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CEOs
"The Speed of Trust is red-hot relevant. In an age of heightened business regulation and oversight, it is important to focus on fundamentals. And trust is the intangible asset that can help assure the long-term sustainability of any organization or enterprise. Thanks to Stephen M. R. Covey’s new book, you can be well on the way to enhancing your organization’s trust assets for years to come."
—William G. Parrett, CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; Senior Partner, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
"Trust strikes at the heart of our success at JetBlue. Trust is key to the speed of our growth. The Speed of Trust articulates better than any book that trust is the one thing that changes everything—in business and in life. With high trust, success comes faster, better, and at lower cost."
—David Neeleman, founder and CEO, JetBlue Airways
Trust reduces transaction costs; it reduces the need for litigation and speeds commerce; it actually lubricates organizations and societies. At last, someone is articulating its true value and presenting it as a core business competency.
—Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman and CEO, Carlson Companies
Stephen M. R. Covey has done it! He has articulately zeroed in on the leadership challenge of the new millennium—the ability to cultivate and leverage trust. This is a ‘must-read’ for all aspiring leaders.
—Douglas R. Conant, President and CEO, Campbell Soup Company
"The Speed of Trust is a great find. It superbly achieves the goal of providing a road map to peak performance, both for individuals and organizations. But the true genius of the book is its universal relevance, as it combines a highly effective common-sense approach with frank guidance to enhance all relationships in life."
—J. W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.
Lack of trust within an organization saps its energy, fosters a climate of suspicion and second-guessing, completely devastates teamwork and replaces it with internal politics. The end result is low morale and the consequent low standards of performance. Stephen M. R. Covey’s book is a timely reminder for leaders about what really matters in an organization.
—Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman, DBS Bank Ltd.; former Chairman, Singapore Airlines
I believe Covey’s insights around trust are very revealing to all who think about the practice of leadership. Clearly, without self-trust you can’t have organizational trust—and without the latter no real achievement.
—Michael H. Jordan, Chairman and CEO, EDS
"In life and business, relationships are important—but they are empty unless they are established and based upon trust. Trust is the fundamental building block for a brand, and it is the glue for any lasting relationship. It is amazing how Stephen M. R. Covey, in The Speed of Trust, establishes the essence of what trust is and how it can be established and kept. What a service to the business world and society as a whole!"
—Horst H. Schulze, President and CEO, The West Paces Hotel Group; former founding President and COO, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
"The Speed of Trust teaches a critical lesson—only organizations with a sterling level of trust garner a culture of true commitment vs. a whirlpool of wishful thinking through forced compliance. Covey powerfully articulates a clear road map for ordinary people like you and me to be capable of extraordinary things!"
—Pete Beaudrault, President and CEO, Sbarro; former President and CEO, Hard Rock Café International
"The Speed of Trust is a must-read not only for business leaders but for every individual. Mr. Covey defines trust in a most accurate fashion. One can benefit immensely from its contents."
—Jon M. Huntsman, founder and Chairman, Huntsman International
This book is an eye-opener—once you’ve read it you’ll see everything through your ‘trust glasses’ and understand how and why trust is so important in our professional and personal lives. By demonstrating that trust is tangible, measurable, and, most importantly, something that we can build more easily than we think, Stephen M. R. Covey has written a book that deserves to be read not only by business leaders, but also by everyone interested in improving their relationships with colleagues, friends, and family.
—Gregory K. Ericksen, Global Vice-Chair, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young
In the 80s, Stephen’s father convinced me that trust was the most important leadership attribute to create corporate/organizational success. He was absolutely right . . . over the last two decades Toro flourished because of it. Now, Stephen M. R. Covey convincingly shows why . . . that when the organization trusts its leaders, and everyone becomes trustworthy, then people can operate synergistically and non-defensively, which gets the best results much faster.
—Ken Melrose, former Chairman and CEO, The Toro Company; author of Making the Grass Geener on Your Side
Trust me, you can believe Stephen. This is very good stuff. The more people who read this in your circle of influence, the better your life will be, starting with yourself.
