Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

The Rutger’s University President has issued an apology to the Penn State President for offensive actions of Rutger’s fans at a recent football game.

Did he do the right thing? Was he extending trust?  Was this an act of integrity and ethics?

I’m on the fence on this one.

But this I know. Build trust and avoid crises and scandals (or at least minimize their impact).

Fail to proactively build trust, and the fallout from a scandal will continue for years.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

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.

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

“One can’t assume that trust accrues automatically through the mere passage of time. It grows through incremental steps and deliberate actions.” Charles H. Green, Trusted Advisor Associates

This quote will appear on the cover of the third book in our award-winning TRUST INC. series. The book, TRUST INC., 52 Weeks of Activities and Inspirations for Building Workplace Trust will be published in November 2014 as an inspirational holiday gift.

Stephen M.R. Covey speaks frequently about the 5 Waves (Incremental Steps) of Trust:

WAVE 1: Self Trust (personal credibility)

WAVE 2: Relationship Trust (behavior with others)

WAVE 3: Stakeholder Trust (alignment with internal stakeholders)

WAVE 4: Market Trust (external reputation)

WAVE 5: Societal Trust ( global citizenship- social consciousness, corporate citizenship, and corporate social responsibility.)

Organizations cannot effectively build Wave 5 until the first 4 are constructed. Imagine waking up in the morning and putting your shoes on first. Yet that’s exactly what many organizations have done.

Said another way, building organizational trust cannot be accomplished via an a-la- carte menu. Choosing to start building trust at Wave 4 or 5, with the intent of using it as a short-term promotional or communications tool, rather than a long-term, ground up, incremental trust strategy is a bad choice. Planning and executing a corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility program without first mastering self trust, relationship trust, stakeholder trust and market trust eventually backfires. And when the crisis strikes, the weak trust foundation crumbles. We see evidence of this almost daily. Some of the biggest names in CSR also happen to be some of the greatest trust & ethics violators. Just pick up the newspaper on any given day. In this age of increasing transparency, these organizations are fooling no one but themselves.

So my advice today to all organizations, but particularly corporate America, get dressed before you put on your shoes.

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.

                                                                                                  Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

What do we mean when we say “Trust is a Lifestyle?”

• Trust is not a mathematical equation or formula
• It is not a memo to be circulated at a meeting
• It is not negotiated via a contract or a regulation
• It cannot be delegated
• It is not something to be “built” in the wake of a crisis
• It is not “the buzzword of the day.”

When we hear the word “trust” we should envision a way of being, a lifestyle that includes:

• Acting with integrity at all times, no exceptions
• Respecting others
• Making ethical decisions
• Shaking the hand of a partner in business or in your personal life, looking them in the eye, and telling them that you are extending trust.

Build a lifestyle of trust, beginning with self-trust, and extend trust to those around you. It will be reciprocated.  You will experience a higher quality of life, as will those who learned from your example.

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.

                                                                                                  Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

This week as I was preparing our upcoming calendar of events, I took some time to reflect on the progress we have made at Trust Across America-Trust Around the World.

What began as a conversation at the breakfast table in 2009 has since grown into a global, cross-functional social movement, whose mission is to help organizations build trust. Our website has become the leading “go to” global source of information on trust.

What do we have planned for the remainder of the year?

October 1: Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business nomination period opens to the public: Recognizing global leaders who are inspiring others to place trust in the center of how organizations do business. This is our fifth year administering this program which has grown in both prestige and global awareness.

Late October: Publication of the inaugural edition of TRUST! The Magazine with a theme of:

Values to Value: Financial Institutions That Are Changing the Way Business is Done 

November 17-24: Join us as we celebrate TrustGiving ™, the first week long celebration of trust.

November 24: The publication of the 3rd book in our award-winning series:

TRUST INC., 52 Weeks of Activities and Inspirations for Building Workplace Trust.

December 2014: Our Alliance of Trustworthy Business Experts celebrates its second anniversary. We have grown from 25 founding members to a thriving organization with top thought leadership from around the world.

I want to extend a huge “thank you” and virtual “hug” to all who have freely given their time, advice, support and good wishes over the past five years, and who have encouraged me (in the words of Eddie Kendricks) to  “keep on truckin’.” 

