What holds a relationship together when outcomes are uncertain, mistakes are inevitable, and incentives begin to shift?

In this episode, Anne speaks with Brett Danko, president of Danko Education and a financial advisor at Main Street Financial Solutions. Working in both financial education (where students place their future in his hands) and in advisory work (where clients do the same with their money), Brett has seen that trust grows through candor, responsibility, and relationship.

Tune in as Brett shares what he has learned about trust through the years, including the value of saying “I don’t know,” owning mistakes quickly, and treating people as more than transactions. As you listen, consider where trust in your own work depends less on being flawless and more on being transparent, steady, and willing to stick around when things get difficult.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why saying “I don’t know” can build more trust than pretending certainty.
• How a spouse’s belief and a clear time boundary helped Brett bet on himself.
• The cost of treating early, “small” clients as disposable once you’ve grown.
• What broken business promises reveal about someone’s true reliability.
• How transparent communication can preserve trust in failure.
• Why many younger investors no longer trust traditional markets and what that signals.
• How real conversation, not online conflict, restores trust across differences.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “In the end, it comes down to relationships, and I found that when people actually talk to one another, even from different viewpoints, they tend to understand one another.” - Brett Danko
• “When you’re working with clients, it’s all about trust. They have to know that you are a fiduciary. They have to know that you have their best interests at heart.” - Brett Danko
• “You can have a business that doesn’t work out, but yet the trust still remains because it’s about the longer-term relationship. That’s what really matters.” - Brett Danko

About Brett Danko:

Brett R. Danko, CFP® is the Founder and Managing Partner of Main Street Financial Solutions, LLC, where he actively advises clients on complex financial planning and investment issues. He also leads Danko Education, teaching CFP® Certification Education and exam prep courses nationwide, bringing real-world planner experience into the classroom. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Brett grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and now lives in Newtown, PA with his wife and two children.

Resources:

• Brett Danko | Danko Education
• Main Street Financial Solutions

Connect with Brett:

• LinkedIn: Brett Danko

Connect with Anne:

• LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

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If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.

What does trust actually depend on when the stakes are high and something goes wrong?

In this episode, Anne speaks with Eric Stein, partner at East Bay Investment Solutions, whose work sits inside one of the most trust-sensitive environments there is: investment decision-making. When advisors rely on your judgment to serve their clients, credibility is built in the details.

Eric shares two stories from his career that reveal opposite sides of trust. One shows how taking full ownership after a major mistake actually strengthened trust. The other shows how unclear expectations and misaligned incentives slowly weakened it.

As you listen, consider whether trust in your own work is being built by what you promise, or by what people experience when pressure arrives.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why owning a mistake can build more trust than avoiding one.
• How people decide whether you are reliable under pressure.
• The cost of delayed communication in high-trust relationships.
• Why incentives can quietly weaken trust over time.
• How better expectation-setting prevents unnecessary friction.
• What strong handoffs require when relationships change.
• Why follow-through matters more than good intentions.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “Trust is not only in what you say, but it’s in how you act and react to different things.” - Eric Stein
• “You want to certainly limit the number of mistakes you make, but if you do make them… let's make sure that we're accountable for them and how we fix them.” - Eric Stein
• “You need to trust that they're actually going to respond to you and that the relationship they have with you is as important as the relationship that we have with them.” - Eric Stein

About Eric Stein:

Eric Stein, CFA, is Partner and Senior Investment Strategist at East Bay Investment Solutions, where he serves as an outsourced Chief Investment Strategist for select financial advisory firms. With prior leadership roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and RSM U.S. Wealth Management, Eric brings deep experience across portfolio construction, risk analysis, asset allocation, and advisor support. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal and writes regularly on markets, due diligence, and investment strategy.

Resources:

• East Bay Investment Solutions
• Services & Pricing
• Schedule an Intro Call
• Join the Email List
• Learn How East Bay Helps

Connect with Eric:

• LinkedIn: Eric Stein

Connect with Anne:

• LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

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If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.

What actually earns trust: expertise or evidence of care?

In a world full of information and increasing complexity, the real tension is not access to answers, but confidence in who is giving them.

