Covey’s Speed of Trust 3: Character and Competence

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. I share tidbits to encourage you to buy the book, study it carefully, and implement its teachings.

Covey writes “Most of us tend to think about trust in terms of character—of being a good or sincere person or of having ethics or integrity. And character is absolutely foundational and essential. But as I suggested in the previous chapter, to think that trust is based on character only is a myth.”

Trust: a Function of Character and Competence

I agree with Covey’s premise about character and competence

• “Character includes your integrity, your motive, your intent with people”
• “Competence includes your capabilities, your skills, your results, your track record”
• “Both are vital”

Covey states that, even as society reinforces ethics, ethics alone will not engender trust. People must note the ethics, integrity, and character of a person to trust them, He writes

• “You might think a person is sincere, even honest, but you won’t trust that person fully if he or she doesn’t get results”
• “And the opposite is true”
• “A person might have great skills and talents and a good track record, but if he or she is not honest, you’re not going to trust that person either.”

Elements that Support and Develop Trust

The chart at the top of the post shows 4 cores of credibility for both character and competence:

• Character uses two cores: intent and integrity.
  • Good intents include caring, transparency, and openness
  • Integrity includes honesty, fairness, and authenticity
• Competence uses two cores: capability and results.
  • Capability includes skills, knowledge, and experience
  • Results develop your reputation, credibility, and performance

Others Confirm This Principle

Covey shares quotes from other leaders that confirm the dual factors of trust:

• Jack Welch “Live the values” (character) and “Deliver results” (competence)
• Warren Buffett prioritizes “integrity” (character) and “intelligence” (competence)
• Jim Collins describes level 5 leaders possessing “extreme personal humility (character) and “intense professional will” (competence)
• Ram Charan emphasizes “a leader of the people” (character) and a “leader of business” (competence)

Monday we will introduce Covey’s Five Waves of Trust

Covey’s Speed of Trust 3: Character and Competence

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. I share tidbits to encourage you to buy the book, study it carefully, and implement its teachings.

Covey writes “Most of us tend to think about trust in terms of character—of being a good or sincere person or of having ethics or integrity. And character is absolutely foundational and essential. But as I suggested in the previous chapter, to think that trust is based on character only is a myth.”

Trust: a Function of Character and Competence

I agree with Covey’s premise about character and competence

• “Character includes your integrity, your motive, your intent with people”
• “Competence includes your capabilities, your skills, your results, your track record”
• “Both are vital”

Covey states that, even as society reinforces ethics, ethics alone will not engender trust. People must note the ethics, integrity, and character of a person to trust them, He writes

• “You might think a person is sincere, even honest, but you won’t trust that person fully if he or she doesn’t get results”
• “And the opposite is true”
• “A person might have great skills and talents and a good track record, but if he or she is not honest, you’re not going to trust that person either.”

Elements that Support and Develop Trust

The chart at the top of the post shows supporting elements to both character and competence:

• Character adds to trust because of intent and integrity.
  • Good intents include caring, transparency, and openness
  • Integrity includes honesty, fairness, and authenticity
• Competence involves both capability and results.
  • Capability includes skills, knowledge, and experience
  • Results develop your reputation, credibility, and performance

Others Confirm This Principle

Covey shares quotes from other leaders that confirm the dual factors of trust:

• Jack Welch “Live the values” (character) and “Deliver results” (competence)
• Warren Buffett prioritizes “integrity” (character) and “intelligence” (competence)
• Jim Collins describes level 5 leaders possessing “extreme personal humility (character) and “intense professional will” (competence)
• Ram Charan emphasizes being “a leader of the people” (character) and a “leader of business” (competence)

Monday we will introduce Covey’s Five Waves of Trust

Covey’s Speed of Trust 2: Trust Taxes & Trust Dividends

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. I strongly encourage you to buy the book, read it a few times, and implement his counsel.

Stephen M. R. Covey illustrates what he calls “The Economics of Trust”. He clearly demonstrates how trust impacts the speed and cost to organizations. He dispels the myth that trust is a nice-to-have, but non-essential element in business. He helps you quantify the impact, negative or positive, trust levies on you.

A Simple Formula

He writes “Here’s a simple formula that will enable you to take trust from an intangible and unquantifiable variable to an indispensable factor that is both tangible and quantifiable. The formula is based on this critical insight: Trust always affects two outcomes speed and cost. When trust goes down, speed will also go down and costs will go up.”