—Blake M. Roney, Chairman, Nu Skin Enterprises
"The Speed of Trust clearly identifies trust as the source of speed in our direct relationships. Covey convincingly validates our experience at Dell—that trust has a bottom-line impact on results and that when trust goes up, speed goes up while costs come down. This principle applies not only in our professional relationships with customers, business partners, and team members but also in our personal relationships, which makes this insightful book all the more valuable."
—Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell Inc.
When I received this book and was asked by Stephen M. R. Covey to read it and offer my comments, my first impulse was, ‘I don’t have the time.’ However, as I read the foreword, then the first few chapters, I could not put it down. It is exactly what business leaders need today. This book gets to the core roots of ethical behavior and integrity and how ‘trust’ is the most critical factor in effective leaders and organizations. The author discusses with clarity and insight how to develop trust through character and competence and how ‘trusted’ leaders and organizations do things better, faster, and at lower costs. Everyone should make the time to read this book.
—Nolan D. Archibald, Chairman and CEO, Black & Decker Corporation
"Like his father, Stephen M. R. Covey is unafraid of exploring difficult, yet critical topics. His book, The Speed of Trust, goes right to the heart of one of the most important issues of our time: the absolute lack of trust. In a world turned upside-down, all who run organizations, all who seek deeper relationships, all who want more meaning in their lives would do well to consider trust as the asset they most desire."
—David W. Checketts, Chairman, Sports Capital Partners; former CEO, Madison Square Garden
BUSINESS AUTHORITIES
This is the book I’ve waited for! The definitive case that trust literally creates profit, success, and prosperity. With hard-nosed evidence and compelling examples, Stephen M. R. Covey shows us why mastering the value of trust is exactly how the United States and others will compete against the megatrend of globalization. Read this book. Become a ‘high trust’ leader. Your heart, your company, your stakeholders, and your net worth will thank you very much!
—Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism
"Trust is the foundation of relationships. The Speed of Trust will enable you to build your foundation effectively. I highly recommend this book."
—John C. Maxwell, author and speaker; founder, INJOY Stewardship Services and EQUIP
Covey convincingly makes his case that trust is the one thing that changes everything. He shows that speed is the currency of success and trust is the source. In an era when so many of our leaders have shown themselves to be strangers to the power of trust, this book is a must-read.
—Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of Now, Discover Your Strengths
Collaboration is the foundation of the standard of living we enjoy today. Trust is the glue. This is the first book that teaches the ‘whats’ and the ‘hows’ of trust. A must-read for leaders at all levels.
—Ram Charan, coauthor of the bestseller Execution; author of Profitable Growth Is Everyone’s Business
"Identifying trust as the critical leadership competency of the new global economy, Stephen M. R. Covey describes how this vital quality can be established, grown, extended, and restored within our society and throughout the world. The Speed of Trust is a must-read for all of us."
—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and The Secret
"The Speed of Trust is filled with time-honored wisdom delivered at precisely the right moment. Stephen so persuasively builds the case that trust is the sin qua non of business success that we are left scratching our heads and wondering how something so critical has not been given front row, position one seating in our businesses. A must-read for every leader."
—Jim Loehr, Coauthor of The Power of Full Engagement; CEO, The Human Performance Institute
Well, somebody’s got to say it. Like father, like son. A truly wonderful book, Mr. Covey. Congratulations!
—Michael Gerber, founder and Chairman, E-Myth Worldwide
Stephen M. R. Covey’s book on trust is an exceptional piece of work. He defines and allows us to dig deep and understand trust in ways that have never been exposed. Congratulations.
—Stedman Graham, author, speaker, and entrepreneur
"The Speed of Trust will guide you on a most important journey to generate and build trust daily. If you follow this path, your life will continue to unfold miraculously."
—Tom Crum, author of Magic of Conflict and Three Deep Breaths
"Without trust, there can be no loyalty—and without loyalty, there can be no true growth. Covey persuasively makes the case in The Speed of Trust that trust is a measurable accelerator to performance and that when trust goes up, costs go down and speed goes up. A critical lesson for every leader who cares about building trusted relationships in this new economy."
