Jul 8, 2009 | 0 comments

The True Speed of Trust

My favorite read of the summer so far is a book I never expected myself to love.  Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm often captivated by books on business and organization.  I enjoy charts and graphs, and have been known to chuckle over anecdotes illustrating successful (and sometimes hilariously unsuccessful) workplace practices.  One thing I've found over the years about business-related books, however, is that it takes extremely solid concepts to make them bearable.  One misstep and what was supposed to be a piece about overcoming adversity in the workplace turns into a mushy self-help extravaganza.

Some months back, I attended a talk by Stephen Covey encompassing ideals from his book The Speed of Trust.  It was a great session by a man who not only believed in his message, but who also was obviously onto something big.  I picked up his book a few days later, but in a trend many of you will find familiar, was quickly sidetracked by business and family.  Last week, I finally found a few spare moments to pick it up again, and it's fabulous!

Covey's main premise is that there is one principle which directly influences every dimension of life - trust.  Without trust as a solid foundation in our relationships, both business and personal, we have nothing.  However, if trust is given top billing, timelines shorten and profitability flourishes.  He illustrates this concept perfectly with the story of how Warren Buffett acquired McLane Distribution from Wal-Mart in a meeting that only lasted 2 hours.  Because the companies trusted each other, they were able to avoid lengthy legal proceedings and millions of dollars in additional fees.

Throughout the book, Covey stresses the importance of building a strong basis in trust by starting small with personal actions and spreading outward from there.  The 'Five Waves of Trust' (Self, Relationship, Organizational, Market, and Societal) are descriptions of how to enable yourself to see, speak, and behave in ways that establish trust in your relationships and inspire others to be trustworthy, as well. 

As I read through the section on relationships, it struck me that the concepts were ones that most of us learned as kids.  They are also the very core of what I've thought of as 'business' over the years, as a result of conscious effort as well as basic instinct - tell the truth, be respectful, right wrongs, be loyal, deliver results, constantly improve, be realistic, create shared vision up front, be accountable, listen carefully. 

The rules seem so simple, so common-sense.  However, as I read over them and thought back on past business relationships, both successful and not-so-successful, it was easy to see what made each one either flourish or fail.  I can think of one recent instance in particular where the main spokesperson for a client was not open to realistic goals and was not up-front with what their vision for the project and our relationship should be.  Conversations and negotiations dragged and broke down.  Costs rose because of lost time and additional (yet completely avoidable) labor.  As a result of these unfortunate events, the project came to a halt and we were forced to cut ties. 

Looking back now it makes me cringe, but I understand where things went awry - we went out of our way to prove our character and capabilities, while trusting that the client believed in the same ideals as MCA.  Unfortunately, we were wrong.  Lesson learned; as Covey so wonderfully illustrates, a company that is based on trust will automatically expect the same from its counterparts and, within the confines of good judgment, extend that trust to everyone they interact with.  Vice versa, those who don't understand the value of trust will be overly suspicious of others, missing opportunities and chances for innovation while decreasing speed and increasing cost.

Luckily, Covey's last section covers the importance of forgiveness, another lesson from childhood (even if it's still difficult to swallow every now and then).  He describes broken trust as "an opportunity to get your own act together, to improve your character and competence, to behave in ways that inspire trust...your effort may well affect others in positive ways, and it will definitely enable you to create more high-trust relationships in the future."   I look forward to a long future of doing business with my trusted clients, those currently known as well as those who are as-of-yet undiscovered. 

Get more info or grab a copy of the book here.