 Trust =   Speed  h Cost

When trust goes up, speed will also go up and costs will go down

h Trust =  h Speed i Cost

Trust Taxes & Trust Dividends

Use this formula to factor whether you pay a trust tax or dividend.

You pay a trust tax each time someone discounts what you say because they do not trust you, or when you discount what someone says because you don’t trust them. When trust goes down, so does speed and costs go up. Your pay a tax for the mistrust.

You receive a trust dividend when people act faster because they trust you. I’ve seen many situations where staff performed faster, better, and more because they trusted someone or the cause they worked to expand. Business deals proceed faster when both sides trust each other. Trust truly pays a financial dividend in speed and cost.

Trust: the Hidden Variable

Covey presents that trust is hidden variable in business. He modifies the traditional business formula: SxE=R (Strategy times execution equals results). He adds trust as a component of the formula: (SxE)T=R ([Strategy times execution] times trust equals results)

Please buy and study Covey’s book.

Friday we review how character & competence affect trust

Covey’s Speed of Trust 1: Pervasive Lack of Trust

This begins a series reviewing and discussing Stephen M. R. Covey’s book Speed of Trust

I’m reading Stephen M. R. Covey’s book Speed of Trust and thoroughly enjoying it. He addresses a growing problem that divides America. We don’t trust each other. Voters do not trust government. Government does not trust citizens. Employees don’t trust management. Management does not trust workers. Growing divorce rates indicate spouses don’t trust their companions. Covey correctly assesses a fundamental problem in the world..

An Example

Last week I ate dinner with a couple I had never met. The conversation turned to what I do for a living. I help people turn work into jobs they love and to earn the biggest raises and the best promotions.

Both the husband and wife stated they couldn’t get raises because they work for the government. The husband, who works for his state’s Department of Correction informed me that his department did not give merit or cost-of-living raises. His wife told me she had not received a raise at her work in county government for three years.

Our conversation bothered me. After tossing and turning in bed for two hours, I arose at 5am to research their assertions. Since both worked in the public sector their salaries were published.

To my dismay, I found they were correct. In fact, I read several stories about salary disputes in his state’s Department of Corrections. The legislature passed a mere 1% salary increases for his state’s Department of Corrections. At the same time, the state had decreased the department’s budget between 3-7.8% each year for 6 years. The director of the department did not pass on the salary increases in 3 of 5 years. In June of this year, several corrections employees filed suit to receive the promised pay increases.

A Growing Trend

Practices like this and others similar to it—on both sides—create divisions that affect all of us emotionally and financially. Covey offers insights that can affect your career. I strongly encourage you to read Speed of Trust.

Wednesday we will examine Covey’s concept of trust taxes and trust dividends

Find Funding for College 21: In Summary

This concludes our series on finding funding for college

We covered a lot of information in the previous posts. So, we thought we would put all the pieces back together in this final post on the subject.  Then you can accelerate your efforts to get the money you deserve. We hope it helps you.

5 Steps

1. Set a goal for how much money you want.  Recognize funding committees want to give the money to someone like you. Then, act with confidence and excellence
2. Find the financial aid through Internet scholarship search engines, high school guidance counselors, scholarship books, local organizations, and other sources
3. Prepare a master application containing the answers to all application questions. Include a list of awards, performances, competitions, and transcripts. Highlight 4 themes with 3 categories for each one. Write 3 home run statements for each category
4. Write 5-6 essays on topics preferred by scholarship committees. Edit them 2-3 times with an English teacher. Make minor adaptations as you submit them
5. Obtain letters of recommendation from people at work, in school, or at church. Ask the director of each organization you include in a service project to write a letter. Coordinate so that your letters restate your home run statements. That adds credibility to your application.

Stick With It

If you have a 3.0 grade point average or higher, and follow these steps, you will get some money. Everyone who ever followed this formula—and did not get money—either had a GPA below 3.0, or failed to include #, $, % in their home run statements, or were applying to attend for-profit, proprietary schools. We state publicly, this system will not work in the case of too low a GPA, poorly prepared materials, or for-profit proprietary schools.

Let us conclude with a return on investment analysis. Let us assume that you spend:

• 20 hours and only get $1,000. You earned $50 an hour
• 60 hours and get $25,000. You earned $417 an hour
• 80 hours and get $100,000. You earned $1,250 an hour

Those are pretty good salaries for a 17 or 57 year old! Don’t give up!

