“Y2K is a crisis without precedent in human history.” – Edmund X. DeJesus, editor of BYTE magazine

(Fortunately, Jan. 1, 2000, came and went without major incident.)

As a sole proprietor adopting the hub model management style shifts from the typical supervisory communication channel to more of a peer-to-peer trust.

From Supervisor to Conductor

(Or: Stop Tuning the Violins)

When you hire vendors in a virtual model, you are not hiring trainees.

You are hiring professionals with years — sometimes decades — of expertise.

You are not their supervisor.

You are their client.

And more importantly, you are the conductor of the orchestra — not the violin instructor.

You don’t teach the musicians how to play.

You cue them.
You coordinate them.
You shape the tempo.
You ensure harmony.

Then you let them perform.

Why This Is Harder Than It Sounds

If you come from a traditional corporate background, this shift can feel deeply uncomfortable.

Hierarchical organizations are not built on trust.

They are built on supervision.

Everyone is second-guessing:

• Employees filter information to impress their manager.
• Managers edit it to impress their manager.
• Executives “verify” it before passing it up.
• The CEO sends it to an external consultant to validate what everyone already knew.

By the time a good idea reaches daylight, it is exhausted.

I once worked in a company where even small decisions required:

1. Team review
2. Executive rubber stamp
3. CEO sign-off
4. External consultant confirmation

That wasn’t leadership.

It was institutional insecurity.

In that system, mistrust is baked in.

And if you grew up professionally in that environment, you likely absorbed it.

Even if you don’t realize it.

Control Freaks Beware

I meet more control-oriented entrepreneurs than trusting ones.

That style will not work in a hub model.

If you hire experts and then:

• Demand weekly “are we there yet?” meetings
• Rewrite their work
• Second-guess every tactic
• Micromanage execution

You will drive them mad.

They already know how to do their job.

They do it for multiple companies.

Why would they need supervision from someone doing it for the first time?

And yet, they endure this constantly — hired by people who can’t do what they do, then forced to report on it endlessly.

It is corporate comedy.

And not the funny kind.

If you selected them for expertise — let them use it.

The Due Diligence Trap

Entrepreneurs from traditional structures often overcompensate with excessive analysis.

They investigate endlessly:

• Compare five vendors.
• Interview seven more.
• Run detailed background checks.
• Negotiate every clause.

Meanwhile, the best vendors quietly move on to easier clients.

If a vendor already works with several reputable companies, significant due diligence has already been performed — by people with more experience and more at stake than you.

Put your ego aside.

You are not discovering fire.

You are selecting a partner.

The Opposite Problem: Blind Trust

Now, let’s swing the pendulum the other way.

If you come from a non-corporate background — perhaps homemaking, freelancing, or creative work — you may lean too far toward trust.

You may hire the first person who seems enthusiastic.

You may assume good intentions guarantee good performance.

You may overshare sensitive information too quickly.

That instinct comes from optimism.

But optimism is not risk management.

This is where intuition becomes your filter.

The Feel of Intuition

True intuition does not feel like excitement.

Excitement is fast.
It is buzzy.
It is slightly anxious.

Intuition is calm.

It is steady.

It feels like quiet certainty in the pit of your stomach.

No drama.
No rush.
No pressure.

If it feels rushed, urgent, or overly thrilling — pause.

Trust is not blind.

It is deliberate.

The Shift to Peer-to-Peer

In the hub model, your vendors are not subordinates.

They are peers.

The relationship shifts from:

“Report to me.”

To:

“Let’s achieve this together.”

You define:

• Outcomes
• Timelines
• Benchmarks

They define:

• How

You monitor results.

You do not supervise activity.

This requires maturity.

It also requires self-awareness.

Ask yourself:

• Am I trying to control because I am afraid?
• Am I trusting because I am avoiding responsibility?

Neither extreme works.

The Real Goal

The goal is to build a network so competent and aligned that your daily involvement becomes lighter over time.

If you find yourself constantly intervening, either:

1. You selected poorly, or
2. You have not learned to step back.

The conductor does not play every instrument.

The conductor ensures alignment.

That is leadership at a higher level.

And once you experience that shift — from supervisor to orchestrator — you will wonder why you ever believed trust was weakness.

In the hub model, trust is leverage.

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People who lean too far toward mistrust assume the worst.

