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- Interesting Reads This Week
Interesting Reads This Week
It begins and ends with trust, and a rousing impromptu speech
Glenda Morgan
November 16, 2024
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I’ve been writing the Interesting Reads This Week post for nearly fourteen months now, and I genuinely enjoy it. It’s fascinating to observe how the cadence of news and compelling articles varies week to week. Some weeks are packed with captivating content, while others are slower, requiring extra effort to uncover noteworthy pieces. This week was one of the busy ones—so much to read and reflect on! So, what do I want to share?
Losing trust, gradually, then suddenly
Gareth Edwards (not the legendary Welsh rugby player, a different one) has an insightful article titled Why Breaching the Trust Thermocline is the Biggest Hidden Risk in Business.
A thermocline refers to the transition layer between warmer surface water and cooler water below. Edwards offers a more dramatic explanation and explores how this concept applies to business.
In large bodies of water, the temperature drops slowly the deeper one dives. That change can, if the descent is slow enough, feel almost imperceptible. Yet at a certain point, the water temperature drops sharply and alarmingly. This point is the thermocline—a near-physical barrier where warm water meets cold. The shift between the two is sudden and dramatic.
In business, particularly digital services or businesses relying on a subscription revenue model, trust works in the same way. Wired into those products and services is a “trust thermocline.” It is a point which, once crossed, otherwise healthy businesses and products suddenly collapse.
For businesses, the trust thermocline is the point at which a customer decides that leaving a product is worth the effort. But, as Edwards explains, trust is not just an individual matter.
