Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

Trust & regulation mix like oil and water, yet oil always rises to the top.

The 2015 PWC CEO Survey has just been released, and 78% of CEOs are concerned about over-regulation, and for good reason. Regulation happens to be a trust killer, but that’s not their main cause for concern. Regulation, like low trust slows down the pace of business and innovation. It’s also very costly.

Richard Sexton, PWC’s Vice Chairman of Global Assurance, filmed this short video in which he (attempts to) explain the important role of trust in business, except he misses the mark. To PWC, the route to trust is through (more) reporting. Create more boxes to check and teach companies how to check them and like magic, you’ve got trust!

So let’s recap, CEOs are burdened by increasing regulation and the escape hatch is via more reporting. Except trust CANNOT be regulated and it’s also NOT a check the box finite reporting “project.”

Building organizational trust begins when the CEO, with the support of his or her Board, commits to run a trust-based organization and takes the required steps to do so. But there are certain prerequisites that must be met in order to make this commitment:

• The C-Suite must acknowledge and embrace the importance of building trust. The business case has been made but it is being ignored by the vast majority of organizations.
• Building trust is a long-term strategy that may have a short-term negative impact on earnings.
• Trust as a business strategy requires a certain mindset and “type” of CEO, and a Board that supports this.
• And perhaps most important, building trust cannot be delegated.

Hiring more compliance staff, increasing regulation and checking more boxes will not build stakeholder trust, regardless of what this survey and others have claimed. PWC may be carving out a “reporting” practice area that will serve it’s internal needs and that of its clients for many years to come, but it’s as much about trust as oil and water.

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.

What can we learn about building trust from the world’s greatest leaders, teachers, writers and philosophers?

JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

We recently highlighted:

•  John Wooden’s greatest quotes on building trust
•  John Maxwell’s greatest quotes on building trust
•  Zig Ziglar’s greatest quotes on building trust and
•  Mahtma Gandhi’s greatest quotes on building trust.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day so this week we turn our attention to Theodor Seuss Geisel (affectionately known as Dr. Seuss) an American writer and cartoonist. Dr. Seuss published 46 children’s books and for many mothers, including myself, hours were spent reading these books to our children and conveying many life lessons along the way. This article pulls together twenty of his most inspiring quotes. Regardless of your role in life- a parent, teacher, business or religious leader, our beloved Dr. Seuss has a message about character, competency and consistency, the key ingredients for building trust.

If you are a Mom, buy yourself a Dr. Seuss book for Mother’s Day and share it with your kids. It may just be a gift of a lifetime.

1. “Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.”
2. “It is better to know how to learn than to know.”
3. “With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.”
4. “You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. but mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?”
5. “Nothing is going to change, unless someone does something soon”
6. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”
7. “You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”
8. “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent!”
9. “I’m afraid that sometimes you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ’cause you’ll play against you.”
10. “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
11. “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
12. “Only you can control your future.”
13. “You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.”
14. “I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”
15. “It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.”
16. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
17. “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”
18. “ASAP. Whatever that means. It must mean, ‘Act swiftly awesome pacyderm!”
19. “Oh, the things you can find if you don’t stay behind!”
20. “You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.”

My favorites are #5, #6 and #20. How about yours? 

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.

Did you know that information overload has lowered our attention span to only eight seconds?

Even “Top 10” lists, a favorite of social media enthusiasts just a few years ago, have now been condensed to “Top 6’s or 5’s” or moved totally away from the written word to short and catchy “feel good” phrases, posters or video sound bytes. Bookstores certainly aren’t thriving, nor are newspapers or magazines. It’s hard to read an article in 8 seconds, let alone a book.

If you want to grab someone’s attention you better be able to do it quickly, or so the PR and marketing folks will tell you. But they just might be wrong, and those “gurus” who choose these “race to the bottom” marketing tactics fuel the chronic low- trust epidemic, instead of playing a much needed role in the solution.