—Fred Reichheld, author of The Loyalty Effect and The Ultimate Question
The most important element in any relationship, business or personal, is trust and credibility. This wonderful book shows you how to gain it, build it, preserve it, and incorporate trust into every area of your life.
—Brian Tracy, author of The Way to Wealth
"This book is a manifesto for unleashing exponential performance improvement in organizations worldwide. But Covey doesn’t stop there. He also provides us a road map for making it happen. The Speed of Trust will be the seminal work on the foundation of cooperative human action for decades to come."
—Joseph Grenny, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations
"Trust and Covey are 5-letter words that ensure success in this fast-paced world. The Speed of Trust is my new leadership bible."
—Pat Croce, author of the bestseller I Feel Great and You Will Too!; former owner, Philadelphia 76ers
"The Speed of Trust hits upon a principle that has largely been ignored for far too long in our society—trust. It impacts every aspect of our life. Covey shows us not only how we can develop trust in the workplace, in our relationships, and our organizations, but also how to restore lost trust in those same environments. He demonstrates how the trust factor directly affects the marketplace and the bottom line of a business by increasing speed and lowering cost. The Speed of Trust is a concisely written, well-organized, and refreshing book that will benefit all who read it."
—Hyrum W. Smith, author of What Matters Most; cofounder, FranklinCovey; CEO, The Galileo Initiative
Covey’s book underscores the single most important factor—the substrate—that will determine the success (or failure) of any organization in the 21st century: TRUST. This is a powerful read: brave, imaginative, amazingly prescient, and backed up by empirical and analytical heft. A must-read for anyone in a position of responsibility, from a support group to a global corporation.
—Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration; author of On Becoming a Leader
This much-needed book provides many practical examples of how greater trust produces better results, at less cost, sooner—at work and in life. It’s invaluable.
—Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese?; coauthor of The One Minute Manager
"Stephen Covey’s work changed the world. I’d bet the price of this exciting book and more that his son, Stephen M. R. Covey, will have at least as much impact. The Speed of Trust is an amazing book starting with its novel and powerful title—my greatest wonder was why it hadn’t been written before. From the epigraph—‘Speed happens when people truly trust each other’—to the closing bell, this is a book worth savoring—and implementing. Dad Stephen says in the foreword that the book ‘strikes at the roots.’ And I say to that: Amen!"
—Tom Peters, author of Re-imagine!; coauthor of In Search of Excellence
MARKETING AUTHORITIES
Why are you reading the blurbs in this book? Simple, because you trust (a few of) us. Trust drives everything in our nonbranded, too-fast world. So trust this: This is an important book. The younger Covey has written a book that matters.
—Seth Godin, author of Small Is the New Big and Permission Marketing
After you turn off the projector, quit PowerPoint, and end your pitch, most deals come down to a simple question: Do you trust each other? This book is a valuable and timely explanation of how to trust and how to be trusted.
—Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art of the Start; Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
"Consumers are growing ambivalent to boundlessly corrupt political institutions while seizing on social issues those bodies are supposed to address. The Speed of Trust provides a path to the kind of transparency people will increasingly demand from brands, corporations, and politicians."
—Faith Popcorn, marketing futurist; author of The Popcorn Report
"Everything in marketing points to the reality that the profitable companies are those that have earned the confidence of their public. Confidence cannot be overestimated. Stephen M. R. Covey takes this reality one step further by proving not only the value of confidence, but also the way to earn it. The Speed of Trust is the ultimate how-to book."
—Jay Conrad Levinson, the Father of Guerrilla Marketing; author of the Guerrilla Marketing series
Good leaders know where they are going. Followers trust it’s the right direction. Without trust, you get nowhere.
