Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

Imagine visiting a shoe store and failing to provide the salesperson with information on your shoe size, color or the style you are seeking yet expecting to leave with the shoes that meet your needs.

Rarely a day passes without a note or a call asking some variation of the following question:

Do you have a questionnaire or a tool, to detect the level of trust in an organization?

And every time, I respond with “What are you trying to measure or detect?”

Trust is not a “one size fits all” proposition. These are just a few of the variations, and each has it’s own tool and/or assessment mechanism:

• Self-trust
• Internal trust including trust among team members, between teams, and trust between leaders and employees.
• External trust between the organization and its stakeholders including suppliers, vendors and customers.
• Organizational trust or its trust “worthiness” both internally and externally.

In most organizations trust is taken for granted perhaps because of the simple belief that “one size DOES fit all.” I hope you enjoy your shoes and that they meet your needs!

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as Editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

I love receiving unsolicited emails from folks thinking deeply about trust. Yesterday David Heath shared the following and I am excited to pass David’s thoughts along to you.

The Ten Laws of Trust: In much the same way that the Boy Scouts movement maintains ten laws that guide the behaviour of every member, so too might we describe ten laws of Trust. These laws should guide everyone in the pursuit and enjoyment of Trust.

• Trust is congruent. It starts from within. It starts with the simple statement, “I will be trustworthy.” And from there, the desire, nay the imperative, to achieve trustworthiness.
• Trust is reciprocal. If I am Trustworthy, it is reasonable to expect people to trust me in return. Maybe I will get burned, but without the spark of trust, there is nothing.
• Trust is consistent. In any relationship, there is an expectation that people will behave in the same manner as they have done previously. The con-man continues to con, the trusted remains trustworthy.
• Trust is inflationary. In any positive relationship, simply our continued presence will increase the level of trust.
• I will be constructive in my Trust. In any positive relationship, I will actively do things to increase the level of trust; in a negative relationship, I will seek to identify and remove the barriers to trust.
• Trust is expansive. As Trust grows, I will expect more and more positive outcomes from the relationship.
• Trust is individual and unique. A Trust relationship does not require me to agree with everything you say or do. It does however permit me to set our differences aside in the pursuit of common goals.
• Trust is remedial. Whenever mutual Trust is damaged, and it will happen, I will actively seek to repair the relationship.
• Trust is respectful. I understand that others may choose to not Trust me – that is their choice. I will respect their decision and continue to be as trustworthy as I can possibly be towards that person.
• Trust is discriminating. Trust and respect are two quite different things and I will not confuse the two. I will however work hard to align them as closely as I possibly can.

Thank you David for this creative and original perspective on trust. What do you think about David’s “Ten Laws?” Do you have other thoughts about organizational trust? Send them along to barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

David Heath is a New Zealand-born Australian resident who initially pursued Geology and ended up with a Computer Science degree.  These days, David writes for a living – predominantly as an Instructional Designer for a major industrial control vendor where as well as writing multi-hundred page technical training manuals, he also delivers a variety of  in-company courses including a “Train the Trainer” course.  In addition David is Security Editor for an on-line IT news site.

Being an INTJ, David cannot possibly be restricted to a single area of interest and as part of his exploration into improved communication came across the works of Charles Green and Barbara Kimmel in the field of ‘Trust..’  He continues to pose the question, “what makes us trust the trainer?”

In the wake of the ongoing Volkswagen trust debacle and lot’s of “hot potato” blame games, our November Trust Quest asks:

Who’s Responsible?

What are your thoughts? Will you take 60 seconds to weigh in?

In the words of Richard Branson…

“The most valuable business commodity is trust.
There is simply no point in talking about trust if it is not followed by action.”

Nominations are now open for our 6th annual Trust Across America-Trust Around the World Top Thought Leaders.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations identify their core values to build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Trust is a holistic subject encompassing leadership, teamwork, crisis management, reputation management, risk, compliance, corporate responsibility and a host of interrelated components.

TRUST! Magazine’s 1st Anniversary issue brings together some of the best and the brightest service providers who are  working to advance the global cause of organizational trust.

Read more about the work they are doing at this link, the FREE fall issue of TRUST! Magazine.

If you are interested in advancing trust in your organization, I hope you choose to avail yourselves of these resources.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel, CEO & Cofounder Trust Across America-Trust Around the World

Access magazine here

Who would you nominate as a Top Thought Leader for 2016?

For the 6th year, the search has again begun! Trust Across America-Trust Around the World seeks to identify global Top Thought Leaders to join our roster of past honorees and our Lifetime Achievement Award Winners including Patricia Aburdene, Bill George, Jim Kouzes and Jeffrey Seglin.

It’s hard to remain optimistic about organizational trust.  Global scandals abound in business, sports, media, academia and politics, to name just a few. And organizations like Edelman and Gallup continue to report on declines in trust across all major organizational groups.  But as we’ve said for years, industry is not destiny.

