Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

Welcome!

Our monthly roundup is the latest collaborative undertaking of our Trust Alliance, selected blog posts on a variety of organizational trust topics. The subjects are as diverse as the expertise of our members!

By reviewing these posts, you will have a better appreciation for the importance of embracing trust as an organizational imperative.

Let’s get started!

You think you can’t ruin your reputation in 140 characters? Think again. David Penglase explains just how easy it is (all the way from Australia!)

Duke’s Coach K is one of my trust heroes and Randy Conley not only agrees but shares the secrets to trustworthy leadership.

While many will argue that trust should always be extended, Nan Russell provides three reasons why trust is not always the best practice. Agreed!

Have you ever considered how trust acts as a lubricant? Bob Whipple shows us six ways.

It was a close race for the most popular post of “yours truly” this month, but the winner was America’s “Top 10” Most Trustworthy Public Companies announced in the Spring issue of TRUST! Magazine.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

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.

Low trust comes with high costs.

We have just been presented with a great year-end lesson for every business professor to teach as many graduating students head into corporate America.

What happens when two of the most disliked companies in America try to merge? NOTHING.

Thanks to Tom Wheeler at the FCC, Comcast’s Brian Roberts is licking his wounds. Years of Washington lobbying and deal making just weren’t enough to seal the Comcast/Time Warner deal.

And when all is said and done, every stakeholder loses. What a perfect case study in trust, and it can be taught in one hour!

Assignment #1:

Read TIME Magazine article providing overview of the players and events leading up to the failed merger.

Assignment #2:

Read Slate.com article on the most hated merger in America

Assignment #3:

Read the Wall St. Journal article on how the big investment banks lost out on $380 million in fees

Assignment #4:

A big win for consumers? Not so fast.

Assignment #5:

Entrenched local monopolies are not a “win” for consumers.

Assignment #6: (this could also be Assignment #1)

The Washington Post spends time discussing Roberts leadership and the role it played in this failed merger.

Assignment #7:

Read Return on trust 4-9 and  my article on How to Cut Your Biggest Expense. (Maybe someone can deliver copies to Brian Roberts.)

Questions to ask your students:

• What is the role of the Board of Directors in building stakeholder trust?
• What is the role of the CEO?
• Why are companies like Comcast and Time Warner hated by their customers?
• What societal “good” could have come out of the merger? Hint: investment bankers getting wealthier and larger monopolies don’t count.
• What should Comcast and Time Warner leadership do now to begin to earn the trust of their stakeholders?
• What companies do you consider trustworthy and why?

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

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.

The Spring issue of TRUST! Magazine, celebrating trustworthy organizations,  is now available. It’s free by signing up at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

We recently assembled twenty of John Wooden’s greatest quotes on building trust, followed by John Maxwell’s. Now we turn our attention to Zig Ziglar, an American author, salesman and motivational speaker who passed away in 2012. To many, Ziglar remains “America’s most influential and beloved encourager and believer that everyone could have, do and be more.” 

This article pulls together twenty of his most inspiring quotes. Regardless of your role in life- a parent, teacher, business or religious leader, Zig Ziglar has a message about character, competency and consistency, the key ingredients for building trust.

• “The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.”
• “Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there”
• “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”
• “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
• “Don’t count the things you do, do the things that count.”

• “You cannot consistently perform in a manner which is inconsistent with the way you see yourself.”
• “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
• “A narrow mind and a fat head invariably come on the same person.”
• “The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”
• “If you don’t plan your time, someone else will help you waste it.”

• “If you pay that price daily by planning and preparing and working to become the right kind of person, then you can legitimately expect to have all that life has to offer.”
• “Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared, but only men of character are trusted.”
• “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
• “People who accomplish great things work toward their objectives every day.”
• “Send out a cheerful, positive greeting, and most of the time you will get back a cheerful, positive greeting.”

• “The depth of your spirit will determine the height of your success.”
• “Ask yourself a question: Is my attitude worth catching?”
• “Value and purpose are about understanding the specific benefits you will help people receive if they receive what you have for them.”
• “If you have the character to hang in there when its tough, you will develop or acquire every other characteristic necessary to WIN in the game of life.”
• “With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.”

