Covey’s Speed of Trust 20: Wave 5—Societal Trust

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. I confess that this chapter may have moved me more than the others—and they really touched me. Once again, please buy The Speed of Trust and put it into action.

Covey shares a quote from a Financial Times editorial “Executives tempted to take shortcuts should remember the dictum of Confucius that good government needs weapons, food, and trust. If the ruler cannot hold onto all three, he should give up weapons first and food next. Trust should be guarded to the end, because ‘without trust, we cannot stand.”

An Example from McDonald’s

Covey shares a story from the riots that followed the Rodney King trial. He pointed out that in all the neighborhoods destroyed by fire, looting, and riot; “Amazingly all the McDonald’s restaurants with in the devastated area were untouched. They stood as unscathed beacons in the midst of the blackened ruins.”

“Obviously the question arose: Why should the McDonald’s buildings be left standing when nearly everything around them was destroyed? The responses of local residents carried a common thread: ‘McDonald’s  cares about our community. They support literacy efforts and sports programs. Young people know they can always get a job at ‘Mickey D’s.’ No one would want  to destroy something that doe so much good for us all.”

“McDonald’s sense of social responsibility created societal trust, and that trust produced clearly observable and measurable results.”

The Principle of Contribution

Covey writes “The overriding principles of societal trust is contribution. It’s the intent to create value instead of destroy it, to give back instead of take. And more and more, people are realizing how important contribution—and the causes it inspires—are to a healthy society.”

Covey talks of personal, global contributions. “We see that trust at the Fifth Wave is a direct result of trustworthiness that begins in the First Wave and flows outward in our relationships, in our organizations, and in the marketplace to fill society as a whole”

“Friday we conclude our review of the book with how to rebuild trust when it’s lost

Covey’s Speed of Trust 19: Wave 4—Market Trust

This continues our series reviewing Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust

Covey says “Market Trust is all about brand or reputation. It’s about the feeling you have that makes you want to buy products or services or invest your money or time—and/or recommend such actions to others. This is the level where most people clearly see the relationship between trust, speed, and cost.” He highlights using trademarks (like the ones at the left) and our reaction and feelings about certain organizations when we see their trademarks. Look at the trademarks and ask how you feel about them. What do you perceive as their reputation or brand?

Branding and Reputations at All Levels

Covey highlights that reputations and brands apply to a variety of entities in various markets:

• “Obviously corporate brand is important to companies with products and services to sell”
• “Cities have reputations which are reflected in published lists of best places to visit or best places to live…which translate into tax dollars, tourist dollars, businesses attracted, and home value appreciation.”
• “On a more micro level, the reputations of a particular team or division within an organization has significant impact on factors such as resource allocation and budget planning”
• “On the most micro level, every individual has his or her own brand or reputation, and that reputation affects trust, speed, and cost…Your personal brand also determines whether or not you are given the benefit of the doubt.”

How to Build Your Brand

Covey continues “So how do you build your brand? And how do you avoid destroying it? By now, I’m sure you won’t be surprised by my answer: ‘The 4 Cores and the 13 Behaviors,’ applied at the organizational levels.”

“But you may be surprised by this: I strongly contend that if your organization (however you define it) strengthens its 4 Cores and demonstrates the 13 Behaviors with its stakeholders, you will be able to measurably increase the value of your organizations brand:”

Read the book to know more. Study the examples he gives about various corporations.

Wednesday we review how contribution affects Wave 5—Societal Trust

Covey’s Speed of Trust 18: Wave 3—Organizational Trust

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. I seriously urge you to buy it and practice these guidelines for trust.

Covey describes helping companies analyze trust in their organization. He writes “The biggest ‘Aha!’ comes when they realize that it’s happening as a result of violating principles—not only individually, but also organizationally. It’s not just violating the 4 Cores and 13 Behaviors; it’s also violating the principles of organizational design that create alignment with the cores and behaviors.”