In this episode, Anne sits down with Eric Ludwig, a retirement income specialist, researcher, and advisor who operates at the intersection of practice and academia. His work centers on helping individuals deal with increasingly complex financial decisions with clarity and precision.

At the core is a simple but often overlooked idea: trust is what makes information possible. Expertise alone is insufficient. It must be paired with care, curiosity, and the willingness to revise assumptions. In medicine or finance, specialization can help you feel more confident, but only if it is based on listening instead of being sure.

Tune in to learn where trust in your own decisions comes from and whether it is rooted in credentials, care, or something deeper.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why trust determines whether information is accepted or ignored.
• How specialization signals credibility in uncertain decisions.
• What happens when incentives shift from people to metrics.
• The cost of treating clients as accounts instead of relationships.
• Why asking better questions builds more trust than giving answers.
• How AI changes access to information but not the need for human trust.
• What distinguishes expertise from perceived expertise in practice.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “Trust is… the oil in the process. If there's no trust… there's no way of really transferring information.” - Eric Ludwig
• “There's 252 different designations… How the heck do you know who to go to?” - Eric Ludwig
• “If you and I are client/advisor and there's no trust, it doesn't matter what either one of us has. The information isn't going to land.” - Eric Ludwig

About Eric Ludwig:

Eric T. Ludwig, PhD, CFP®, RICP®, is an associate professor of Retirement Income and Director of the RICP® program at The American College of Financial Services, where he also leads the Center for Retirement Income. He is the CEO of Stockbridge Private Wealth Management, bringing over a decade of advisory experience into his academic work. A nationally recognized researcher and speaker in behavioral finance and retirement planning, Eric focuses on helping individuals achieve long-term financial security through specialized, evidence-based advice.

Resources:

• Professional Designations | FINRA.org
• EricTLudwig.com
• The Retirement Specialist Book
• The Financial Insights Show
• The Influence of Risk, Financial Literacy, and Trust on Financial Advice-seeking Behavior in a Cross-racial Examination

Connect with Eric:

• LinkedIn: Eric Ludwig

Connect with Anne:

• LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

Connect With Us

If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to lear

What makes a partnership last decades when most business relationships fracture under pressure?

In this episode, Anne speaks with financial advisor and True Success Podcast co-host Daniel Friedman, whose 30-plus-year partnership with his business partner offers a rare long-term view on trust in business.

Daniel’s philosophy challenges the common idea that partnerships should be “50/50.” Instead, he believes each person must bring 100%, even when their contributions look different in a given season. Trust is reinforced not just through character, but through systems: open financial transparency, clear expectations, and a willingness to test partnerships before fully committing.

As you listen, consider where trust in your own partnerships depends not on balance, but on commitment.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why strong partnerships don’t operate on 50/50.
• How transparency inside a firm reinforces trust among partners and teams.
• Why testing partnerships before full commitment reduces long-term risk.
• The warning signs when values around money begin to diverge.
• What difficult seasons reveal about real partnership trust.
• Why clear values make difficult business decisions easier.
• How redefining success changes the way trust is built in business relationships.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “When your values are clear, your decisions are easy.” - Daniel Friedman
• "Our relationships… are 100/0. You give a hundred, I give a hundred. None of this 50/50 stuff." - Daniel Friedman
• "We always know how much money we have. We don't know how much time." - Daniel Friedman

About Daniel Friedman:

Daniel Friedman is the CEO and Co-Founder of WMGNA, which he has led since 1995. He pioneered the firm's Tax-Out Financial Solutions™ model, built around the philosophy that tax planning and financial planning are inseparable. Under his leadership, WMGNA introduced a subscription-based model, integrated CPA partnerships, and developed innovative concepts like Restylement™, a reimagined approach to retirement planning. Today, the firm serves subscribers across more than 35 states. Daniel is also the co-host of the True Success Podcast. A graduate of Denison University with a degree in History, he lives in West Hartford, CT and serves on the Advisory Board for The Miracle League of Connecticut.

Resources:

• The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker
• WMGNA.com
• True Success Podcast

Connect with Daniel:

LinkedIn: Daniel Friedman

Connect with Anne:

LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

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If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.