—Jack Trout, author of Trout on Strategy; coauthor of Positioning
MEDIA AUTHORITIES
"In the world of law and politics, the absence of trust has accomplished everything Stephen describes: promoting divisiveness and disillusionment, exacerbating bureaucratic rule-based relationships, and, ultimately, creating beliefs and behaviors that serve to destroy a free and civil society. Invaluable to every American, The Speed of Trust delivers the tools that can restore transparency, honesty, and confidence to a nation in need."
—Catherine Crier, former judge; bestselling author; host of Court TV’s Catherine Crier Live
"The Speed of Trust provides compelling evidence and invaluable information as to how the development of trust—based upon genuine, transparent character and competence—can increase speed and profits. Stephen M. R. Covey shows how the hard, measurable components of trust can also create, cement, and enhance all business and professional relationships. The Speed of Trust is a breakthrough work, and should be read by everyone."
—Ken Lindner, author of Crunch Time: 8 Steps to Making the Right Life Decisions at the Right Times
Covey brilliantly focuses on that overlooked bedrock of democratic capitalism—trust. Like the air we breathe, we too often take this critical intangible for granted. As Covey makes clear, we do so at our ultimate competitive peril.
—Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes
This book can change lives when it comes to building trusting personal and professional relationships. Covey helps us understand how to nurture and inspire immediate trust in every encounter, which is the foundation for true and lasting success in life. A very interesting and enlightening read.
—Larry King
"Want to be an irresistible positive force? Combine personal responsibility with compassion and respect for others. Want to know how to do this perfectly? Read The Speed of Trust."
—Dr. Laura Schlessinger, internationally syndicated radio host; author of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage
GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, AND HEALTHCARE AUTHORITIES
"The Speed of Trust is absolutely the right book for our times—inspiring, empowering, and immediately useful. People in all walks of life, anywhere in the world, will benefit from its important message: Investing in integrity and reaping the trust dividend can strengthen businesses and enrich lives."
—Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School; author of the bestseller Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End
"In the true Covey tradition, here is an outstanding book, The Speed of Trust. It is a book that everyone who aspires to be a leader must read. Outstanding!!"
—Arun Gandhi, President, M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
"The Speed of Trust comes at a time when ‘trust’ seems to be speeding toward the endangered species list. That will change as people read Stephen M. R. Covey’s insights and guidelines, prohibitions and prescriptions for creating authentic trust in relationships, business, sports, politics, and life. The name ‘Covey’ has come to represent excellence. This book carries on the tradition."
—John R. Wooden, Coach Emeritus, UCLA Basketball; author of My Personal Best and Wooden on Leadership
"The Speed of Trust is a wonderful book. It is readable, practical, and broadly applicable. Anyone who needs to get crucial things done faster, more effectively, and with less friction ought to read it."
—Clayton M. Christensen, Robert & Jane Cizik Professor, Harvard Business School
"Although it sounds like a cliché, The Speed of Trust is a must-read for anyone desiring to lead a nation, a company, a family, or even oneself during these turbulent times. As a student and practitioner of Covey principles for years in military hospitals, medical centers, and staff positions, as well as a CEO of a national medical association, I never was able to distill the essence of leadership as clearly as Stephen M. R. Covey has. This book is critical reading for anyone who desires to lead in a world of polarity, cynicism, and disappointment."
—Charles H. Roadman II, M.D., Lt. General, USAF (Ret.); Surgeon General, USAF (Ret.)
Stephen M. R. Covey has written a superior book on the importance of trust. Our principals will greatly benefit from reading this book. It will help them as they create trust with the teachers and the teachers in turn with their students. This book is a must-read.
—Pedro Garcia, Ed.D., Director of Schools, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
"Shortly after becoming Dean of the School of Medicine at UTMB Galveston, I took several of my key leaders to hear Stephen speak on The Speed of Trust. It resonated with all of us. Stephen and his team have worked with UTMB’s leadership group over the last year and given us both the insight and the ongoing tools to eliminate our ‘trust tax’ and truly become a productive community. The principles and action plans laid out by Stephen are universal. Anyone who is in a leadership team should read The Speed of Trust."