Since 2010 Trust Across America-Trust Around the World has sought to identify thought leaders whose professional work encourages the “right” core values in organizations, supporting and fostering a climate of trust. We celebrate professionals from a variety of disciplines including leadership, teamwork, collaboration, values, culture, ethics, governance, compliance, corporate responsibility, etc., who are transforming the way organizations do business, and who also “walk their talk.”

Many of our past honorees are well-known CEOs, authors and leadership advisors, while others are quietly working behind the scenes as teachers and researchers. We acknowledge and reward all their efforts in elevating societal trust and look forward to reviewing this year’s pool of nominees.

Who would you nominate as a Trust Across America-Trust Around the World 2016 Top Thought Leader?

Please feel free to share this link , read our 2015 press release, or send us a note with comments and suggestions. Email to:  barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations identify their core values to build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

In the wake of the growing Volkswagen scandal, our October Trust Quest asks:

Do you think Organizations should have a Trust Function such as Legal or Compliance?

What are your thoughts? Will you take 60 seconds to weigh in?

bit.ly/1L6m6cA

In the words of Richard Branson…

“The most valuable business commodity is trust.
There is simply no point in talking about trust if it is not followed by action.”

Nominations are now open for our 6th annual Trust Across America-Trust Around the World Top Thought Leaders.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations identify their core values to build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

It’s been a bad week for Volkswagen and the “trust” and leadership bloggers are having a field day. But two questions remain unanswered.

• Did Volkswagen betray trust?
• Did the “right” heads roll as a result?

“No” to both. In order for a betrayal to occur, trust must have first been present, and in this case the CEO is simply the fall guy in a large intentional coverup.

Volkswagen could not betray something that never existed: Let’s not forget that the auto industry is one of historical low trust dominated by regulators, the enemy of trust. Have we forgotten about Takata, General Motors and Fiat/Chrysler? Volkswagen is not even the first company to rig emissions.

The new CEO is merely another pawn: Who is naive enough to believe that Volkswagen’s new CEO can “rebuild” trust? Who suggested that rebuilding trust be his message? Was it his legal team or the PR department?  This should simply not be the corporate message, nor is it the responsibility of the CEO. Rather, the construction of trust sits squarely on the shoulders of the company’s Board of Directors, one that has historically thumbed its nose at trust. Like many companies, Volkswagen’s board composition is far from ideal, and its claimed core values, have been nothing more than empty words. The company simply failed to walk its talk, and instead of the Board, the CEO took the fall.

Core values that incorporate trust as a business imperative and are practiced daily give companies a competitive advantage, but in today’s society they are rarely more than a sign on the wall at corporate headquarters.  And that’s why we continue to drift from one corporate scandal to the next, with no end in sight. Will Volkswagen’s board of directors address its lack of practiced core values? Will they take the blame for this latest scandal? These are the questions bloggers and the public should be asking. Based on the Board’s actions over the past several days, I highly doubt they will do either.

What’s my long-term prediction for Volkswagen? Like others before them, the new CEO will be instructed to talk about rebuilding trust, the company will pay their fines, and it will be “business as usual” until the next crisis. Too bad for you, me and every other stakeholder.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Our annual poster, 52 Weeks of Activities to Increase Organizational Trust is available to those who would like to support our work by making a small donation.

Did you know we have published 3 books in our award-winning TRUST Inc. series. They are yours when you join our Alliance.

Help us continue our work in organizational trust by purchasing our award-winning books

at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

What can we learn about trust from the great leaders, teachers, writers and philosophers?

JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

This week we turn our attention to the words of Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, coauthors of The Leadership Challenge, educators and management consultants. I have gotten to know Jim over the past several years, and he has recently been named one of our Lifetime Honorees as a Top Thought Leader in Trust. While many “talk trust,” Jim is one of just a small handful of people who “walks their talk.” 

This article pulls together twenty of Jim and Barry’s most inspiring quotes. Regardless of your role in life- a parent, teacher, business, religious or military leader, the following contain many messages about character, competence and consistency, the key ingredients in building trust.

1. “Exemplary leaders know that if they want to gain commitment and achieve the highest standards, they must be models of the behavior they expect of others.”
2. “The leader’s unique legacy is the creation of valued institutions that survive over time. The most significant contribution leaders make is not simply to today’s bottom line; it is to the long-term development of people and institutions so they can adapt, change, prosper, and grow.”
3. “There’s nothing more demoralizing than a leader who can’t clearly articulate why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
4. “Titles are granted, but it’s your behavior that earns you respect.”
5. “Find your voice by clarifying you personal values.”
6. “Leaders enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.”
7. “The best way to lead people into the future is to connect with them deeply in the present.”
8. “You can’t fast track your way to excellence.”
9. “Leaders don’t have to change history, but they do have to change “business as usual.”
10. “Leading by example is more effective than leading by command.” Unite your constituents around a common cause and connect with them as human beings.”
11. “Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.”
12. “The leader merely coordinates and puts into action the wants and desires of the group.”
13. “People commit to causes, not to plans.”
14. “Living in a cave does not make you a geologist and simply being in a management position does not make you a great leader.”
15. “Leadership can’t grow in a culture that isn’t supportive of continuing development.”
16. “Say thank you. Let the other person know that you appreciate his or her feedback and that you can’t get any better without knowing more about yourself and how your actions affect others.”
17. “Leaders say YES.”
18. “The worst thing someone can do is to see a problem and think it is someone else’s responsibility.”
19. “The next time you see a problem and say “Why doesn’t someone do something about this?” take a look in the mirror and say instead, “I’ll be someone to do something about it.”
20. “Model the Way – Inspire a Shared Vision – Challenge the Process – Enable Others to Act – Encourage the Heart”