What if the biggest threat to your client relationships isn’t market volatility but a poorly handled referral or an unanswered question?

In this episode, Anne sits down with Larry Ginsburg, a seasoned financial advisor who has built decades-long client loyalty primarily through referrals. At the heart of his approach? Disciplined communication.

Larry believes trust isn’t built through performance alone. It’s built through consistency, clarity, and immediate responsiveness. Questions are answered promptly. Jargon is eliminated. Mistakes are addressed directly.

His core message: you’re not just in the investment business; you’re in the anxiety-reduction business. And reducing anxiety requires a deliberate, disciplined commitment to trust-building at every interaction.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why your clients stay and why it has little to do with returns.
• How immediate responsiveness changes client perception.
• The cost of using jargon in high-stakes conversations.
• What happens when advisors admit mistakes openly.
• Why giving a single referral can create unintended liability.
• How structured processes protect both trust and responsibility.
• Why every interaction shapes long-term loyalty.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “The only way to build trust is to deliver a consistency of effective communication that clients can determine for themselves is true, accurate, and respectful.” - Larry Ginsburg
• “There's no such thing as a foolish question when it comes to [your] money.” - Larry Ginsburg
• “If you're not consciously choosing to move the relationship forward, you are making a decision to deteriorate the quality of that relationship from the client's perspective." - Larry Ginsburg

About Larry Ginsburg:

Larry Ginsburg is a CFP professional with more than four decades of experience in personal financial planning. He has held senior leadership roles including Branch Manager, Regional Director, Board Member, and firm owner, and has served in leadership positions within the Financial Planning Association. Larry joined Wealth Enhancement Group in 2022 through the acquisition of Ginsburg Financial Advisors. His work focuses on helping clients reduce financial anxiety while keeping long-term goals clearly in view.

Connect with Larry:

LinkedIn: Larry Ginsburg

Connect with Anne:

LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

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If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.

What if your sales problem, leadership challenge, or retention issue isn’t really about strategy at all, but about trust?

In this episode, Anne sits down with trust expert David Horsager, founder of the Trust Edge Leadership Institute and author of multiple books on trust, including Trust Matters More Than Ever and Trust at a Distance. David has spent decades researching how trust is built, measured, and repaired inside organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to the U.S. military.

Listen in as he explains why trust is the leading indicator behind sales, engagement, referrals, and retention. He also breaks down his eight pillars of trust framework and shares how trust is built in measurable, practical ways.

As you listen, consider where trust may be the real issue behind the challenges you’re trying to solve.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why trust is the leading indicator behind sales, engagement, and retention.
• The eight pillars that determine whether trust rises or falls.
• Why clarity beats cleverness in leadership and marketing.
• How to make your message memorable, repeatable, and actionable.
• The cost of inconsistency in brand and leadership behavior.
• Why personal connection is regaining importance in a digital world.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “Clarity beats cleverness today. People want to be clever, and they want to be cute… No, clarity wins. Just say the thing.” - David Horsager
• “Every single interaction we have with every single person, we increase or decrease trust a little bit.” - David Horsager
• “If you want it to matter, it's got to be MRA… Is it memorable? Is it repeatable? Actionable?” - David Horsager

Resources:

• David Horsager
• Trust Edge Leadership Institute
• Trust Matters More Than Ever by David Horsager
• Other Books
• The 8 Pillars of Trust

About David Horsager:

David Horsager is CEO of the Trust Edge Leadership Institute and a Wall Street Journal bestselling author. He is the inventor of the Enterprise Trust Index™ and director of the global trust study, Trust Outlook®. His books include Trusted Leader, Daily Edge, and The Trust Edge. David works with leaders and organizations worldwide, from Fortune 100 companies to professional sports teams and global governments, to measure, build, and restore trust.

Connect with David:

LinkedIn: David Horsager

Connect with Anne:

LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

Connect With Us

If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.

What happens when you shift from a seven-stage approval process that screams “we don't trust you” to a radically open model where almost anyone can edit anything?

In this episode, we feature a special conversation (originally hosted by Pete Mockaitis of How to Be Awesome at Your Job) with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. Jimmy shares the story of how Wikipedia went from an intimidating, top-down editorial system to the open-source knowledge powerhouse we know today.