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

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.

The Spring issue of TRUST! Magazine, celebrating trustworthy organizations,  is now available. It’s free by signing up at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Collaboration fosters better decision-making, and by working together, groups can achieve extraordinary outcomes.

On a personal level, collaboration:

• Improves communication skills
• Stimulates critical thinking
• Enhances self esteem
• Builds confidence
• Motivates individuals to take risks
• Builds self-control
• Allows for evaluation of personal values and goals
• Builds empathy
• Teaches to listen with respect
• Develops conflict resolution skills
• Shifts the focus from the “short term” to the “long term”

As a group, collaboration:

• Increases productivity
• Speeds up decision-making
• Encourages creativity
• Simplifies workflows
• Pools skills and resources
• Fosters diversity
• Increases profitability
• Brings balance to decision-making
• Encourages win/win situations
• And most importantly, builds trust

High trust organizations embrace collaboration which leads to high productivity and profitability.

The next time someone asks you to collaborate, perhaps your first response won’t be “What’s in it for me?”

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

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.

The Spring issue of TRUST! Magazine, celebrating trustworthy organizations,  is now available. It’s free by signing up at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

We recently assembled twenty of John Wooden’s greatest quotes on trust. Now we turn our attention to John C. Maxwell whose philosophy is simple: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

His life’s passion is in developing leaders at all levels. Along the way he’s written over 70 books and spoken to millions of people about what it takes to become a great leader.

This article pulls together twenty of his most inspiring quotes. Regardless of your role in life- a parent, teacher, business or religious leader, John C. Maxwell has a message about character, competency and consistency, the key ingredients for building trust.

1. “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.”
2. If a good reputation is like gold, then having integrity is like owning the mine.
3. “Your success stops where your character stops. You can never rise above the limitations of your character.”
4. “Image is what people think we are; integrity is what we really are.”
5. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.”
6. “Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”
7. “Actions are remembered long after words are forgotten.”
8. “To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another.”
9. “Growth inside fuels growth outside.”
10. “If you don’t change the direction you are going, then you’re likely to end up where you’re heading…”
11. “Success is… knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
12. “A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others.”
13. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
14. “People tend to become what the most important people in their lives think they will become.”
15. “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
16. “LISTEN twice as much as you speak.”
17. “If you wouldn’t follow yourself, why should anyone else?”
18. “A Chinese proverb says, “Those who drink the water must remember those who dug the well.” Gratitude is one of the most attractive of all personal attributes;”
19. “He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.”
20. “There are no short cuts to any place worth going.”

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

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.

The Spring issue of TRUST! Magazine, celebrating trustworthy organizations,  is now available. It’s free by signing up at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

“We all know the next crisis will come….but in the meantime it’s business as usual.”

Those were the exact words spoken by the Chief Communications Officer of a well-known financial services company at a recent conference I attended on trust.

Other than an enlightened handful, most companies continue to ignore the business case for trust and its inherent strategic advantages:

• Fewer crises and the ability to recover more rapidly as a result of having “banked” trust
• Faster decision making
• Higher employee engagement
• Greater innovation (high trust fuels high innovation, not the other way around)
• Increased long-term profitability

But instead, let’s continue to watch trust decline across all major institutions, talk about it from time to time, and choose never to implement long-term trust-building strategies. After all, it’s “business as usual” until the next crisis as evidenced by our current collective mentality:

• Disengaged boards with minimal diversity
• Short-term profit maximization at all costs
• Decreasing CEO tenure and increasing compensation packages tied to quarterly earnings
• Siloized decision making
• Increased regulation and larger legal and compliance departments
• High employee turnover
• Using CSR or sustainability “programs” as corporate window dressing
• Taking trust for granted or passing it off to the communications folks like a hot potato.

