The Seven Rules of Trust

Internet pioneer and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales shares his clear, actionable rules for building trust in community, leadership and life

Trust: like water, like electricity, our society can't function without it. It's a treasure, a living thing that can be cultivated and grown. But it can also wither and die, and it is increasingly under threat.

From neighbourhoods to nations, we must get serious about trust and act before this precious resource runs out entirely.

When Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia more than two decades ago, he changed the landscape of knowledge forever - although almost no one realised it at the time. Today, people view Wikipedia 11 billion times every month in the English language alone. But in our 'post-truth' era, where the internet is a sea of disinformation and facts are increasingly malleable, Wales reminds us that it's more important than ever to return to the problem at the heart of it all: that without trust, we have no knowledge. And without knowledge, we can't fight back.

Derived from decades of observation, participation and discussion with leaders across the world, these are his clear, actionable rules for building trust in business, leadership and life. The Seven Rules of Trust reveals the fundamental principles that transformed a website which was once regarded as a highly dubious source of information to a universally trusted source for facts.

This book will help you become a trust-maker. To build deeper connections with others so you can be a better neighbour, a more understanding friend, even someone who can turn back the tide and inspire others to follow you. If you want to strengthen your relationships or simply bring more happiness and fulfilment into your life, then this is where to start.

Review

Everything in our thrilling and chilling future depends on one increasingly diminishing human resource: trust. Jimmy Wales is in a better position than almost anyone to teach the world the most important lessons required for us to learn if we want to win trust back, in our own lives and out into the community and the wider world. He eloquently and convincingly demonstrates in this important - indeed vital - book that it can be done, and that it starts with us. Fascinating to read, intriguing to learn and wonderful to contemplate - The Seven Rules of Trust should be required reading everywhere ― Stephen Fry

This is an important book, which is both hopeful and practical. Using lessons from the astounding success of Wikipedia, it advises readers how to tackle the global crisis of trust. If only the whole world could look like Wikipedia! ― Yuval Noah Harari

This is much more than the founder's history of a ground-breaking online encyclopaedia. It is a vital reminder of the importance of fact as the basis of debate, and a passionate call to rediscover the art of reasonable dialogue. Where trust has been lost, Jimmy Wales offers routes to its rediscovery ― Alastair Campbell

Wikipedia has become the most complete and successful encyclopaedia ever created... So far. Jimmy Wales argues beautifully that without passion and crazy ideas, very little gets done. Without trust, almost nothing gets done. Along with changing the way you think about the future in our information age, The Seven Rules of Trust is a joy. Read on ― Bill Nye

Trust is a feeling. We can't 'convince' someone to trust, they have to feel it. Sadly, we now live in a world in which it's often hard to know who or what we can trust. Where some of the biggest online companies are trying to allow for public regulation of their content, only to significantly harm their trustworthiness, Wikipedia is THE exception. What does Wikipedia know that others don't and how can more companies adopt their practices to make our digital world safer and, well, more trustworthy? Thank you to Jimmy Wales for founding Wikipedia and now, for the first time, telling us how he did it! ― Simon Sinek

Wikipedia is a remarkable invention. Powered by human trust, this once quixotic project thrived where so many others failed, becoming one of the greatest collections of knowledge in the world. With this book, Jimmy is passing on the principles that drove Wikipedia's success so that others can build meaningful projects of their own. The result is a powerful, essential book that cuts to the heart of how technology can benefit humanity ― Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn

About the Author

Jimmy Wales is an internet entrepreneur who is best known as the founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation. Named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, he was also acknowledged by the World Economic Forum as one of the top 250 leaders across the world for his professional accomplishments, his commitment to society and his potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, he lives with his family in London.