsolomon.com
Phone: (972) 332-1490
Podcast: www.TheTrustShow.com
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/yoramsolomon/
LinkedIn Newsletter: www.linkedin.com/newsletters/trust-habits-6873638091983347712/
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/TheTrustShow
eSpeakers Profile: www.espeakers.com/marketplace/profile/29339
Online Courses: www.TrustedAtWork.com
Books on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Yoram-Solomon/e/B002D61T90
Twitter: twitter.com/yoramsolomon
Instagram: www.instagram.com/yoramsolomon/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBookofTrust
HR.com Articles: https://www.hr.com/en/app/profile/Yoram_Solomon/contents/articles
Blog: www.yoramsolomon.com/blog
SHRM.blog Articles: https://blog.shrm.org/author/1588
Inc. Magazine Articles: https://www.inc.com/author/yoram-solomon