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.

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.

As the co-founder and Director of Trust Across America – Trust Around the World, I’ve been studying organizational trust (and trustworthiness) for the best part of seven years, have spoken to hundreds of global experts, and read thousands of articles, blog posts and books. I’ve also edited and contributed to three books in our TRUST Inc. series, publish a magazine called TRUST!, and regularly attend and speak at conferences. Some might call me an expert, but nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the more I learn about trust and trustworthiness, the less I understand it.

If you are like me, it’s almost impossible to go a full week without the news covering another major trust violation. Last week it was Hillary’s turn, before that Bill O’Reilly following on the heels of Brian Williams, and so on. These stories come and go and the American public has come to accept them as the norm. In fact, with each violation, the shock factor seems to diminish.

The following are ten observations I have made about trust & trustworthiness in American society:

• Because there is no universally accepted definition of trust, your definition of trust and your standards of trustworthiness are different than mine. In fact, even prisoners think they are more trustworthy than the general population. Some of the self-proclaimed trust and leadership experts I have met are the least trustworthy upon close and careful inspection of their character, competence and consistency, yet they believe they are in a position to advise others.

• As family “time” has eroded over the past generation, the moral compass that, in the past guided future generations (parenting) has all but disappeared. Compound this with the “win at all costs” mentality promoted by coaches on athletic fields across America and future generations may not be empowered with the right tools or behavior.

• America’s entire public educational system is based on “grades” not learning, and cheating and grade inflation have become an accepted norm in schools and universities. Parents “game” the system by having their children classified as “math anxious or test frightened” so they are allotted extra time on tests to boost that all important GPA, and Athletes have it the best. In other words, parents are not helping their children to grow up to be trustworthy adults.

• Government officials, beginning with our local community leaders place their political agendas before the betterment of the constituents who elected them, and this obliterates the opportunity to build community trust. Our elected officials believe that if they don’t violate any laws, they are trustworthy. Americans are very forgiving of trust violations and even outright lies. In fact they overlook them.

• Same goes for corporate America. Our “win at all cost” athletes and students are considered to be the “best in class” and are recruited by major companies. There’s no “moral compass litmus test” administered before the job offer. Similar to our government leaders, corporate leaders also believe that as long as they stay “just to the right” of compliance, and grow their quarterly earnings, there is no need to give a second thought to cultivating a trustworthy organization or hiring for the “right” reasons. Stock buybacks, executive compensation and short-termism are all trust busters.

• Boards of directors don’t understand the role of organizational trust any better than the leaders they select. One need look no further than the composition of most Boards to appreciate and understand this.

• Trust CANNOT be regulated yet many think it can. As my colleague Alain Bolea at Business Advisors Network commented in a recent article:

Rules are often put in place to curtail the abuses of the past. A “leader” that is only guided by compliance begs the question: What would their behavior be in the absence of rules? Does one want to follow someone that needs rules to know what is right? Or are true leaders to inspire trust by staying clear of conflicts of interest and abuses of power.

• The word “trust” is so overused and misused that it is no longer sacred. The media throws around the word “trust” as if it were  a headline hot potato. Frequently, journalists and writers confuse trust with regulation, loyalty and ethics. But the word “trust” is a better sound byte, so why not misuse it?

• And speaking of the media, they continue to perpetuate low trust by focusing only on the bad actors, giving no “space” to those who are doing the right thing.

• I frequently talk about trust with leaders of organizations of different shapes and sizes.  Not only do they not “get it” they have little interest in learning. They believe trust is all about falling into someone’s arms and hoping they catch you.  Instead of embracing trust as a business strategy, leaders hold their collective breaths hoping they are not the subject of the next news headline.

Is there a silver lining to this bleak picture?  Yes, because some families still gather around the dinner table every night and not every child is a cheater. There will always be the Bobby Knights vs. the Mike Krzyzewskis, and the first day of work for a new hire at Zappos may be very different than the first day at JP Morgan. In other words, industry is not destiny. Like most things in life, trustworthy people and organizations line up along a bell curve. Half are below average, but half are above average, and a select few find themselves all the way to the right. They are the heroes and stars that should be making the headlines.