—Valerie M. Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Dean of Medicine and Chief Academic Officer, University of Texas Medical Branch
Stephen M. R. Covey has researched the concept of trust down to its very core and provided solid, compelling data to prove the breadth of the trust gap, but more importantly, to provide solutions to broken trust. I find daily examples of the speed and alacrity that a trusting relationship yields and Stephen’s behavioral principles allow our toughest decisions to be made faster and with far less angst. This book has enormous power to change your life and your organization.
—Dave Gayler, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools, Charlotte County, Florida
"In the great tradition of words in the Covey name, The Speed of Trust has emphasized and clarified an in-depth understanding of the power of trust. Highly successful performers in business and in sports show a level of trust and understanding that separates them from their competition. Covey has validated this significance in our relationships and in our future successes in The Speed of Trust."
—Pete Carroll, head Football Coach, National Champion USC Trojans
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES
Those relationships that will stand the test of time are built upon a foundation of enduring trust. Covey gives us the blueprint for learning how to apply this principle with the important people in our lives.
—John Gray, Ph.D., author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
"In The Speed of Trust, Stephen M. R. Covey expertly illuminates the connections between credibility and productivity in a way that will forever change your perception of trust."
—Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power
"The Speed of Trust explains brilliantly how trust is the shortest route to results. If you want rapid results, I trust you’ll love this book as much as I did."
—Robert G. Allen, author of the New York Times bestsellers Multiple Streams of Income and Cracking the Millionaire Code: Your Key to Enlightened Wealth
I know the importance of trust. Being roped together when crossing an ice field riddled with crevasses is the ultimate trust scenario. In the mountains, my life is often in my teammates’ hands and theirs in mine. Such a commitment is based on enormous trust, like much of life. Stephen’s book is packed with content on sustaining and building trust. It’s a must-read.
—Erik Weihenmayer, The blind guy who climbed Everest
; author of Touch the Top of the World
If you want to speed forward to wealth, you have to have unconditional trust to maximize earnings. This great book will tell you how.
—Mark Victor Hansen, Cocreator of the number one New York Times bestselling series Chicken Soup for the Soul; coauthor of Cracking the Millionaire Code and The One Minute Millionaire
Trust is not a garment to be worn or cast off depending on the situation or culture. Every political, business, family, and educational leader in every nation needs to internalize the core concepts in this once-in-a-millennium book. Stephen has identified the synergistic glue that enables us to stick together. If we embrace it, we survive and thrive. If not, history becomes our prologue.
—Dr. Denis Waitley, author of The Seeds of Greatness
"I am happier when I am trusted, and I bet you are too. Covey has done a masterful job teaching that trust is conditioned on our behavior and that we can consciously shift our behavior to deserve trust. This one realization can change your life. This is the best book by a Covey since 7 Habits."
—Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and Don’t Get Scrooged
LEARNING AND HUMAN RESOURCE AUTHORITIES
"Building trust is one of the most critical challenges facing our society today. The Speed of Trust is a great gift, an indispensable resource for leaders in all three sectors determined to build and inspire trust across the organization. The ‘Five Waves of Trust’ will become a powerful support for principled, effective leaders of the future."
—Frances Hesselbein, Chairman, The Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation)
"Stephen’s book is a fantastic resource on the ‘how-to’s’ of establishing, building and growing trust throughout your organization’s constituency base. This book is a critical read for all leaders in our new global economy who understand and value transparency and honesty. It is what we, as leaders, should all be about!"
—Ann Rhoades, President, People Ink; former EVP People, JetBlue Airways
Trust is the quintessential basis for any solid relationship. In this well-crafted book Stephen has helped all of us to look deeply into how we can make trust the essence of our personal and professional lives.
—Fred Harburg, former President and Chief Learning Officer, Motorola University
"Trust is the glue that bonds great people, processes, and environments, and ensures long-term success. If this critical component is missing, everything else falls apart. The Speed of Trust finally hits the mark that others have just grazed. Stephen M. R. Covey gives us the thinking process and structure for establishing, mending, and pursuing lifelong trusting relations in every aspect of our life. Let the healing begin!"