Find Funding for College 20: Get Help or Do This in Groups

This continues our series about how to find funding for college

Completing all the work we’ve discussed in previous posts requires a lot of work. Finding all the sources of grants, scholarships, work-study, and even loans takes time. Preparing reusable master applications, essays, and letters of recommendation intimidates most potential college students—youth or adults. Doing it all by yourself increases anxiety and can cause you to quit. So, build a team of people who support and assist you.

Several People Will Help…

• High school guidance counselors (if you are still in high school or recently graduated) can help you find financial aid and prepare your reusable materials. Ask the one who maintains the scholarship information on your high school’s web page.
• College financial aid counselors will help you with money specific to their school, but usually not outside sources. For-profit, proprietary colleges generally do not receive a lot of scholarships, but they will help you apply for grants and lots of loans. They help with your FAFSA.
• English teachers can help you prepare reusable essays and other reusable materials—if asked appropriately. They will review and edit your essays and master application 2-3 times to make them perfect.
• Parents share a great motivation to help you find funding for college. The more you find, the less they pay. Let them help. Don’t fight them.
• Friends can work together to find and apply for financial aid. Frequently, your friends share some of the same themes and experiences. You can help one another remember and prepare home run statements. Stay focused. Don’t just play.

…If You Ask Nicely

We expect teachers and guidance counselors to do more work than possible, with huge caseloads—and for tiny, inadequate salaries. They will work hard for serious students. So, we suggest you use ask for help using the following script:

“Mr. or Ms. Smith, I’m going to apply for more than 100 grants and scholarships. Would you help me make sure my master application (or essays, or letters of recommendation) are perfect?”

Friday we will summarize all the steps and put them together into an efficient process

Find Funding for College 19: Letters of Recommendation

This continues our series on preparing reusable materials to get money for college

Most financial aid application packets will require you to attach letters of recommendation to your application. Some people wait to obtain letters of recommendation until they complete the application. They fail to request reusable letters they can attach to multiple applications. They hesitate to ask permission to change the address and salutation lines of the letter. Forethought can enhance the quality and power of your letters of recommendation. You need 5-8 letters.

Sources of Letters of Recommendation

You may ask a variety of people to write you letters of recommendation. You may begin collecting letters before you begin applying for financial aid. Several people can provide you with excellent letters of recommendation:

• School leaders: teachers, coaches, counselors, principals, and club advisors
• Community leaders: directors of organizations you lead, serve, or join
• Work leaders: your supervisor, manager, business owner, client, or supplier
• Church leaders: your pastor, youth pastor, teachers, and others
• Influential people you know: family, friends, and corporate executives

The former dean of admissions for the Harvard Medical School advised “Most students ask someone that knows Harvard to provide a letter of recommendation. You need to ask someone that Harvard knows. That’s impressive.”

Tips for Great Letters of Recommendation

Your letters of recommendation attest to your character, personal traits, themes, and reasons you deserve the financial aid. The following tips can help you obtain great letters of recommendation:

• Offer to draft the letter for them to edit or change in any way they wish
• Ask an English teacher to review and edit the draft of the letter you prepare
• Provide letter writers with home run statements that apply to your work with them
• Ask for letters from advisors and service project recipients at the time of service
• Ask for an e-copy of the letter on electronic letterhead for more impressive images
• Scan hardcopy letters so that you have an electronic copy with letterhead
• Keep letters to one page with three parts: introduction, body, conclusion

Wednesday we will discuss how to put reusable materials into an application process

Find Funding for College 18: Write Reusable Essays

This continues our series on preparing reusable materials to get money for college

Most scholarships require that you submit an essay with your application. Luckily, they communicate the topics of the essay—and many of them use similar topics. As a result, you may write and reuse essays. In fact, you may have already written some essays in school that you may use for scholarships. You may also ask teachers to substitute these scholarship topics for writing assignments for class.

Scholarship committees currently want 350-500 word essays. They ask you to complete essays for a variety of reasons: to see how well you write, analyze, think, and express yourself.

You can expand your themes, categories, and home run statements into the majority of these essays.

General Essay Topics

• Tell us about yourself.
• What traits do you have that will enhance your education and future employment?
• Tell us about a book or article you have read, or class you have attended, that has inspired you.
• Why do you need this scholarship?
• Why does education matter to my community?
• Describe something you have done in the last 12 months that could change the world.
• Do you consider yourself to be a leader? Why or why not?
• Describe your personal goals relating to a current issue such as health care, nuclear disarmament, conflict resolution, or a current topic of your choice.