Just the other day, someone told me that Trust Across America – Trust Around the World is making a difference. I suppose the growth of our Alliance proves that we are moving in the right direction. But a gnawing fear remains. Trust is not only misunderstood, overlooked or taken for granted by most people, leaders and organizations, it’s also voluntary. And, after all, why give a second thought to that which is not regulated, at least not in America?

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

Sometimes my friend “Karma” plays the most interesting tricks on me, as she has done this week with this classic corporate “trust tug of war.”

On Monday I wrote a blog post called CEOs “Suck” at Trust.

Soon after, my friend Corey Dubrowa at Starbucks reminded me that not all CEOs are created equal, and shared this recent video of Howard Schultz describing the future of corporations and their trust imperative.

I remain a big supporter of Howard because of his focus on trust. His name has been included among our Top Thought Leaders for several years, and I wrote about him back in 2011 in a CNBC blog called “We Need More People Like Howard Schultz”

And then this morning, Karma came knockin’ with an article in my inbox called Corporate Governance Issues for 2015 written by another acquaintance Holly Gregory. It begins with this sentence: “Governance of public corporations continues to move in a more shareholder-centric direction.” Holly describes the push, pull and pressures companies face in meeting the short-term demands of shareholders and long-term value creation.  At the end of Holly’s article she touches on the role of the corporation in rebuilding trust, from a somewhat philosophical perspective.

So which one will it be in 2015? Do we slog through another year of misdirected Boards and CEOs focusing on the short-term needs of shareholders, or will more follow the example being set by Howard Schultz?

I’m hanging my hat with Howard. As has been proven, again and again, the best companies are those with a long-term stakeholder value perspective. They are not sacrificing profitability for trust, in fact, quite the opposite. The business case for trust has been made. Enlightened companies have Boards and CEOs who get that. The rest allow themselves to remain caught in that ever present net of short-termism.

I want to do my part to help reverse this seemingly never-ending cycle of mistrust in business. I will repeat the offer I made on Monday. For the remainder of the month of December, any public company CEO or Board Member who emails me at barbara@trustacrossamerica.com with their name, title and US company address will be sent our complete three-book award-winning TRUST Inc. series at no cost, with no strings.

PS- I am a proud long-term Starbucks shareholder! Keep up the good work Howard.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. 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.

Copyright 2014 Next Decade, Inc.

Forgive me for being so brash, but the facts are the facts. One of the most enlightening moments of my 5+ year career as the Executive Director of TAA-TAW came recently when a CEO looked me straight in the eye and said “Trust, I like that word.” Quite simply, he had never considered it as a business strategy, let alone an imperative.

So why do CEOs suck at trust? Primarily because Boards of Directors do too. As I’ve said before, the crisis of trust that many describe is really a crisis of leadership. Why does it exist? In public companies, the reasons are simple. The Board and CEO are unwilling to adopt trust as a long-term strategy because it may, in the very short-term, impact:

• Quarterly earnings
• Wall Street’s support
• Shareholder value
• Their own compensation and tenure

And they are not willing to sacrifice any of these, even for one quarter. Case closed.

There are other reasons why CEOs in both public and private companies, suck at trust. These are just a few of the most important:

1. They do not possess the core values required of a trustworthy leader- character, competence, consistency and generosity.
2. They have not taken the time to find out what matters to the people they lead.
3. They have never considered the benefits of strong corporate values and culture.
4. They rely too heavily on their legal and compliance team, doing only what is “legal” as opposed to what is “right.”
5. They believe that crisis repair is less costly than building long-term trust.

As I have said many times before, industry is not destiny nor is any company perfect. But when the Board and the CEO suck at trust, the chances are that all the employees will too.

Over the past 12 months, we have published three award-winning books in a series called TRUST Inc. and a new magazine called TRUST! Some of the world’s leading experts have weighed in on how organizations can not only improve trust with all stakeholders, but we have also proven that trust impacts bottom line profitability.  My guess is only a handful of the Board members and CEOs I describe above have read any of these publications. After all, why bother?

“Short termism” is a trust killer, that’s why. Yet it’s the strategy that most Boards and CEOs have adopted and choose to embrace. Too bad for them. It’s why they suck at trust.

