In 1995 Deutsche Bank advertised with the line Vertrauen ist der Anfang von allem, trust is the beginning of everything. In 2017 the brand consultant Klaus-Dieter Koch corrected it in the trade magazine Horizont: Vertrauen ist eben nicht, wie mal ein Claim der Deutschen Bank gesagt hat, der Anfang von allem, sondern der Endpunkt von allem. Und das gilt es sich zu erarbeiten. Trust is not, as a Deutsche Bank slogan once said, the beginning of everything, but the end point of everything. And it has to be earned.
Trust Comes on Foot
Vertrauen kommt zu Fuß und geht zu Pferd. — Trust comes on foot and leaves on horseback.
der Vertrauensvorschuss — an advance of trust, given before it has been earned
Vertrauen verspielen — to gamble trust away
Wer einmal lügt, dem glaubt man nicht, und wenn er auch die Wahrheit spricht. — Whoever lies once is not believed, even when he tells the truth.
A Habit Becomes a Right
In German labor law, a benefit an employer repeats regularly can become an entitlement. This is called betriebliche Übung, company practice. The classic case is a Christmas bonus. If an employer pays it three years in a row without stating in writing that it is voluntary, the employee can claim it in the fourth year. The employer cannot simply withdraw a right created this way. He must give formal notice of changed terms of employment, an Änderungskündigung.
Trust Is Good, Control Is Better
Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser, trust is good, control is better. It is a common German saying. It is usually attributed to Lenin. The saying does not appear in his works, and the attribution cannot be documented.
Six minutes late
In 2013, Denver Broncos football player Elvis Dumervil signed a three-year contract with a pay-cut and then had trouble sending in the paperwork. It arrived at the team headquarters six minutes late.
In those six minutes, his team managers, thinking that Dumervil would not accept the pay-cut, decided to remove him from the team rather than keep him at the higher salary rate. If he had just followed up with his managers, and let them know that he had signed the documents and was in the process of sending them, he would probably still have his job.
Follow up (verb): to follow with something similar, related, or supplementary; to maintain contact with (a person) so as to monitor the effects of earlier activities or treatments; to pursue in an effort to take further action. First known use was in 1767.