Specialized Topics

• Your Field of Study
  • How will your study of _______ contribute to your immediate or long range career plans?
  • What are the most important issues your field is facing today?
  • What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
• Current Events and Social Issues
  • What do you consider to be the single most important societal problem? Why?
  • What do you see as the greatest threat to the environment today?
  • Describe your feelings concerning freedom, liberty, and/or patriotism.
• Personal Achievements
• Background and Influences
  • Pick an experience from your own life and explain how it has influenced your development.
  • How has your family background affected the way you see the world?

Monday we will discuss where to obtain 5-6 reusable letters of recommendation

Find Funding for College 17: Themes and Home Runs

This continues our series about reusable materials that will help you get money for college

The third part of your reusable master application contains your themes, categories, and home run statements. You copy and paste them into the larger fields of scholarship applications. They answer questions like “Describe your leadership experience”, “Describe your extracurricular activities”, “Describe your athletic experience”, and “Describe yourself”.

Theme Describe Your Life

You establish themes in your life by repeatedly doing something. Select 4 from the following list:

• Service
• Leadership
• Academics
• Athletics
• Creative talent
• Entrepreneurship
• Civic activism
• Survivor
• Ethnic background
• Technology
• Other

Categories Demonstrate Breadth

You must demonstrate breadth in your theme. Identify 3 categories to each theme. Here are some examples on how to divide themes:

• Service: 1) school, 2) community, and 3) church
• Leadership: 1) school, 2) community, and 3) church
• Academics: 1) math, 2) science, and 3) history
• Athletics: 1) football, 2) basketball, and 3) golf
• Creative talent: 1) dance, 2) music, and 3) art

Home Run Statements Show Depth

Write 3 home run statements for each category (4 themes x 3 categories each x 3 home run statements for each category = 36 home run statements). Read my blog describing home run statements to learn what they are and how to write them.

You prepare home run statements in 5 steps:

• Write the 36 ideas in your master application
  • “Painted addresses on house curbs for Jim’s Eagle Project”
• Expand the ideas into complete sentences
  • “One Saturday, some scouts painted home addresses on curbs of houses in our neighborhood for fire, police, and others to see better”
• Transform implied numbers into solid numbers
  • “For 6 hours one Saturday , 8 scouts painted home addresses on curbs of 72 houses in our neighborhood for fire, police, and others to see better”
• Refine the sentence
  • “I was part of a team of 8 scouts who spent 6 hours one Saturday painting addresses on the curbs of 72 houses so emergency responders could find the homes better.”
• Have someone else edit your statements

Friday we describe subjects for reusable essays and how to write them

Find Funding for College 16: Prepare a Master Application

This continues our series on preparing reusable materials to earn scholarship money

You will find 100+ scholarships and complete 100+ application forms. You will complete the applications significantly faster and easier if you prepare a master application first. A master application contains prepared and edited answers to application questions. You copy and paste the answers into applications. You can also use your master application to complete future college and job applications.

Elements of a Master Application

You will divide your master application into three parts:

• Part A: Answers to application questions: Go to our web site to download an article about master applications. We reviewed eleven applications and transferred their questions into the article. You may use the article to write your answers in your master application.
• Part B: Lists of awards, events, championships, and copies of transcripts from high school or college. You will use this information for questions about how many hours you studied subjects and your grades. You will also use the information to prepare themes and home run statements.
• Part C: Themes, categories, and home run statements for the questions in applications that have the larger fields for answers. (We will examine this section of the application on Wednesday)

How to Prepare a Master Application

Use either Google Documents or another cloud based program so that you may access it anywhere. Follow the simple steps below:

• Prepare Part A by putting the article you downloaded on the left side of the screen with your master application on the right side.
  • Read the question from the article
  • Type your answer into your master application
  • Add answers as you encounter questions from other applications
• Prepare Part B by typing information about the important focuses from your life. For example, list:
  • Dance or music recitals in which you performed
  • Sporting leagues in which you competed
  • Leadership positions you held in your school, community, or church
  • Copy your high school or college transcript
• Prepare Part C (we will discuss on Wednesday)
• Ask someone to edit it

Join us Wednesday to discuss themes, categories, and home run statements in your application

Find Funding for College 15: Completing Your FAFSA

This continues ours series describing how to use reusable materials for financial aid.

The first reusable material we will discuss is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Almost all federal financial aid programs require that you complete a FAFSA. You must complete your FAFSA between February 1 and June 1 of each year. Your FAFSA will include information from your income tax or your parents income tax form 1040.

