The Speed of Trust - The One Thing That Changes Everything

The Speed of Trust – The One Thing That Changes Everything
By Stephen M.R. Covey with Rebecca R. Merrill
review by vmsteveo

This is a shout out to all you Covey freaks! Stephen M.R. Covey is following in his fathers footsteps with his first book "The Speed of Trust". If you don’t know who Stephen M.R. Covey is, he was the "Green and Clean" son from his fathers book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". That great story of his sons stewardship of the family yard and his trials and tribulations with self management and accountability has stuck with me for the past 17 years!

Anyway, Stephen M.R. Covey hit a home run dialing into one of the most important yet overlooked aspects of any personal or business relationship, trust. Covey sets the stage with an abundance of data citing various publications that point toward an ever growing lack of trust in today's society from corporate scandals to broken personal relationships and everything in between. He begins by simply breaking the cause and effect of trust down to the essence of a mathematical formula:

Covey explains when trust is non-existent, speed of the transaction goes down and costs go up.

6Trust = 6Speed 5Cost

In comparison, when trust is present, speed of the transaction goes up and costs go down.

5Trust = 5Speed 6Cost

He continues to explain that a well thought out strategy (S) is important as well as the method of execution (E) which equals the end goal or result (R):

S x E = R

Add the multiple of trust (T) and the "true" result can vary greatly depending on if it’s a trust tax (low or no trust) or a trust dividend (high trust). Coveys formula is expanded by a trust multiple:

(S x E)+/-T = R

For example, if your business plan has a go to market strategy rating of 10 (on a scale from 1-10) and your method of execution a 10 the result equals 100:

(Strategy (10) X Execution (10)) = 100

But, if we take into consideration the lack of trust, then we have to include a trust tax of 40:

(Strategy (10) X Execution (10)) - Trust Tax (40) = 60

In comparison, if the relationship has a positive trust factor, then we have a trust dividend of 20:

(Strategy (10) X Execution (10)) + Trust Div (20) = 120

Definitions of the trust multiples are explained in detail and can be inserted into the above equations.

Next, Stephen explains the 5 waves of trust:

Self – The confidence we have in ourselves. Under the Self wave there are 4 Cores on Credibility:
1. Integrity – Walking your talk
2. Intent – Our motives, agendas and resulting behavior
3. Capabilities – talents, skill sets
4. Results – Track record, performance

Relationship – Creating “trust accounts” with others. This section beaks out 13 chapters for the following behaviors that drive successful relationships:

Behavior #1: Talk Straight – Be honest
Behavior #2: Demonstrate Respect – Care for others
Behavior #3: Create Transparency – Tell the truth in a way people can verify
Behavior #4: Right Wrongs – Make things right when your wrong
Behavior #5: Show Loyalty – Give credit freely
Behavior #6: Deliver Results – Establish a track record
Behavior #7: Get Better – Continuously improve
Behavior #8: Confront Reality – Address the tough stuff directly
Behavior #9: Clarify Expectations – Disclose and reveal expectations
Behavior #10: Practice Accountability – Hold yourself accountable
Behavior #11: Listen First – Listen before you speak
Behavior #12: Keep Commitments – Say what you do, then do what you say
Behavior #13: Extend Trust – Demonstrate a propensity to trust

Organizational – Spanning trust across all kinds of organizations, non profit, governmental
Market – Your company brand being trustworthy
Societal – Creating trust for society at large

In summary, The Speed of Trust is packed with great advice on increasing trust on a personal and organizational level. Like most of the Covey books, this one comes equipped with worksheets, matrices and exercises to enable you to determine and improve your trust factor.

So I leave you with one thought provoking question: What can you do today to increase your personal and professional trust factor? I would enjoy hearing your comments.

See you in the trenches - vmsteveo