The Trust Battery

Shopify has a concept called the 'trust battery' - every relationship starts somewhere in the middle, and each interaction either charges or drains it. Deliver on a commitment? The battery charges. Miss a deadline? It drains. Over time, you build up a charge that lets you take bigger bets.

Kids understand batteries. They understand that their tablet dies when it's drained and works when it's charged. This is a powerful metaphor for trust.

'When you told me you'd clean your room and you did, that charged our trust battery. When you said you'd be home at 5 and came home at 6 without calling, that drained it a little. The more charged our trust battery is, the more freedom I can give you.'

It's not punishment - it's physics. Trust isn't a switch you flip. It's energy you build. And unlike a tablet battery, it takes much longer to charge than to drain.

Every promise kept is a charge. Every broken commitment is a drain.