Details About Your FAFSA

The student aid web site outlines how to fill out the FAFSA. You have to fill out the FAFSA every year you’re in school in order to stay eligible for federal student aid. It states

“There are several ways to file:

• Online at www.fafsa.gov is faster and easier than using paper.
• If you need a paper FAFSA, you can
  • download a PDF FAFSA or
  • order a paper FAFSA.
• Ask the financial aid office at your college or career school if you can file it there. Some schools will use special software to submit your FAFSA for you.”

“Applying isn’t the last step; your FAFSA has to be processed, and then you get an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which your college or career school uses to figure out how much aid you can get. Find out more about what happens after you fill out the FAFSA, including how aid is calculated and when and how you’ll get your aid.”

Tips for Completing Your FAFSA

“Filling out the FAFSA can be a straightforward and easy process. FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.gov) will guide you through the application; click on the “Start Here” button on the home page, and just follow the directions on the screen. Here are some tips to help you along the way (follow the link to learn more).

• Get a PIN
• Gather the documents needed to apply
• Get help
• Log in and provide your basic personal information
• List colleges and/or career schools
• Determine your dependency status
• Report parents information
• Provide financial information
• Sign and submit the FAFSA
• Take the nest steps”

Monday we will explain how to complete a master application

Find Funding for College 14: Prepare Reusable Materials

This continues our series on finding funding for college to get others to pay for school

The previous posts outlined how to find financial aid including grants, loans, scholarships, work-study programs, parents, and educational saving plans. Hopefully, you followed the links and instructions. If so, you found 40-200 sources of financial aid. You should have found more than $100,000s of funding. The next step in our plan, step 3, allows you to apply for those thousands of dollars quickly (30-60 minutes) and impressively (Awesome and WOW).

Reusable Materials Save Time

Reusable materials reduce the amount of time you use to apply for financial aid. Most people begin each application from scratch. When you follow our approach, you prepare the materials once. Then, you repeatedly copy and paste them into the applications. Reusable materials include:

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): Most government and college student aid programs use this application which must be completed by June 1st each year.
• Master application: A document you prepare, and store on the cloud, containing prepared answers to all the questions asked on applications.
• Essays: Many applications require that you submit an essay with the applications. We suggest you write 5-8 (or use some you already wrote) and adapt them to the application.
• Letters of Recommendation: You collect at least 5 letters from leaders in the community, your school, your church, your work, and other influential people.

Tips for Preparing the Materials

The following general tips will help you prepare your reusable materials. We will add details about each one in future posts.

• Plan on using your master application throughout your life to apply for financial aid, schools and universities, and future employment.
• Use Google Documents, Microsoft Live, or another cloud-based platform so that you can access your materials anywhere in the world.
• Add information to materials as you discover new questions, experiences, and successes.
• Stay motivated and spend the time preparing your reusable materials.
• Work with another person to review, edit, and perfect your materials.

Friday we will discuss tips for preparing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Find Funding for College 13: Parents & 529 Savings Plan

This continues our series on finding money to pay for college—using someone else’s

Parents remain major contributors to pay for college. Most used to pay directly from their savings or earnings. Many created and contributed to a 529 educational savings plan. Sadly, too many took out their own loans to pay for their children’s schooling. The recent economic crisis and the attack on the middle class created financial stress on American families. Rising tuition rates accentuated the family’s financial crunch.

Parents Pay

Parents paid for children to go to college since the beginning of the country.  Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession. reported 47% of respondents indicated that parents and relatives paid for their college.

“Most recent college graduates are also far from financially independent of their parents or other family members. Family members are helping their young graduates with basic necessities, such as food (22%), health care (15%), housing 30%, [student loans 10%], and car payments (9%). Overall 51% of the respondents to our survey get financial support from their parents or relatives.”

529 Educational Savings Plan

Federal Student Aid writes “A QTP/529 plan is established by a state or school so that you can either prepay or save up to pay education-related expenses. Once you’re in college or career school and you withdraw money from your account to pay your education expenses, the money you withdraw will not be taxed.”

Saving for College names the top 7 benefits of 529 plans:

• Federal tax benefits: 529 plans offer unsurpassed income tax breaks
• State tax benefits: Your own state may offer other tax breaks
• Donor retains control of funds
• Low maintenance provides a very easy hands-off way to save for college
• Simplified tax reporting through a 1099 when you start withdrawing
• Flexible if you want to move your investment around, you many change to a different option
• Substantial deposits allowed for each child’s account

Each state authorizes 529 plans. You can find the your state at this list.

Wednesday we begin examining step 3 creating reusable materials to apply for financial aid