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.

                                                                                                  Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Michelle Clarke in the UK. Michelle is the organizer of the Global Trust Conference, which completed its second annual event just yesterday. I was lucky enough to virtually attend the conference, and to catch Stephen M.R. Covey delivering a great speech, packed with insight and advice. Stephen wrote the cover quote for our award-winning book TRUST Inc. and also contributed an essay.

I took notes and am happy to provide some highlights in today’s blog post.

What are the three most important facts about trust?

• Trust is an economic driver
• Trust is the #1 competency of leadership
• Trust is a learnable competency.

Think about a person you work with who you trust and consider the positive outcomes of that relationship.

Now think about a person you work with who you don’t trust and the lost opportunities as a result.

Trust=Confidence while Distrust=Suspicion

Confidence requires both character and competence.

Trust is Reciprocal

When you give trust, you receive it in return.

Trust is Not about Coordination

Trust is about collaboration, partnering and teamwork.

Energy and Joy

When trust goes down, energy and joy do too.

Four Cornerstones of Credibility

• Integrity (character)
• Intent (motive/agenda)
• Capability (are you relevant?)
• Results (your past and current performance)

Talk Straight

Candor is the language of trust. Never use spin.

Leaders Extend Trust

• The first job of a leader is to INSPIRE TRUST
• The second job of a leader is to EXTEND TRUST

And finally…. the starting place for trust is self-trust.

Thank you Michelle and Stephen. As I like to say, “It will take a tribe to push the trust boulder up the hill, but together we can.”

Would you like to help Stephen, Michelle and me in pushing that BIG boulder? Join our Alliance of Trustworthy Business Experts today.

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.

                                                                                                  Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Should Inlaws be Outlawed?  This was the title of a recent blog post written by my friend Erris Klapper. For those of you who may not know Erris, her blog is a well-written and thoughtful commentary, primarily focused on the trials and tribulations of baby boomers and their families, as well as coverage of other timely topics.

Erris believes that the two root causes of (in-law) contention are elevated levels of expectation and differences in upbringing.

Doesn’t the same apply to the Board/CEO relationship, leader/manager/employee relationship, or any relationship for that matter?

And like in-laws, in most business environments controversy could be avoided and trust could be built if time were invested early in the relationship to:

• Explore common ground by discussing respective upbringing
• Discuss goals and values
• Map out a course for the future
• Determine how disagreements will be handled.

Whether you are about to be married, or about to begin a new job or hire a new employee, invest the time to work through the four steps above. Building trust early in any relationship will pay off handsomely in the long-run.

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.

                                                                                                           Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Companies talk about the importance of building customer loyalty and trust, but invariably a headline like this gets in the way:

Mimicking the Airlines Hotels Get Fee Happy

and the public quickly realizes that the “talk” is insincere and deceptive and the race to the bottom of the trust barrel continues.

Who in the C-Suite decided that the way to build trust with customers was to tack on extra charges wherever possible, or to mimic an industry (airlines) with historically low trust and lousy customer service, replete with bankruptcies and consolidations? Why did you choose the airlines as your role model?

Corporate culture is determined by the Board and the CEO. Weak leadership produces weak culture. Apparently the hotel industry has its fair share of both.

While you are racing to the bottom, why not inscribe your “values” on the lobby wall at corporate headquarters:

Our 5 Pillars of Business:

• We have no long-term vision or leadership.
• Our culture is simply to maximize short-term profit at all costs.
• Our customers come last.
• We will nickel and dime them at every turn.
• We have no interest in building loyalty or trust.

I wish this article was a spoof, but it’s not. Where’s the trust? Where’s the love?

Fortunately, industry is not destiny. There are some great hotels who DO place customers first. If you are one of them, please email me at barbara@trustacrossamerica.com. I want to hear your story. I would love to blog about it.

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.

                                                                                                       Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

A recent conversation with Doug Turner, one of our Trust Alliance members, ended with him sharing this photo he had taken.

 What a statement about society’s view of trust or distrust!

We all agree that society clearly requires trust in order to function. So who decided that signage like this was the “right” way to build that trust? What positive trust message is the reader of this sign expected to take away?

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.

                                                                                                Coming Soon!

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

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.