This conversation explores how designing systems that assume good faith promotes more trustworthy behavior. Jimmy also connects these principles to real-world examples across industries: subscription dark patterns, pandemic health guidance, social media algorithms, and why Netflix succeeded where Blockbuster failed.

As you listen, consider Jimmy’s invitation to take a “trust inventory” and notice where your own organization may be unintentionally signaling mistrust and what could change if you flipped that script.

What You’ll Learn:

• How the Seven Rules of Trust emerged from Wikipedia’s early failures and reinvention.
• What it really means to design trust at scale inside large, open systems.
• Why assuming good faith can be more powerful than control in leadership and organizations.
• How subtle design choices quietly shape whether people feel trusted or policed.
• Where modern institutions and platforms unintentionally lose credibility.
• Why transparency and independence still matter in a world driven by metrics and clicks.
• A simple “trust inventory” you can apply to your own organization or work.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• "One of the things people first think of when you say ‘what makes an organization more trustworthy?’ … is transparency." - Jimmy Wales
• “If you approach someone and you trust them—and you make it clear that you're trusting them—they're very likely to reciprocate because humans are like that." - Jimmy Wales
• “Take a trust inventory. So think about all the different aspects of your work life, your home life, all of that. ‘What are the things that I could do to help people trust me, and what are the things I can do to encourage other people to be trustworthy?’” - Jimmy Wales

Resources:

• The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last by Jimmy Wales
• Wikipedia
• How to be Awesome at Your Job
• Trust Café

About Jimmy Wales:

Jimmy Wales is the co-founder of Wikipedia and a pioneer of the open knowledge movement. In addition to Wikipedia, Jimmy is the author of The Seven Rules of Trust, where he explores how individuals and institutions can earn credibility through independence, respect, and ethical system design. His work continues to shape conversations around trust, media, and the future of the internet.

Connect with Jimmy:

LinkedIn: Jimmy Wales

Connect with Pete:

LinkedIn: Pete Mockaitis

Connect With Us

If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, th

What does real trust look like when pressure hits, incentives shift, and no one is watching?

In this episode, venture capitalist Victor Orlovski, founder of R136 Ventures and host of Ventures from the Valley, shares the raw reality of trust in the high-stakes world of startup investing. After backing a promising European startup through years of growth and nearly closing a major acquisition, Victor watched helplessly as the founders executed a legal but devastating betrayal.

He reveals how that experience influenced his entire approach to venture capital, shifting his focus from metrics and technology to the character of the people behind the pitch. This conversation explores the delicate balance between authority and democracy in leadership, why consistency matters more than personality type, and what truly happens in the room when you're not there.

What You’ll Learn:

• The three components that define trust in any relationship or business.
• Why venture capital still requires a human intermediary despite technological advances.
• How to spot red flags in founders who oversell or avoid discussing their biggest challenges.
• Why consistency in leadership matters more than leadership style.
• How organizational culture directly mirrors founder behavior (whether they're present or not).
• The difference between legal and ethical behavior in business partnerships.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• "Trust is where you withdraw yourself and people keep behaving like you are in the room." - Victor Orlovski
• “What comes first is awareness. People should know about you. Then second, people should trust you. And then—only then—you can really get what you want: money. So many founders start from the reverse order. They try to get money without establishing awareness and trust. And I think that's very important.” - Victor Orlovski
• "I'm not going to invest in a founder who exaggerates and who doesn't really have real good answers to his most challenging matters... If a founder is telling me how great things are, probably my desire to invest will diminish." - Victor Orlovski

Resources:

• R136 Ventures
• Ventures from The Valley

About Victor Orlovski:

Victor Orlovski is the founder and managing partner of R136 Ventures, an investment firm focused on mid-and-late-stage startups across the U.S., Israel, and Dubai. With decades of experience in venture capital and technology, Victor has led investments across fintech and enterprise platforms and is also the host of the Ventures from the Valley podcast, where he explores leadership, trust, and building companies for the long term.

Connect with Victor:

LinkedIn: Victor Orlovski

Connect with Anne:

LinkedIn: Anne Claessen

Connect With Us

If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.