But as a reminder, industry is not destiny and “hats off” to those companies and organizations that have chosen a different path. We applaud you for your efforts. You can read about them and the updated business case for trust in the Spring issue of TRUST! Magazine published this week by registering on our signup link.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

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.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Trust Across America Names Most Trustworthy Public Companies 

Trust Across America- Trust Around the World (TAA-TAW) global leaders in organizational trust, this week announced the results of a five-year study of over 2000 US based public companies, naming Texas Instruments (TI) as the Most Trustworthy Public Company for the period 2010-2014. Barbara Kimmel, Executive Director states: “We are pleased to see TI top this list.  The company has a history of trustworthy behavior as evidenced by the following long-term corporate vision:

“One of TI’s greatest strengths is its values and ethics. We had some early leaders who set those values as the standard for how they lived their lives. And it is important that TI grew that way. It’s something that we don’t want to lose. At the same time, we must move more rapidly. But we don’t want to confuse that with the fact that we’re ethical and we’re moral. We’re very responsible, and we live up to what we say.”

– Tom Engibous
Former chairman, president and chief executive officer, Texas Instruments – 1997

Kimmel cautions that no company is perfect. While the ongoing short-term, quarterly earnings focus is disappointing, we are encouraged by mounting evidence that long-term profitability is enhanced in organizations choosing to lead with trust. It should also be noted that while the average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO has fallen to 4.6 years, those in our “Top 10” average 8.4 years.

To create this index, TAA-TAW began with a universe of over 3000 publicly-traded North American companies, evaluating more than 2000 to identify those receiving the highest 5-year ranking on five equally weighted quantitative indicators of trustworthiness that comprise the proprietary FACTS® Framework: Financial stability, conservative Accounting, Corporate integrity, Transparency and Sustainability.  Companies are not nominated, nor do they participate in this analysis in any manner.  The model independently identifies those with the highest scores in all five FACTS® indicators. A final screen scans news for unacceptable trust violations that might include fines, inappropriate CEO conduct, accounting irregularities, avoidable security breaches, etc.

The framework initially conceived and developed in 2008, is “the most holistic and comprehensive trust “health” checkup for public companies,” according to its founders. “It’s all about corporate culture and leadership, said Barbara Kimmel. If Boards and CEOs remain unwilling to place trust at the top of their daily agenda, they are missing out on a tremendous competitive advantage.

America’s “Top 10” Most Trustworthy Companies is shown below in rank order. Congratulations to these outstanding companies.

1. Texas Instruments
2. Intel
3. Nike
4. Hormel Foods
5. Lexmark
6. Southwest Airlines
7. Accenture
8. Whirlpool
9. Staples
10. Disney

Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™ provides the most comprehensive tools and resources for organizations to transition to high trust through a global collaborative network. More information about our honorees and their best practices can be accessed via the free spring 2015 issue of TRUST! Magazine by registering on our signup link.

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For more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Barbara Kimmel, please email barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Trust Across America Names Most Trustworthy Public Companies 

and North American Trust Award Honorees 2014

Trust Across America- Trust Around the World (TAA-TAW) global leaders in organizational trust, today announced the results of a five-year study of over 2000 US based public companies, naming Texas Instruments (TI) as the Most Trustworthy Public Company for the period 2010-2014. Barbara Kimmel, Executive Director states: “We are pleased to see TI top this list.  The company has a history of trustworthy behavior as evidenced by the following long-term corporate vision:

“One of TI’s greatest strengths is its values and ethics. We had some early leaders who set those values as the standard for how they lived their lives. And it is important that TI grew that way. It’s something that we don’t want to lose. At the same time, we must move more rapidly. But we don’t want to confuse that with the fact that we’re ethical and we’re moral. We’re very responsible, and we live up to what we say.”

– Tom Engibous
Former chairman, president and chief executive officer, Texas Instruments – 1997

Kimmel cautions that no company is perfect. While the ongoing short-term, quarterly earnings focus is disappointing, we are encouraged by mounting evidence that long-term profitability is enhanced in organizations choosing to lead with trust. It should also be noted that while the average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO has fallen to 4.6 years, those in our “Top 10” average 8.4 years.