—Rita Bailey, CEO, QVF Partners; coauthor of Destination Profit; former Director of the University for People, Southwest Airlines
"In a ‘flatter’ world, trust is the ‘secret sauce’ that significantly enhances learning, relationships, and results. Covey’s breakthrough insight that trust is a competency is both revolutionary and immediately practical. CEOs and Chief Learning Officers will embrace The Speed of Trust as an authentic and actionable strategy—a road map—for increasing the effectiveness of their organizations and leaders."
—Elliott Masie, CEO, The Learning CONSORTIUM
FOREWORD by Dr. Stephen R. Covey
THE ONE THING THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
How trust affects the trajectory and outcome of our lives—both personally and professionally—and what we can do to change it.
Nothing Is as Fast as the Speed of Trust
You Can Do Something About This!
THE FIRST WAVE—SELF TRUST
THE PRINCIPLE OF CREDIBILITY
Beyond ethics
: Why personal credibility is the foundation of all trust and how to create it.
The 4 Cores of Credibility
Core 1—Integrity
Are You Congruent?
Core 2—Intent
What’s Your Agenda?
Core 3—Capabilities
Are You Relevant?
Core 4—Results
What’s Your Track Record?
THE SECOND WAVE—RELATIONSHIP TRUST
THE PRINCIPLE OF BEHAVIOR
How to behave yourself out of problems you’ve behaved yourself into.
The 13 Behaviors
Behavior #1: Talk Straight
Behavior #2: Demonstrate Respect
Behavior #3: Create Transparency
Behavior #4: Right Wrongs
Behavior #5: Show Loyalty
Behavior #6: Deliver Results
Behavior #7: Get Better
Behavior #8: Confront Reality
Behavior #9: Clarify Expectations
Behavior #10: Practice Accountability
Behavior #11: Listen First
Behavior #12: Keep Commitments
Behavior #13: Extend Trust
Creating an Action Plan
THE THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH WAVES—STAKEHOLDER TRUST
How to increase speed, lower cost, and maximize the influence of your organization.
The Third Wave—Organizational Trust
The Principle of Alignment
The Fourth Wave—Market Trust
The Principle of Reputation
The Fifth Wave—Societal Trust
The Principle of Contribution
INSPIRING TRUST
How to extend Smart Trust,
restore trust, and take the exponential leap of faith that makes all the difference . . . and why not extending trust is the greatest risk of all.
Extending Smart Trust
Restoring Trust When It Has Been Lost
A Propensity to Trust
NOTES AND REFERENCES
INDEX
To my wife, Jeri, for her constant encouragement, unbelievable kindness, and abundant trust
I am deeply grateful to so many who have helped make this book possible. I feel humbled and blessed by others’ contributions, and my sentiment is aptly expressed by Albert Einstein, who said: Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.
So it is with this book. It could not have been written without the help of many people for whom I am deeply thankful.
Special thanks to the talented Rebecca Merrill for her magnificent assistance in every part of this endeavor, particularly her insights into writing. Without her creative help, we’d still be talking about this book rather than reading it.
Thanks also to:
• Greg Link—the Link
in CoveyLink, and an amazing and visionary friend and business partner—for his tremendous insight, passion, courage, and influence.
• Barry Rellaford, for his invaluable collaboration, coaching, and encouragement from the beginning.
• Gary Judd, for his remarkable ideas, boldness, and willingness to risk.
• Other members of the extended CoveyLink team for their ongoing support, help, and encouragement, including Ryan Cook, Joshua Covey, Shane Cragun, Chuck Farnsworth, Tami Harmon, Robyn Kaelin, David Kasperson, Suzanne Leonard, Kendall Lyman, Todd King, Craig Pace, Candie Perkins, and Holly Whiting. Thanks also to Han Stice, our researcher, for his hard work and diligence, to Davia King, our intern, for her help in the early stages, and to Mary Wentz for her work on transcription.