My favorites are #1, #11, #13 and #20. How about yours? Want to read more from this series? We recently highlighted some of the best quotes on building trust from:

•  John Wooden
•  John C. Maxwell
•  Zig Ziglar
•  Mahtma Gandhi
•  Dr. Seuss  (for Mother’s Day)
•  George Bernard Shaw
•  Military Leaders (for Memorial Day)
•  Napoleon Hill
•  Deepak Chopra 
• Quotes for fathers, from fathers and about fathers (for Father’s Day)
• Peter Drucker

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Our annual poster, 52 Weeks of Activities to Increase Organizational Trust is available to those who would like to support our work by making a small donation.

Did you know we have published 3 books in our award-winning TRUST Inc. series. They are yours when you join our Alliance.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

If your life is anything like mine, you spend waste at least an hour every week, sometimes more, on a customer service issue involving some third party vendor who claims to be in business to enhance your personal or professional life. Comcast, Verizon, First Energy and all health insurance providers top this list. I’m not sure why these companies still bother using the word “service.” CHR or Customer Hindrance Representative would be more accurate.

These calls usually begin by pressing lots of buttons, entering many codes and personal information, and then being put on hold due to “heavy call volume” while being told the “call is important to us.” Often, before the offshore CHR picks up, the call is disconnected, and the process must be repeated. The latest “innovation” is notification that the call is being recorded. For whose benefit is that? One can only guess.

Who remembers when customer service meant something? When customers came before profits, calls were answered by an actual living being who had at least an elementary command of the English language, and who hadn’t been handed a robotic script to answer questions? It wasn’t really that long ago. But apparently now companies think they can save redirect money by hiring minimum wage, offshore CHRs and then, in the name of “training” hand them a list of responses that were certainly written by the legal department, and from which they cannot deviate. Not only are these companies sending a message that they do not trust their employees, apparently they also have little regard for their customers. The term “I apologize” is #1 on this script and so companies have taken two sacred words and devalued them into meaningless drivel that is supposed to solve all customer issues, regardless of the problem.

Is it any wonder why consumers have so little regard for the companies with which they do are forced to do business? Is it any wonder why trust in business continues to decline? Is it any wonder that more than 70% of employees are disengaged at work?

Who decided this was a “better way?” How did this happen? Is there a solution?

I propose a simple experiment.

• Put every manager on phone duty for one week. Heck, call it “The Golden Rule” CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program and kill two birds with one stone.
• Send the entire legal department on vacation during this same time period.
• Replace the script with these 7 words: Let me see what I can do.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Co-founder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World . Established in 2008, the program’s mission is simply to provide tools and assistance to organizations interested in building stakeholder trust. Barbara runs the world’s largest organizational trust membership program. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Barbara is an award-winning communications executive and former consultant to McKinsey who has run her own firm, Next Decade, Inc., that has been unraveling and simplifying complex subjects for over twenty years. She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch at the City University of NY.

I wish I could take credit for the title of this article but it belongs to Marillyn A. Hewson, Lockheed Martin’s CEO and a Trust Across America 2015 Top Thought Leader in Trust. In a recent article in National Defense Magazine, Ms. Hewson discusses the steps required to integrate trust and ethics. If you don’t have time to read the full article, these are the five steps:

• Establish an ethics program grounded in values
• Build a culture of communication
• Lead by example
• Address issues quickly
• Hold business partners to the same standards

As Hewson shows, this process pays off.

The leadership consulting firm KRW International recently looked into business ethics. They found that moral leaders actually tend to make their companies more profitable. Employees rated their bosses on attributes like character and integrity, and sure enough, businesses led by upright CEOs saw an average return on assets nearly five times greater than those led by bosses perceived to be less moral.

This is further evidence of  Trust Across America’s updated business case for trust, the first article in the spring issue of TRUST! Magazine and our claim that trust is the “ultimate” compliance and ethics program.

The majority of business leaders continue to hold fast to their beliefs that trust is a “soft” skill, while the enlightened minority embraces trust as a business imperative and reaps the rewards.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Co-founder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World . Established in 2008, the program’s mission is simply to provide tools and assistance to organizations interested in building trust. Barbara runs the world’s largest organizational trust membership program. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Barbara is an award-winning communications executive and former consultant to McKinsey who has run her own firm, Next Decade, Inc., that has been unraveling and simplifying complex subjects for over twenty years. She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch (City University of NY).