The 7 Low-Trust Organizational Taxes

Low organizational trust slows the speed of the organization and increases the cost. Covey calls this a trust tax. He identifies seven taxes generated within low-trust organizations. I have personally witnessed all seven taxes in organizations:

• “Redundancy tax is paid in excessive organizational hierarchy, layers of management and overlapping structures all designed to ensure control”
• “Bureaucracy tax is reflected in excessive paper-work, red tape, controls, multiple approval layers, and government regulations. Rather than focusing on continuous improvement and getting better, bureaucracy merely adds complexity and inefficiency—and costs—to the status quo.”
• “Politics in the office generates behaviors such as withholding information, infighting, trying to ‘read the tea leaves,’ operating with hidden agendas, interdepartmental  rivalries, backbiting, and meetings after meetings.”
• “Disengagement is what happens when people continue to work at a company, but have effectively quit (commonly referred to as ‘quit and stay’…One of the biggest reasons for this is they don’t feel trusted”
• “Turnover represents a huge cost for organizations, and in low-trust cultures, turnover is in excess of the industry or market standard.”
• “Churn is the turnover of stakeholders other than employees. When trust inside an organization is low, it gets perpetuated in interaction in the marketplace, causing greater turnover among customers, suppliers, distributors, and investors.”
• “Fraud is flat-out dishonesty, sabotage, obstruction, deception, and disruption—and the cost is enormous. In fact, most of the first six organizational taxes are actually a result of management’s response to this ‘fraud tax’—particularly the taxes of redundancy and bureaucracy.”

Monday we review the high-trust organizational dividends of the 3rd Wave of Trust

Covey’s Speed of Trust 17: Behavior 13 & Smart Trust

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. Read and apply it.

Covey describes the 13th behavior, Extend Trust, “While the other behaviors help you become a more trusted person or manager, this behavior will help you become a more trusting leader. Not only does it build trust, it leverages trust. It creates reciprocity; when you trust people, other people tend to trust you in return.” We will also review Covey’s invitation to extend “Smart Trust”.

Behavior 13: Extend Trust

Covey writes “Extend trust—is different in kind from the rest of the behaviors. It’s about shifting from ‘trust’ as a noun to ‘trust’ as a verb. While the other behaviors help you become a more trusted person or manager, this behavior will help you become a more trusting leader.”

• “Extend trust is based on the principles of empowerment, reciprocity, and a fundamental belief that most people are capable of being trusted, want to be trusted and will run with trust when it is extended to them.”
• “The opposite is to withhold trust, which creates an enormous cost everywhere, especially in organizations.”
• “The counterfeit of Extend Trust takes two forms
  • “The first is extending ‘false trust.’ It’s giving people the responsibility, but not the authority or resources, to get a task done”
  • “The second is extending ‘fake trust’ –acting like you trust someone when you really don’t.”

Smart Trust

Covey warns “Extending trust can bring great dividends. It also creates the possibility of significant risk. So how do you hit the ‘sweet spot’? How do you extend ‘Smart Trust’ in a way that maximizes the dividends and minimizes the risk?”

Study the above graphic:

• “Zone 1 (High Propensity to Trust: Low Analysis) is the ‘Blind Trust’ zone of gullibility”
• “Zone 2 (High Propensity to Trust; High Analysis) is the ‘Smart Trust’ zone of judgment”
• Zone 3 (Low Propensity to Trust; Low analysis) is the ‘No Trust’ zone of indecision”
• Zone 4 (Low Propensity to Trust; High Analysis) is the ‘Distrust’ zone of suspicion”

Friday we discuss Covey’s third wave of trust: Organizational Trust and Alignment

Covey’s Speed of Trust 16: Behaviors 11 & 12 for Wave 2

This continues our series on Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. I highly recommend the book to all my readers.

An old adage applies to Listen First. “There was an old owl who sat on an oak. The more he saw, the less he spoke. The less he spoke, the more he heard. Why can’t we be like this wise old bird?” Covey calls Keep Commitments “the big kahuna” of all behaviors. Roger Merrill said “When you make  a commitment, you build hope. When you keep a commitment, you build trust.”

Behavior 11: Listen First

Covey says “To Listen First means not only really listen (to genuinely seek to understand another person’s thoughts, feelings, experience and point of view), but to do it first (before you try to diagnose, influence, or prescribe).”

• “The principles behind Listen First include understanding, respect, and mutual benefit”
• “The opposite is to speak first and listen last—or not to listen at all”
• “The counterfeit is pretend listening. It’s spending ‘listening’ time thinking about your reply and just waiting for your turn to speak”
• Additional tips include
  • “Don’t assume you know what matters most”
  • “Don’t presume you know everything”

Behavior 12: Keep Commitments

Covey writes ““It’s the quickest way to build trust in any relationship—be it with an employee, a boss, a team member, a customer, a supplier, a spouse, a child, or the public in general.”