I want to do my part to help reverse this seemingly never-ending cycle of mistrust in business. For the remainder of the month of December, any public company CEO or Board Member who emails me at barbara@trustacrossamerica.com with their name, title and US company address will be sent our complete three-book series at no cost, with no strings. Let’s see how many take advantage of this offer. What’s your guestimate?

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. 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.

Copyright 2014 Next Decade, Inc.

Without trust people give up on relationships and leave organizations. Ken Blanchard

(from Trust Across America’s Weekly Reflections on Trust 2014)

Last week we added a new blog feature called Organizational Trust this Week, beginning with the “Good” and ending with the “Ugly.” Each story contains a trust component and at least one lesson for organizations seeking to make trust a business imperative.

THE GOOD

Under new leadership, SAC Capital (now Point 72 Asset Management) will “Reward What Matters”

What happens when the word “integrity” is omitted from the mission statement?

This boss lists “being direct” as a key to good leadership.

THE BAD

Are the actions of the new Walmart CEO trust-builders or trust-busters?

The food retailer who took one step forward and two steps back in building trust.

Are Boards moving in a “trustworthy leadership” direction in their selection of CEOs?

THE UGLY

Dear CDC, You can’t win back something that never existed.

OUR MOST POPULAR POST THIS WEEK

And finally, Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s most popular post on LinkedIn Pulse this week. The Trust Crisis is a Preventable Disease.

Send us your stories for consideration in future editions of Organizational Trust this Week. Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Cultivate trust by deepening the conversation. Patricia Aburdene

(from Trust Across America’s Weekly Reflections on Trust 2014)

Today we start a new blog feature called Organizational Trust this Week, beginning with the “Good” and ending with the “Ugly.” Each story contains a trust component and at least one lesson for organizations seeking to make trust a business imperative.

THE GOOD

Silos kill trust: Mary Barra is Breaking Down Silos to Build Trust at GM

Corporate DNA should not change when the CEO leaves: Pimco’s new CEO Doug Hodge will Remain True to the Corporate DNA 

Corporate transformations take time: Marissa Mayer remains passionate and focused on corporate transformation at Yahoo

Great leaders say these things to their employees: John Brandon discusses 17 things great leaders should say

How much influence should CEO’s have on their Boards? Interesting research from George Mason University’s Derek Horstmeyer Beyond Independence, CEO Influence and the Internal Operations of the Board

THE BAD

Trust is busted when fines are nothing more than a slap on the wrist: AT&T pays $105 million fine and gets to keep the rest

The big pharma industry is an ongoing trust disaster: Why exactly are prescription drugs so expensive? 

What to do when the CEO has an affair? Nothing. It doesn’t violate the company’s ethics and integrity policies!

Here’s what the same CEO has to say about company ethics.

THE UGLY

When it comes to violations of trust, it doesn’t get much worse than the unfolding scandal at Sayreville High School in NJ: Governor Chris Christie makes a statement. But the best part is what a former NFL trainer had to say. Read the full article.

OUR MOST POPULAR POST THIS WEEK

And finally, Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s Most Popular Post on LinkedIn Pulse this week

Send us your stories for consideration in future editions of Organizational Trust this Week. Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Successful leadership is not about being tough or soft, sensitive or assertive, but about a set of attributes. First and foremost is character. — Warren Bennis

Ask any group of people whom they trust and the two most common answers will be “parents” and “siblings.” Ask them why and they will talk about longevity, familiarity and shared experiences. Rarely will the answer to the first question be a coworker or a boss.

What makes families unique? Each has its own culture. But if the family culture is corrupt, so are the offspring. The same applies to organizations, regardless of their size, industry or composition.

Someone recently asked me if there were any “quick fixes” for low-trust organizations. My answer was simply “Diseases can’t be cured with Band Aids.” Trust takes time and it is built in incremental steps.

If you lead an organization and want to build trust into its DNA, it all begins (and ends) with you.

Start with an assessment of yourself:

• Are you trustworthy?
• Do you have integrity, character and values?
• Do you share those values with your family?
• Do you instill them in your children?
• Do you take your personal values to work?