• My sister Cynthia Haller, for her many contributions, particularly her stories and ideas that have hopefully helped make this book more interesting.
• My sisters Maria Cole and Catherine Sagers, for their ideas, suggestions, and advice on improving the manuscript.
• Pam Walsh and Kevin Cope, for giving me the courage to take on this project.
• My editor, Dominick Anfuso, for his belief in this book from the outset, and the entire Simon & Schuster team for their valuable contributions.
• Our many clients, who provide an ongoing laboratory to apply and validate the Speed of Trust approach, and for the input and feedback so many have given—particularly for the great insights on Smart Trust
from a highly synergistic group at Sundance, including Beth DiPaolo, Sandy Staton, and Joan Porraz.
• Many others who read and reviewed various stages of the manuscript, including Bob Allen, Paul Brockbank, Kim Capps, Jean Crowther, Tom Crum, Dave Fairbanks, Dottie Gandy, Joseph Grenny, Bob Guindon, Greg Jewkes, Eric Krueger, Annie Link, Carol Maero-Fetzer, Alex Mandossian, Will Marre, Mette Norgaard, Von Orgill, Tally Payne, Rebecca Saltman, Paul Sanders, Steve Shallenberger, Michael Simpson, James Skinner, Carolyn Strauss, Kylie Turley, Tim Welch, Tessa White, and Lisa Williams. Their feedback was instructive, yet always affirming.
With deep gratitude, I acknowledge my parents, Sandra and Stephen R. Covey, for their profound influence on my life and on my thinking. I also acknowledge many, many other thought leaders, some of whom are referenced throughout the book, for their influence on my thinking and on the development of this book over the past 10 years.
Most importantly, I acknowledge and thank God for the blessings, insights, and support I have felt throughout this project. For me, He is the source of all principles that bring joy and success in life.
How can a father brag
on his son and still be credible—particularly regarding a book on trust?
Consider this. Within three years of entrusting Stephen with the role of CEO in my company, Covey Leadership Center, the company’s sales nearly doubled and profit went up over 1,200 percent. During that period, the company branched into 40 different countries and increased in shareholder value from $2.4 million to the $160 million it was worth at the time of the merger he orchestrated with Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey.
How was this accomplished under Stephen’s leadership? In a word—trust. Because of his character and his competence, Stephen was trusted. Also, he extended trust to others. The synergistic effect of being trusted and giving trust unleashed a level of performance we had never experienced before, and almost everyone associated with those events looked on the transformation as the supreme, most exhilarating, and inspiring experience of their business careers.
By the way, Stephen was the green and clean
seven-year-old son I wrote about in my book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. You’ll be interested (as I was) to read his side of the story
in this book. From my perspective, Stephen’s learning how to keep our yard green and clean
set a pattern of excellence that has continued throughout his life, and it has manifested itself in the way in which he transformed my company, carried out a number of successful leadership, training, and consulting projects, and produced this book—as well as in everything else he has done.
THREE REASONS WHY I LOVE THIS BOOK
There are three reasons why I believe this book will become a classic. First, it works on the roots. Second, it’s deep, practical, and comprehensive. Third, it inspires hope. Let me comment on each in turn.
First, this book strikes at the roots. Henry David Thoreau taught that for every thousand people hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the roots.
You can easily see the importance of striking at the roots
in other dimensions—for instance, when you compare the impact of focusing on preventing disease instead of merely treating it, or on preventing crime instead of merely enforcing the law. In this book, you begin to see it in business where, instead of compliance, the focus is on optimization through developing an ethical character, transparent motivation, and superb competence in producing sustained, superior results.
It’s ironic, but from my experience around the world, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance (or its equivalent) has eclipsed the focus on the mistakenly so-called soft stuff, like trust. CFOs and auditors have replaced people developers and strategic-minded HR practitioners in the throne room. At the same time, one of the hottest topics today is ethics—ethics discussions, ethics curriculum, ethics training, codes of ethics. This book shows that while ethics is fundamentally important and necessary, it is absolutely insufficient. It shows that the so-called soft stuff is hard, measurable, and impacts everything else in relationships, organizations, markets, and societies. Financial success comes from success in the marketplace, and success in the marketplace comes from success in the workplace. The heart and soul of all of this is trust.
