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

Yogi Berra’s passing earlier this week struck a chord both close to home and around the world. To many he was a prolific philosopher, a practical joker and an “all American” kind of guy.  Something you might not know about Yogi Berra…he was an avid hockey fan. As a teenager, his son played for a rival team to my high school alma mater and Yogi never failed to make a game. Humble and always with a smile is how I will remember him. 

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

1. “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”
2. “I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better.”
3. “You can observe a lot just by watching.”
4. “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
5. “90% of the game is half mental.”
6. “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
7. “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be. ”
8. “Pitching always beats batting — and vice-versa.”
9. “When you come to a fork in the road take it.”
10. “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
11. “You have to give 100 percent in the first half of the game. If that isn’t enough, in the second half, you have to give what’s left.”
12. “If you ask me anything I don’t know, I’m not going to answer.”
13. “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”
14. “It’s not too far; it just seems like it is.”
15. “Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.”

My favorites are #1, #7, and #15. 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
• Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
• Elie Wiesel for the Jewish New Year

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, in celebration of  the Jewish New Year, we turn our attention to the words of Elie Wiesel, a Jewish writer, professor and Nobel Laureate. A few years ago I was fortunate to meet him at a small gathering in New York City where he spoke about leadership, integrity and peace.

This article pulls together twenty of Elie Wiesel’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. “One person of integrity can make a difference.”
2. “For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and, of course, its consequences.”
3. “There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win.”
4. “Think higher, feel deeper.”
5. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.”
6. “Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.”
7. “Indifference is the sign of sickness, a sickness of the soul more contagious than any other.”
8. “Peace is our gift to each other.”
9. “Some stories are true that never happened.”
10. “Not all games are innocent. Some come dangerously close to cruelty.”
11. “Which is better, truth that is a lie or the lie that is truth?”
12. “Questions outlive the answers.”
13. “Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.”
14. “A word is worth a thousand pictures.”
15. “Man’s strength resides in his capacity and desire to elevate himself, so as to attain the good.”
16. “…Those who know don’t talk and those who talk don’t know.”
17. “For the good of all, I say: Be careful, the brutality of the world must not be more powerful or attractive than love and friendship.”
18. “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”
19. “Never again” becomes more than a slogan: It’s a prayer, a promise, a vow.”
20. “The silence of two people is deeper than the silence of one.”

My favorites are #8, #15, and #16. 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
• Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner

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.

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

at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Our September Trust Quest asked the following question:

What is the bigger issue in your organization? 

Leadership doesn’t trust its employees?

Employees don’t trust their leaders?

And here are the results of our poll…

71% of our respondents said that employees don’t trust their leaders.  What does this say about leadership? How long will leaders continue to ignore the impact on their organization of low employee trust including:

• Disengagement
• High turnover
• Low innovation
• Poor morale

Trust starts at the top. It can’t be delegated to HR or any other department. The tools to build trust are readily available to enlightened leaders who choose to make trust a business priority.

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.