Perform an organizational trust audit:

• Have you built trust into your organizational culture with the support of your Board?
• Is it reflected in your statement of values and credo?
• How do you practice it?
• How well do you communicate it?
• Can it outlive you?

Consider your internal stakeholders:

• Do you discuss trust daily?
• Do you encourage feedback?
• Do you share a consistent vision?
• Do you model openness and vulnerability?
• Do you use transparent decision-making?
• Do you ask for input?
• Do you have long-term trust-building goals and execute them well, one by one?
• Do you share every “Wow” moment in your organization?
• Do you communicate, communicate, communicate?

Consider your external stakeholders:

• Have you shared your vision and values in building a trustworthy organization?
• Have you identified the outcome(s) you are seeking?
• Have you defined your intentions for each of our stakeholder groups?
• Have you made promises that you will keep?
• Have you determined the steps you will take to fulfill these promises?

Remember, the fish rots from the head. Every problem in an organization, including low trust, can be traced back to its leadership.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

If a brand genuinely wants to make a social contribution, it should start with who they are, not what they do. For only when a brand has defined itself and its core values can it identify causes or social responsibility initiatives that are in alignment with its authentic brand story. Simon Mainwaring

We know that trust is built in incremental steps via a holistic approach that begins with leadership voluntarily choosing to make trust a business imperative. In other words, trust and trustworthiness become core values. Many companies, however, choose to view trust through the narrow lens of corporate social responsibility. They measure their good citizenship according to the number of boxes they check on the various independent surveys and standards of “proper behavior,” and then they use the awards and rewards in their messaging to their stakeholders. Sadly a good percentage of these programs in no way reflect the overall health of the company, and fall very short on gauging the trustworthiness of the organization. One need only look at some of the corporate names that rise to the top of annual “Best of CSR” lists to reach the same conclusion.

Over the past ten years much has been written and debated about corporate social responsibility programs and check the box practices:

2005 The Myth of CSR 

Corporate Social Responsibility A Study of Key Features, Benefits, Criticism and the Various Initiatives.

CSR, The Dangers of Doing the Right Thing

Corporate Social Responsibility: An Overview

At Trust Across America-Trust Around the World, we have been tracking the trustworthiness of almost 2500 public companies over the past five years using our proprietary FACTS Framework. In reviewing the data, what’s often clear is that many of the companies using CSR success as the gold standard of good business are falling far short in other areas of corporate health. Let’s not forget that Enron claimed to have one of the best CSR programs.

Where does CSR end and moral responsibility begin? Does CSR distract the public from asking deeper ethical questions. Does it similarly distract Boards of Directors and C-Suites?

Many claim that any corporate program that “betters” society is good, but not everyone agrees on what is “better” or good. We argue that the betterment of society is not enough. Core values hold the key.

It would behoove leadership to look deeper into trust as a holistic business imperative. Exercising does not ensure good health. Eating well, lowering stress and getting enough sleep are just as important.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Earlier this year Dov Seidman, the founder and CEO of LRN, called for a leadership Apology Cease-fire via the NY Times Dealbook. As Dov explained,  “You need to earn back trust and change your behavior in a way that proves, without question, that you mean it.” He was speaking about authentic leadership apologies, containing specific components outlined in the article. That was in February and since then Dov has been searching for examples. He reported on his findings early in September, having identified one authentic apology back in 2008. It came from a political leader.

Last week I wrote about the “apology” offered by Home Depot’s CEO after the latest in a string of corporate data breaches. He must have missed Dov’s apology cease-fire request in February. I suppose the CEO of General Motors  and the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline did too.

The global crisis is not one of trust, but actually one of leadership. Until executives and their respective Boards or advisors learn how to build trust by incorporating it into their DNA and then placing trust on the daily docket, we will continue to hear empty apologies. Yes, culture change takes time, perhaps a year or eighteen months, and since bad behavior rarely gets punished, there is little to no incentive to alter the status quo.

The good news, industry is not destiny. There are many organizations with high trust environments. They are rewarded with increased profitability, more loyal stakeholders and long term enterprise sustainability, among other benefits.  And, most important, by building trust into their DNA, they rarely find themselves having to apologize at all.