Why Every Business Relationship Comes Down to One Question: Can I Trust You?

In this episode, Ajay Saini speaks with Scott Carley, a leadership consultant, speaker, and author of Can I Trust You? Scott spoke about trust, leadership, and personal transformation in business and life. Scott shares his unconventional journey from formal training in theology and decades as a pastor and church growth consultant, to a major personal failure that shattered trust and forced him to rebuild his life, relationships, and career from the ground up. Scott explains how that experience led him into the business world, where he has spent the past 25 years helping organizations strengthen leadership teams, navigate growth, and integrate cultures during mergers and acquisitions. Central to his work is the concept of a “Trust Credit Score”, a practical framework that recognizes that people are constantly, often subconsciously, asking one critical question in every interaction: Can I trust you?

He breaks trust down into five measurable areas:

1. Vibe (how you show up and your body language),

2. Motives and agenda,

3. Values,

4. Skillset and expertise, and

5. Track record and results.

Scott explains how individuals and teams can score themselves or others in these areas to identify gaps, build trust intentionally, and improve collaboration and performance. The conversation also explores how understanding personality differences helps teams appreciate diverse working styles rather than seeing them as personal conflicts. Scott shares how trust frameworks and “courageous conversations” allow leaders to address issues directly, keep people “in character” in their roles, and maintain high-performing, energized teams

The episode concludes with Scott’s advice for business owners: real success starts with personal growth. Investing in yourself through coaching, masterminds, reading, and reflection creates internal change that naturally spills over into stronger leadership and better business outcomes. Scott emphasizes that even small, consistent habits, like reading or listening to books for 10 minutes a day, can compound into life-changing results over time