This work goes far beyond not only my work, but also beyond anything I have read on the subject of trust. It goes beyond ethical behavior in leadership, beyond mere compliance.
It goes deep into the real intent
and agenda of a person’s heart, and then into the kind of competence
that merits consistent public confidence. Just think about it—whether you define trust as mutual confidence or loyalty or ethical behavior, or whether you deal with its fruits of empowerment and teamwork and synergy, trust is the ultimate root and source of our influence.
As you read this book, it will inspire you to think like a social ecologist
so that you see the relationships of all things and how ultimately all things are rooted in trust. It gives an enlarged perspective and a sequential process to transform a culture of low trust into one of high trust.
Second, this book presents a model of trust that is deep, practical, and comprehensive. It takes you through an inside-out approach to the 5 Waves of Trust. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, it moves from self to relationships with others to relationships with all stakeholders, including society. Through powerful and practical illustrations, it shows how the principles apply universally, whether it’s personally or in a one-on-one relationship, a family, a business, a school, a hospital, a government department, a military unit, or a not-for-profit.
Third, this book breathes hope. As you move sequentially through the chapters, you begin to feel optimistic and inspired that no matter what the situation or how low the trust, you can become an active agent in establishing or restoring trust and in rebuilding relationships, and it doesn’t have to take forever.
As Stephen shares his own and others’ stories of turning around sour, toxic, costly, sluggish situations, you feel affirmed and empowered. You believe you can do it, and you want to do it, and do it in a way that is sustainable.
THE KEY FACTOR IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
As we move rapidly into an even more transparent interdependent global reality, trust is more career critical than it has ever been. My interactions with business leaders around the world have made it increasingly evident that speed to market
is now the ultimate competitive weapon.
Low trust causes friction, whether it is caused by unethical behavior or by ethical but incompetent behavior (because even good intentions can never take the place of bad judgment). Low trust is the greatest cost in life and in organizations, including families. Low trust creates hidden agendas, politics, interpersonal conflict, interdepartmental rivalries, win-lose thinking, defensive and protective communication—all of which reduce the speed of trust. Low trust slows everything—every decision, every communication, and every relationship.
On the other hand, trust produces speed. And, as Stephen points out, the greatest trust-building key is results.
Results build brand loyalty. Results inspire and fire up a winning culture. The consistent production of results not only causes customers to increase their reorders, it also compels them to consistently recommend you to others. Thus, your customers become your key promoters, your key sales and marketing people. In addition, results win the confidence of practical-minded executives and workforces. Consistent results also put suppliers under the main tent as strategic partners, which is so vital in this new world-class, knowledge-worker-based, global economy.
Trust is like the aquifer—the huge water pool under the earth that feeds all of the subsurface wells. In business and in life, these wells are often called innovation, complementary teams, collaboration, empowerment, Six Sigma, and other expressions of Total Quality Management, brand loyalty, or other strategic initiatives. These wells themselves feed the rivers and streams of human interaction, business commerce, and deal making. They give sustaining quality of life to all relationships, including family relationships, interdepartmental relationships, day-to-day supplier and customer relationships—in fact, any effort to make a sustainable contribution.
A FINAL WORD
This book is a readable, assessable, pragmatic treatment of an extremely timely topic in this new flat world
we now live in. It comes not just out of anecdotal and personal experiences, but is based on empirical research that demonstrates how the speed of trust can be put into the calculus of all of the important metrics inside organizations and relationships. Measurement is what makes this material so hard-edged and practical and so credible.
Seeing Stephen drill down so much deeper and go beyond my own thinking and adding significant new learning and insight has made me very proud and gratefully humbled at the same time. On the single most important need and subject in life—trust—I believe that Stephen has climbed a new summit, both as a model/practitioner and as a serious and competent thought leader.
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