How to Be Awesome at Your Job 1119: Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales Shares the Seven Rules of Trust
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Jan 12, 2026 
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and celebrated for his impactful contributions to global knowledge sharing, discusses vital principles for building trust. He shares how embracing community input skyrocketed productivity by 52 times. Wales emphasizes the importance of empathy over metrics and the value of assuming good faith in interactions. He also highlights the need for transparency and independence to uphold credibility in media. With actionable insights, he encourages listeners to prioritize trust in their personal and professional lives.
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From Seven-Stage Freeze To 52x Momentum
- Jimmy Wales built a seven-stage review process and found it paralyzed contributors and created intimidation.
- Switching to an open wiki where anyone could edit produced 52x more work and sustained quality through community self-monitoring.
Trust Produces Reciprocal Responsibility
- Giving trust encourages reciprocity: people tend to reciprocate when you treat them as trustworthy.
- Managers who trust employees usually receive higher engagement and better results than those who monitor obsessively.
Design For People, Not Just Metrics
- Make interactions personal and empathic so people feel respected and understood.
- Avoid dark patterns (like obstructive unsubscribe flows) because they destroy long-term trust and reputation.