• "Keep commitments is based on the principles of integrity, performance, courage, and humility”
• ”The opposite—to break commitments or violate promises—is, without question, the quickest way to destroy trust”
• “The counterfeit of this behavior is to make commitments that are so vague or elusive that nobody can pin you down, or, even worse, to be so afraid of breaking commitments that you don’t even make any in the first place”
• Additional tips include:
  • “Make keeping commitments the symbol of your honor”
  • “Make commitments carefully and keep them”
  • “Don’t break confidence”
  • “Don’t attempt to “PR” your way out of a commitment you’ve broken”

Wednesday we conclude the 13 Behaviors and summarize how to rebuild lost trust

Covey’s Speed of Trust 15: Behavior 9 & 10 for Wave 2

We continue our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. Buy it! Study it!

Behaviors 9 and 10 complement each other. You build trust when you clarify expectations so that others cannot misunderstand them. Covey shares a story of a teenage daughter thinking she had cleaned her room. Her mother did not think so. The mother had not clarified her expectations about clean to her daughter. The author continues“You can practice accountability far better when you’ve clarified expectations first. It’s hard to hold someone accountable if they’re not clear on what the expectations are.”

Behavior 9: Clarify Expectations

Covey writes “Behavior #9—Clarify Expectations—is to create shared vision and agreement about what is to be done up front. This is one of those behaviors that people rarely pay enough attention to”

• “Clarify Expectations is based on the principles of clarity, responsibility, and accountability”
• “The opposite  is to leave expectations undefined—to assume they’re already  known or to fail to disclose them so there is no shared vision of the desired outcomes”
• “The counterfeit is to create ’smoke and mirrors’ –to give lip service to clarifying expectations, but fail to pin down the specifics that facilitate  meaningful accountability”
• Make clarify expectations work
  • “Quantify everything: What results? By whom? By when? At what cost? How will you measure it?”
  • “Look at three variables—quality, speed, and cost—and realize that you can usually pick any two, but not all three”
  • “It is much better to do it up front than to disappoint them later”

Behavior 10: Practice Accountability

Covey describes “There are two key dimensions to the Practice Accountability. The fist is to hold yourself accountable; the second is to hold others accountable. Leaders who generate trust do both.”

• “This behavior is  built on the principles of accountability, responsibility, stewardship, and ownership.”
• “The opposite of this behavior is to not take responsibility, to not own up, but to rather say, ‘It’s not my fault’”
• “Its counterfeit is to point fingers and blame others, to say, ‘It’s their fault”

Friday we analyze the 11th Behavior Listen First and the 12th Behavior Keep Commitments

Covey’s Speed of Trust 14: 7th & 8th Behaviors of Wave 2

This continues our review of Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. Please get the book and study it.

Today we discuss two behaviors for building relationship trust: Get Better and Confront Reality. Covey highlights that the older we get, the more our cautious nature wants to prevent mistakes. We get better if we learn from our mistakes. Confronting reality also builds trust in relationships, especially when we demonstrate trust. “Solutions come much faster and better, and are implemented with the understanding, buy-in, and often the excitement of others involved in the problem-solving process.”

Behavior 7: Get Better

“Get better is based on the principles of continuous improvement, learning and change. It is what the Japanese call kaizen, and it builds enormous trust.”

• “When people see you as a learning, growing, renewing person—or your organization as a learning, growing, renewing organization—they develop confidence in your ability to succeed in a rapidly changing environment, enabling you to build high-trust relationships and move with incredible speed”
• “The opposite is entropy, deterioration, resting on your laurels or becoming irrelevant”
• The counterfeits are
  • “The “eternal student” always learning but never producing”
  • “It’s trying to force-fit everything into whatever you’re good at doing”

The author recommends two ways to get better: seek feedback—and listen to it—and learn from mistakes

Behavior 8: Confront Reality

Covey continues ”When you Confront Reality, it affects speed and cost in at least two important ways. First, it builds the kind of relationships that facilitate open interaction and fast achievement. Second, instead of having to wrestle with all the hard issues on your own while trying to paint a rosy picture for everyone else, you actually engage the creativity, capability, and synergy of others in solving those issues.”

• “Confront Reality is based on the principles of courage, responsibility, awareness and respect”
• “The opposite is to ignore it, to act as though it doesn’t exist”
• “The counterfeit is to act as though you’re confronting reality when you’re actually evading it. It’s focusing on busywork while skirting the real issue.”

Saturday we review behaviors 9 Clarify Expectations & 10 Practice Accountability