I got burned because I chose to trust someone.
I was a sale representative in a tile factor some years before. Normally, we arranged the production after signed the contract and got the deposit. However, I got a big headache when I breaded the rule and trusted my client. It is normal to stop the production before the Chinese New Year, so our factory would like to arrange the production and ship out the goods a month ahead before the holiday. As a sale representative, I had to talk to my clients this message. one of my client said he needed the material and would ship out soon, but he could not arrange the payment soon and ask for production first. because he is my old client and cooperate for a long time, I believed that he would arrange the payment soon and took the material. Otherwise, I would miss the order and could not arrange the production when I got the deposit late.
However, I was wrong. He never paid the deposit and forgot the material, due to some reasons. As a result, the material couldn't ship and sit in the warehouse. It was a big mistake and very upset to my boss. I learned to know that without deposit, clients could change their mind very easily. it is better to get some deposit instead of official 20% or 30% to guarantee the contract. I assume that is the meaning of "Alignment of interests"(Hurley).
References
Hurley, Robert F. (2006, september). Harvard Business Review. The Decision to Trust. P55-62.