They see hidden motives everywhere.
They assume future betrayal.
They imagine worst-case scenarios before the ink is dry.

I once had an investor who insisted we use his attorney for vendor negotiations. The lawyer was the kind who believed every closet concealed a skeleton, and every comma was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

We were a small company negotiating with much larger vendors.

The result?

Endless wordsmith tennis.

Questions about hypothetical catastrophes.
Revisions of revisions of revisions.
Legal paranoia dressed up as prudence.

Eventually, several vendors simply walked away.

Not because the economics were wrong.
Not because the partnership was flawed.

But because we were exhausting.

That was a lesson.

The Balance Point

If you are too mistrustful, you repel good partners.

If you are too trusting, you attract bad ones.

The secret is brutal self-honesty.

Which side do you lean toward?

• Suspicious by default?
• Optimistic to a fault?

Then deliberately move toward the middle.

Success with balance.

Why Trust Is Complicated

Roger Kramer wrote in Harvard Business Review that human beings are predisposed to trust. It’s evolutionary. It helped us survive as a species.

But that same wiring can get us into trouble.

Research shows we:

• Trust people who look like us.
• Trust people who feel familiar.
• Trust members of our “group.”
• Trust those who use subtle physical touch.

Even small similarities in facial structure increase trust ratings in studies.

None of this is rational.

It’s biological.

And it can mislead you in business.

Confirmation Bias: The Friendly Trap

We also see what we want to see.

Psychologists call this confirmation bias.

If we believe someone is competent, we overweight evidence that supports it and ignore evidence that contradicts it.

That’s why founders often reuse vendors they’ve worked with before — because it feels safe.

Because of my own tendency toward easy trust, I deliberately compare new vendors against familiar ones.

More often than not, the new option outperformed my “trusted” favorite.

Familiar does not mean optimal.

The Illusion of Invulnerability

Another cognitive illusion makes us underestimate risk.

We know things can go wrong.

We just don’t think they’ll go wrong for us.

Until they do.

Balancing this requires something subtle:

Space.

When you step away from the desk — go for a walk, sit quietly, disconnect — sometimes you notice a faint discomfort.

That small tightening in the stomach.

That is often intuition whispering, “Look again.”

You rarely hear it when you are buried in spreadsheets.

The Manipulation Problem

Our trust wiring also makes us vulnerable to charm.

Studies show skilled manipulators often:

• Smile frequently
• Maintain strong eye contact
• Use light, appropriate touch
• Engage in friendly banter
• Say things like “Let’s just be honest with each other”

It works.

We interpret warmth as trustworthiness.

But warmth is not integrity.

Trust is one thing.

Judgment is another.

Practical Safeguards

As the owner, it is your responsibility to:

1. Select wisely.
2. Evaluate objectively.
3. Negotiate fairly.

And then — install guardrails.

1. Build Cancellation Language into Contracts

Clear termination clauses make trust easier.

Short initial terms (one year) with automatic renewal provide flexibility.

A start-up’s agility is a strength.

If a vendor underperforms, you simply don’t renew.

Contrast that with traditional companies, where removing poor performance can require months of HR gymnastics.

2. Give Regular Feedback

Hiring experts does not mean disappearing.

Trust does not mean silence.

Regular communication:

• Keeps alignment strong
• Prevents drift
• Reinforces standards
• Shows appreciation

Even simple positive feedback keeps performance high.

Neglect creates ambiguity.

Ambiguity invites complacency.

3. Trust Yourself

After analysis.
After safeguards.
After clear contracts.

Trust yourself.

If something feels off, investigate.

If something feels solid and calm, proceed.

Entrepreneurs often battle self-doubt.

They wonder if they are being naïve.
Or too cautious.
Or too soft.
Or too aggressive.

Self-trust is developed — not inherited.

And it grows through experience balanced with reflection.

Belonging and Worthiness

Many startup founders carry a quiet undercurrent of self-doubt:

• “Am I experienced enough?”
• “Will they take me seriously?”
• “What if I miss something obvious?”

Those doubts can push you toward over-control or over-trust.

Neither is strength.

The strength lies in grounded confidence:

“I will evaluate carefully. I will protect intelligently. And then I will move forward.”

Trust widely.
Judge wisely.
Install safety nets.

And remember:

Trust is not blindness.
Suspicion is not intelligence.

Balance is power.

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