Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

Yesterday in a CNBC interview with Jim Cramer, Marc Benioff emphatically stated that “trust is the highest value at Salesforce.” The company’s success is a by-product.

Ten years ago tools to assess and build organizational trust were rare and difficult to locate online. Trust Across America-Trust Around the World was formed, in part, to serve as a clearinghouse for trust tools and related resources.

Like Salesforce.com, most progressive companies are pursuing trust as an intentional business strategy, knowing full well that it is a competitive advantage. Leaders of organizations of any size and shape who are interested in elevating trust and proactively practicing it as a business strategy, may find these website links to be useful. Many of the resources are free.

FREE RESOURCES (Most Popular)

Trust Across America Blog: Viewed 74,898 times in February

TRUST! Magazine: a digital magazine, dedicated to helping leaders and organizations place trust on their strategic agenda. Our current issue has been accessed over 20,000 times.

Case Studies: Our Trustlets are a newly launched and growing library of real-life cases available as free downloads and for use in both academia and business.

Trust Bibliography: Updated annually and curated by Robert Easton, a partner at Accenture, it is probably the most extensive online research tool available (currently 86 pages).

Building Trust Reports: A growing library of “special reports” written by members of our vetted Trust Alliance.

Special Report via our Corporate Integrity Monitor: The Impact of Trust on Financial Returns

Join our Constant Contact mailing list for updates on our progress.

RESOURCES THAT CAN BE PURCHASED

Trust Alliance: a growing group of vetted global professionals working to elevate trust and share resources, now in its 6th year.

Workshops, speaking engagements, etc. Our Alliance members are available to meet just about any trust need an organization might have. No reason to search the internet for the “right” person to fill the gap. Just contact us.

Trust in a Box: A “do it yourself” solution for professionals and organizations interested in elevating trust, ethics and integrity.

Data Licensing: Our proprietary FACTS(R) Framework is the longest ongoing research study of the trustworthiness of America’s 2000 largest US public companies, now in its 8th year. Our data is available for licensing on a case-by-case basis.

Books: An entire Reading Room dedicated to organizational trust.

Top Thought Leaders Program: Nominations are now open for the 9th annual Top Thought Leaders in Trust.

If you lead an organization, serve on a Board or in any management capacity or work with others, and you continue to ignore trust as a hard asset, you are losing out to your competitors. Trust works. Give it a try.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO and Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. A former consultant to McKinsey & Co., she also runs the world’s largest global Trust Alliance and is the editor of the award- winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2017 she was named a Fellow of the Governance & Accountability Institute, and in 2012 she was recognized as one of “25 Women who are Changing the World” by Good Business International. She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch at the City University of NY.

Contact me for more information.

Copyright (C) 2018, Next Decade, Inc.

Far away and just as long ago, in the land of gardens and strip malls, also known as New Jersey, a somewhat smallish “Jersey Girl” named Barbara (Barb to her high school friends) had a rather tall vision to change the world, or at least the conversation.  Barb believed that if she could get people thinking about trust, particularly in business, trust would spring eternal- similar to Jersey blueberries- and take off like a Jersey driver.

And so Barb began to knock softly on the doors of corporate America to politely inquire about trustworthy leaders and their business practices. The responses were far from what she expected to hear.

• We are big business and don’t budget for soft stuff like trust since it doesn’t impact our bottom line.
• The corporate credo written on the lobby wall has trust covered.
• We are already trustworthy. After all, our quarterly earnings are growing and look how fast we are expanding globally.
• We give to charities and have an annual CSR event.
• Haven’t you seen our latest TV commercial on diversity?
• We’re conserving water and energy.
• We are looking in to cybersecurity.
• Our compliance department “has trust covered.” We stay just on the “right side” of the law.
• Who cares if our employees are unhappy? There are plenty to replace them.
• And the best one, the response from the CEO of a Fortune 500 company… “Trust? Interesting, I never even thought about that word!”

Barb’s quick takeaway…the trust crisis is not the “problem” of big business (until there’s an internal crisis and then lots of money is paid to consultants to make it look like the problem is fixed when it’s not), and one person named Barb from NJ is no threat to big business! Go knock somewhere else until such time as trust is regulated.

And that’s exactly what she did, because Barb had changed her middle name from Jane to “Tenacity” right around her fifth annual 39th birthday. She knocked and knocked and did not give up until the right people started to listen, and even lend a hand. And then the idea struck (sort of like a lightening bolt) – if one rather small woman from NJ could get some “trust loving”, imagine how much 100 men and women, or 1000, or even a million could attract? And so she started a movement, A Campaign for Trust, and she invited everyone who didn’t slam the door to join her (except the mainstream media because they seemed perpetually stuck on bad news that sells)!

In a few months, eyebrows began to raise beyond Jersey’s borders, as did the roster of global Trust Alliance members, men and women from “big business” (the ones who didn’t slam the trust door), small business, startups academia, researchers, community leaders, government and consulting (leadership, culture, teamwork, compliance, ethics, CSR, HR, sales, reputation and crisis repair, communications, risk, data security, governance, sustainability.) They weren’t exactly sure what “signing up” meant, but they trusted Barb enough to know they wanted to be part of this particular movement, because without trust, organizations are at best mediocre, never knowing when the next crisis will strike.

