"The Speed of Trust"

I was at a wonderful presentation this past week put on by the FranklinCovey company. The presentation was from a company called CoveyLink Worldwide which was founded by Steven R.Covey's son of the recently departed Steven M. Covey. He S.R. as they call him, has written several books on the concept of TRUST and how POWERFUL trust is in moving organizations forward and allowing organizations and individuals to maximize their personal performance and the performance of the involved parties when REAL TRUST is in place. You can find his book THE SPEED OF TRUST at http://tinyurl.com/ckstv8h.




 In my business, TRUST IS A CORE COMPONENT OF OUR VALUES and it has served us very well. This is why we have so many clients that come back again and again and so many that keep referring us to home buyers and people who want to refinance their real estate. 


The Covey Company has 13 core behaviors that they presented to us that I want to share with you, so for the next several blogs I am going to share some of their thinking with you. I hope you find their words and strategies as meaningful to you as I did for me. Much of it is things I know and things I am sure you know. But there is just something meaningful when you read these ideas or hear them articulated in a manner that creates real clarity and fresh perspectives.


Behavior #1     TALK STRAIGHT


They say, we need to be honest. We need to tell the truth. We need to let people know where we stand. We should do this using simple language. We should call things what they are. We should demonstrate integrity and not manipulate people or distort facts. We should not spin the truth and leave false impressions. 


What is the opposite of talking straight? They say, to lie and deceive. 


When one is "counterfeit" when it comes to talking straight the are "spinning", positioning, posturing, and manipulating. Withholding information, beating around the bush, double-talking and flattering. Or they use "Corporate speak." Technically telling the truth, but leaving the wrong impression.


How do you talk straight and make it acceptable to people? You might use phrases like:

• Here is how I see the situation
• This is what I feel strongly about
• I suggest we consider doing the following
• These are the facts as I see them
• I respect you, and I want to talk straight with you
• My intent is to be candid with you
• Let me tell you what I have observed
• This is my experience and understanding

We have a culture that is too often unaccustomed to "Talking Straight" and in not living with clarity and integrity we muddy the waters, making moving forward in harmony and maximizing our mutual skills difficult. We get stuck in the muck of distrust, having to be cautious or doing things we don't believe in and have to overcome our ill feelings because we faked, not communicating our truthful thoughts it to avoid conflict but also neglecting the truth and building on trust. 

In all relationships they say that there are case studies that prove that with TRUST achievement rises, success rises at exponential speeds taking businesses and relationships to new levels of success.

This was really clear by the time their presentation was over. I hope this blog for the next few weeks provides you with some useful information to impact your work environment, your family environment and your relationships with people resulting in higher performance for you and those with whom you interact.

TRUST is a cornerstone to all good things. This is something I have always believed.