Santa Claus’s Christmas interview
A wonderful surprise on December 24: despite his busiest time of the year, Santa Claus agreed to be our guest on the last podcast of 2022. In the 10 minutes of his interview I asked him:
About Santa and Sustainability
I’m a huge proponent of clean energy. I have to be, look at where we live, right up at the North Pole and having magical reindeer, that helps to be able to fly everywhere with reindeer power. But, you know, that does only work on Christmas Eve. The rest of the year I take conventional transportation and I do try to make ecologically sound choices for sure.
About All the Cookies he gets from
I do love the outpouring that people give, the gifts that they leave for me, that’s a wonderful, wonderful thing. And I’ll tell you what I’ve done for the last seven weeks, getting ready for the big season, I’ve been doing intermittent fasting. I don’t know if anybody’s heard about that, but I’m eating 8 hours and then I’m taking 16 hours and I’m not eating at all.
About how Santa builds trust
Being reliable definitely helps build trust, and I’ve been reliable for a lot of years, but I do think there’s a bit more to it than that. Over the years, people have also learned that I have good judgment. I don’t always deliver people exactly what they ask for. Sometimes I read between the lines, I look a little deeper and they usually find out that, hey, this isn’t exactly what I asked for, but I even like it better than what I asked for. So I think part of it is being reliable. Part of it is having good judgment. But it’s allowed me to build a lot of trust over the years, I think.
About children who are not as lucky
I’ll tell you, that is a real concern. Fortunately, people are so amazing. All over the world, we have not-for-profit organizations or organizations that are dedicated to helping people. The biggest one in the world is United Way Worldwide. They bring in over $5 billion to help needy families and deserving families worldwide. And there are so many other St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States and many others. They bring in billions of dollars. So I do what I can. But fortunately we have a lot of Santa’s helpers around the world, making the world a little bit of a better place, for sure.
Read the transcript of the interview with Santa Claus
Listen to what Santa Claus wishes us all for 2023
Trust is the invisible force that shapes our world, and at TrustTalk, we’re committed to exploring its many dimensions. Join us as we engage with thought leaders from all walks of life to discuss the role of trust in every aspect of our world. From personal relationships to business, technology, society, and beyond, we explore the wonders of this essential human emotion. It’s a journey you won’t want to miss.
Our guest today is Nicole Gillespie. She is the KPMG Chair in Organizational Trust and Professor of Management at the Australian University of Queensland Business School and an International Research Fellow at the Centre for Corporate Reputation at Oxford University.
In the podcast interview, we cover various aspects of trust. She begins by addressing the challenge of translating theoretical trust research into practical solutions, noting that academia often values theoretical contributions over solving real-world issues. To bridge this gap, she advocates for interdisciplinary research that tackles critical trust problems and suggests collaboration with industries and non-governmental organizations. She also highlights the importance of practitioner-oriented journals to make research accessible. Nicole notes the emergence of a trend towards valuing research impact and relevance in academic work, particularly with interdisciplinary efforts addressing significant challenges.
Vulnerability’s role in trust is another key topic. Nicole emphasizes that trust involves a willingness to be vulnerable based on positive expectations. Trust is most pertinent in uncertain and risky situations. An interesting paradox arises where high-trust relationships create a subjective sense of security while making individuals objectively vulnerable. She highlights the importance of understanding vulnerability’s bright side, including its role in fostering connections, innovation, and resilience.
The interview further delves into the challenges of establishing trust across cultural boundaries. Gillespie co-authored a paper exploring trust dynamics between German supervisors and Chinese supervisees. The research highlighted the clash of cultural expectations, particularly regarding hierarchical relationships. Chinese employees often entered with high initial trust due to cultural expectations, while German supervisors focused more on task-oriented dynamics. The misalignment led to disillusionment and challenges in maintaining trust.
Lastly, Gillespie touches on the significance of trustworthy AI. She was part of a paper outlining a model for ensuring trustworthy AI. While acknowledging the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, she explains the six dimensions of the model: organizational alignment, data integrity, system robustness, security, legal compliance, and ethics. Gillespie emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach, integrating these dimensions to ensure responsible and trustworthy AI use.
The interview concludes with a focus on the future of trust research. Gillespie highlights the evolving nature of technology, particularly AI, and its impact on trust relationships. She suggests exploring how emerging technologies affect trust dynamics, polarization, and societal relationships. As she commends the podcast host for his dedication to discussing trust-related topics, Gillespie underscores the importance of continuous research and dialogue in understanding and maintaining trust in an ever-changing world.