Trust is built in incremental steps and high trust relationships certainly require more than 8 seconds to establish. Short “to do” lists or catchy phrases, just don’t cut it. But ironically, there ARE 6 essential steps we can all take to build the first foundational layer in the “trust construction” process and they CAN be completed in under 8 seconds.

Trash Your Ego: Leave your ego at the door when you meet someone for the first time or attend a meeting. If others think you perceive yourself as better than they are, you might as well not show up at all.

Make Eye Contact: Eye contact is a sign of honesty and reliability. There is a reason why dishonest people are said to have “shifty eyes.”

Shake Like You Mean It: A strong handshake signals confidence in yourself and your abilities, essential components of trust.

Cell Phones be Gone: How often do you check your phone during a meeting? It’s a lack of respect, and more importantly, a clear indication that you are not listening. It takes two to build trust so don’t be distracted.

Smile With Warmth: William Arthur Ward is credited with saying “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” And kindness and warmth build trust, as do sincere compliments.

Tell the Truth: Remember, once you lie and get caught, nothing you EVER say will be accepted as the truth.

Gotta run, I’ve gone over the 8 second limit!

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.

Yes, Hillary Clinton is “Dogged by Trust Issues” according to several recent polls including this one reported in Investor’s Daily. Hillary even has her own long-term personal “trustworthiness” graph as published in the Washington Post, and she has called for a restoration of trust among Americans.

Trust, trust and more trust. One would be hard pressed not to agree that “trust” is a central theme in this presidential contestant’s campaign. But should it be?

Emphatically NO! Not in Hillary’s campaign, nor in any other politician’s.

At a minimum starting point, trust requires:

• Character, competence and consistency. Many politicians, including Hillary, possess the competence component. It’s the other two that are usually lacking.
• Trust is built over time and in incremental steps. It’s not a campaign platform nor a short-term PR strategy.
• Finally, there is the question of whether one can separate professional trustworthiness from personal. The answer is a simple “No.” Either one is “holistically” trustworthy or they are not.

Given these foundational prerequisites for trust, there is not a single politician that should ever utter the word “trust”, let alone call for its restoration or use it to get elected.

But the most important reason for politicians to drop the word trust is found in our two-party system where the “trust” prerequisite for presidential candidates does not even exist. Democrats and Republicans alike will vote for who they view as the “best” candidate, regardless of how trustworthy they are, or claim to be. “Best” is defined not by level of trust, but rather by how the voter thinks the candidate will benefit him/her the most, or how big a cut of the pie will come the voter’s way.

So my advice to Hillary and all her opponents would be to drop the word “trust” from all future speeches, articles and campaign platforms and focus on being politicians, what they actually “do” quite well. Be honest about who you are. Leave the word “trust” to those who have a genuine interest and “pure” motive to improve it for the long-term betterment of society.

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.

What can we learn about building trust from the world’s greatest leaders, teachers and philosophers? JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

We recently highlighted:

•  John Wooden’s greatest quotes on building trust
•  John Maxwell’s greatest quotes on building trust and
•  Zig Ziglar’s greatest quotes on building trust.

This week we turn our attention to Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest Indian spiritual leaders of all time, and a believer in justice. This article pulls together twenty of his most inspiring quotes. Regardless of your role in life- a parent, teacher, business or religious leader, Mahatma Gandhi has a message about character, competency and consistency, the key ingredients for building trust.

1. “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.”
2. “Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
3. “The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.”
4. “Action expresses priorities.”
5. “Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”
6. “It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one’s acts.”
7. “Manliness consists not in bluff, bravado or loneliness. It consists in daring to do the right thing and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds not words.”
8. “Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.”
9. “I cannot conceive of a greater loss than the loss of one’s self-respect.”
10. “Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.”
11. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
12. “The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful then a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
13. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
14. “There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.”
15. “A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”
16. “Speak only if it improves upon the silence.”
17. “It is easier to build a boy than to mend a man.”
18. “Truth is one, paths are many.”
19. “Fearlessness is the first requisite of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral.”
20. “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

My favorites are #5, #6 and #14. How about yours? 

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.

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.