---
id: "quote-trust-and-risk"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶5"]
tags: ["trust", "risk-taking"]
related: ["claim-formal-structure-insufficient", "concept-bridger", "contrarian-structure-vs-trust"]
speaker: "Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Jason Wild"
speakers: ["Linda A. Hill", "Emily Tedards", "Jason Wild"]
quote: "People don’t take risks with those they don’t trust, and structural efforts fail to create the social connection required to build that trust."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
source_title: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-102-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceTitle: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
---
# Trust is a prerequisite for risk

> **People don't take risks with those they don't trust, and structural efforts fail to create the social connection required to build that trust.**

**Speakers:** [[entity-linda-a-hill|Linda A. Hill]], [[entity-emily-tedards|Emily Tedards]], and [[entity-jason-wild|Jason Wild]]. This is the mechanistic heart of the argument: it links the need for [[concept-mutual-trust-influence-commitment|trust]] to risk-taking and underwrites both the [[claim-formal-structure-insufficient|formal-structure-insufficient claim]] and the [[contrarian-structure-vs-trust|contrarian]] that structures cannot manufacture trust.