The Trust Alliance has been quite busy over the past four+ years with dozens of projects including:

1. Roundtable discussions with industry leaders on building trust
2. Publication of three books in our Trust Inc. series
3. Introductions between members resulting in speaking engagements, consulting opportunities and new business relationships
4. An annual trust poster
5. Publication of a collaborative digital magazine called TRUST!
6. Assembly of DIY Trust Boxes
7. Real world case studies called Trustlets

And many more initiatives including two new programs launching this fall. After all, it’s hard to imagine why any organization (even one run by a small, perpetually 39 year old woman from NJ) wouldn’t want to join us and collaboratively help in elevating organizational trust. So what’s holding you back? Feel free to use one of the excuses listed above!

(And by the way, on most days Trust Across America’s website attracts between 500-1000 enlightened visitors who “get” the importance of organizational trust.)

PS- One of Barb’s offspring cautions about trying to be funny about trust. It’s a serious subject. Barb disagrees. She thinks trust can be funny and fun, and serious too! What do you think?

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO and Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She also runs the world’s largest global Trust Alliance and is the editor of the award- winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2017 she was named a Fellow of the Governance & Accountability Institute, and in 2012 she was recognized as one of “25 Women who are Changing the World” by Good Business International. She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch at the City University of NY.

For more information visit our website at www.trustacrossamerica.com or contact Barbara Brooks Kimmel, CEO and Cofounder

Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright 2017, 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

Welcome!

Our monthly roundup is another 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, our readers will have a better appreciation for the importance of embracing trust as an organizational imperative.

Let’s get started!

What is the outcome when terms like “brutally honest” are used? Holly Latty-Mann discusses this in Trust and Honest Feedback: Up Close and Personal

Do you trust your employees to tweet about the company? Nan Russell shares some excellent advice in Psychology Today.

Taina Savolainen an academic partner from Finland discusses the role of story-telling in building organizational trust.

Linda Fisher Thornton wonders what our workplaces would be like if every leader cared about others.

My most popular post this month introduces Trust Across America’s VIP Model. Take a look!

And finally, what does your “place” smell like? This is an excellent 8 minute speech by Professor Sumantra Ghoshal at the World Economic Forum. It’s about corporate environments and the faults of management in creating a positive work place. The goal is “trust” and Professor Ghoshal explains why in “The Smell of the Place.” The speech has been accessed almost 85,000 times.

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.

Trust Across America Names Most Trustworthy Public Companies 

and North American Trust Award Honorees 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Trust is critical to building a good name. Leslie Gaines Ross, Weber Shandwick

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

Organizational Trust this Week is a new feature 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

Editor’s Pick of the Week! If you don’t read any further, read this great story about trust and leadership.

When the CEO becomes the Waiter

Accenture’s CEO Leads from Principles. What does leading from principles mean? Thank you Charlie Green!

A CEOs Best Advice!  Kudos to Indra Nooyi for acknowledging the importance of trust.

Is Humility the Key to Building Trust? This CEO thinks so.

THE BAD

I reported on Home Depot when the data security breach first occurred. This latest news doesn’t come as any surprise to me.

This CEO is often cited as one of the most trustworthy, but the Daily Mail is asking if that’s still true. Can Richard Branson still be trusted?

THE UGLY

A great CEO lesson on how NOT to do trust, just cut your competitor off at the knees

OUR MOST POPULAR POST THIS WEEK

And finally, Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s most popular post on LinkedIn Pulse this week. New research on Trust & the Moral DNA of Performance. 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 and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. 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.

Our brand new magazine TRUST! makes the case that in Financial Services,

Industry is NOT Destiny

We will be publishing our third book at the end of November.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

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

A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity– Dalai Lama

How many of the following ten “trust” danger signs are present in your organization?

1. Passion is missing and so is the boss
2. Bureaucracy is increasing as is the compliance staff
3. Closed doors have become the norm, as well as the conversations behind them
4. Decisions take forever
5. Employees are disengaged and turnover is increasing
6. There is more talk and less listening
7. Nobody ever fails, a sign of little to no innovation
8. Empathy and kindness are rarities
9. Transparency has taken a back seat to secrecy
10. The “giving” has stopped and the day of the “free turkey” is over

The business case for trust  has been made. Beware of the “trust” danger signs and address them before distrust becomes the norm.

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.

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

Have you seen our brand new magazine TRUST!

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice.

Not something to wish for, but to attain.”

— William Jennings Bryan

Since the financial crisis of 2008 the media’s fixation on the “rotten apples” in the industry has been unrelenting. Under the theory that “bad news sells” the public is reminded daily and left with diminishing expectations for a return to a more trustworthy financial services environment.

But what if I told you there is a silver lining? Contrary to popular belief, when it comes to trust, industry is NEVER destiny.

In the inaugural edition of TRUST! Magazine, we bring together global experts to help us explore companies and leaders who have chosen a different path. These are NOT the stories we hear about in the news, but they are the ones that SHOULD be reported. We have chosen to provide the public with the “other side” of this coin, not just corporate window dressing “best practices,” but actually, the “real deal.”

Trust has been built into the corporate DNA at these financial institutions. It is at the heart of how business is done, and it is practiced and reinforced daily. When we started Trust Across America-Trust Around the World in 2009, our mission was to highlight the “good guys” and showcase their best practices in an unbiased and impartial manner.  Consistent with our approach over the past five years, our readers will not find a single advertisement in this 50+ page magazine. We have elected instead to charge a small fee to cover our costs.

We hope you find value in the Magazine and choose to share it with others. Together we can push this enormous trust boulder up the hill.

ACCESS THE TABLE OF CONTENTS AND LEARN MORE

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 Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. 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.