To create this index, TAA-TAW began with a universe of over 3000 publicly-traded North American companies, evaluating more than 2000 to identify those receiving the highest 5-year ranking on five equally weighted quantitative indicators of trustworthiness that comprise the proprietary FACTS® Framework: Financial stability, conservative Accounting, Corporate integrity, Transparency and Sustainability.  Companies are not nominated, nor do they participate in this analysis in any manner.  The model independently identifies those with the highest scores in all five FACTS® indicators. A final screen scans news for unacceptable trust violations that might include fines, inappropriate CEO conduct, accounting irregularities, avoidable security breaches, etc.

The framework initially conceived and developed in 2008, is “the most holistic and comprehensive trust “health” checkup for public companies,” according to its founders. “It’s all about corporate culture and leadership, stated Barbara Kimmel. If Boards and CEOs remain unwilling to place trust at the top of their daily agenda, they are missing out on a tremendous competitive advantage.

This year Trust Across America is also awarding twelve special organizational honors named in recognition of many of our 2015 Top Thought Leaders in Trust Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Via nomination, these special awards recognize a cultural commitment to trust as an organizational strategy.

Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™ helps organizations by collaborating with global leaders to provide all the tools and resources required to transition to high trust. More information about all our honorees and their best practices can be accessed via the free spring 2015 issue of TRUST! Magazine by registering on our signup link.

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For more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Barbara Kimmel, please email barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

The trust “imperative.”

We read about it daily. We listen to it on the news. We attend conferences where it’s discussed.

We must build trust….we must rebuild trust… in business, financial services, government, policing, media, sports, etc.

But rarely is there mention of the requisite leadership traits, culture change, or practical solutions essential to building trust.

Why is that?

The answer is simpler than you might think.

Building or rebuilding organizational trust cannot happen unless ownership of trust is voluntarily assumed by the person at the very top of the organization. And this rarely occurs because:

• Boards do not place criteria like integrity or other components of high trust on their leadership hiring agenda
• Leaders are too busy putting out fires created by their refusal to build trust into their business strategy
• Leaders are preparing for the next crisis instead of learning what’s required to avoid or minimize them
• Leaders are ensuring that all the regulations are being met by hiring more compliance and legal staff instead of a Chief Trust Officer
• Leaders seldom come out of their ivory tower and on to the shop floor to build trust with their employees who were not necessarily hired for the “right” reasons.

There is simply no time in the day left for trust.

Instead, trust is taken for granted or occasionally used in marketing and communications as a “tool” to persuade consumers.

Until leaders readily accept the business case for trust, it is destined to always take a back seat in most organizations, and trust will continue it’s year over year decline.

Richard Branson, author and founder of Virgin Group is credited with this quote: “The most valuable business commodity is trust.” 

There is simply no point in talking about trust if it is not followed by action.

You can read about organizations that have placed trust on their agenda in the upcoming edition of TRUST! Magazine to be published on April 17. It is our celebration of trustworthy organizations.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

Our 2015 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.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Welcome to our “living bibliography” on trust.

We are pleased to provide the latest free update to our followers.

This bibliography is provided courtesy of Bob Easton, an essay contributor to our book, Trust Inc., Strategies for Building Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset.

Robert (Bob) Easton is a Senior Managing Director at Accenture, where he has been for the past 15 years. Bob has worked and lived throughout the world including: New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Germany, London and currently, the United States. He is well known for the contributions he has made to building trust based relationships. Bob’s specific research interest is in the relationship between trust and well-being and the implications for trust models and flourishing institutions. He calls for a positive deviance of trust and proposes a new conceptualization of trust to achieve this deviance –appreciative trusting or ‘the deliberate and intentional pursuit of maximal trust in others-even to the limits of prudence’. Bob can be contacted at robert.j.easton@accenture.com.

The bibliography will be updated monthly as we receive new references and resources. Please send your suggestions to Barbara Kimmel. E-mail: barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Again, the latest update can be accessed here. We hope you find it useful.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. 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.

Our 2015 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.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.