Image via WikipediaThe day before I wrote this the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 777 points, an all-time negative scoring record. The plunge occurred because contrary to expectations, Congress failed to pass the bailout plan Wall Street was counting on to restore calm to the markets.
Even with elections only a month away, I am certain that Ronald Reagan or the first-term Bill Clinton would have gotten this legislation through. Why? Because both of those men had a critical mass of trust. President Bush does not.
Leaders must have trust. Whether leaders are running a country, a Fortune 500 firm, or a bagel shop, they cannot succeed without it. They don’t have a prayer.
- Trust is what persuades people to do things even though they don’t precisely understand the what and the why.
- Trust is what inspires people with opposing points of view to drop their swords and act for a greater good.
So … How do you earn trust in your business? How do you decide whether someone else is trustworthy?
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Brad,
Trust, in my view, is built through two primary mechanisms – reputation and personal customer experience.
Both of these, in turn, depend upon delivering products or services of a consistent quality over a long time frame.
The local diner close to where I live has earned my trust through delivering consistent, good quality, healthy food every time I go there.
‘The Economist’ magazine, and their Korean distributor, on the other hand, have completely lost my trust by consistently failing to deliver a weekly copy of the magizine, despite my consistent complaints to the Asian subscription department.
In short – deliver consistent performance and earn well deserved trust in the marketplace.
(P.S. Strange that a small, rural, family owned diner can produce quality on a consistent basis, but a global publisher cannot)
Andrews last blog post..Socially Responsible Investment part 7 – The magnitude of SRI
I think John McCain had the best response to Bush’s original proposal: “When you’re asking for $700 billion dollars, a simple ‘Trust me’ isn’t enough.” I agree that Bush has lost trust. Unfortunately that’s true of most second-term presidents. I’ve never been a Bush fan, but I try to be fair.
As a consumer I have great loyalty to some companies, but once one has lost my trust it’s gone for a long time at best. Usually it’s forever.
Jean Browman–Cheerful Monks last blog post..Creating a Sacred Space
Andrew, Attention to detail is critical to establishing trust. Maybe that’s actually a place where small organizations have an advantage over large ones.
Jean, Do you think the problem of second term presidents losing trust says more about them or about us? Does familiarity breed contempt? I never thought about it that way, so thank you for your observations!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Trust Me
Charles Dow published his initial market average on July 3rd, 1884 in the “Customer’s Afternoon Letter”. Below is a list of the stocks that have made up the Dow Jones Industrial Average at different points in time from 1885 to 2001.
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smithsan
message marketing
Hi Brad – trust is really important in any type of business isn’t it. One way to instantly build it is to do exactly what you say you will. And also, if things go wrong – sort out the problem right away.
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Brad, I think it takes common ground, consideration, transparency and consistency to gain trust. Common ground could mean common interests, values or goals.
I have to say I’m extremely loyal to the brands I can connect to. But that connection in thoughts and ideas never works unless they treat me nicely, deliver what they promised and keep the same level of quality. When things dramatically change, I have to say I rarely trust that company again!
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Smithsan, I don’t think your link made it through, but it sounds interesting. I’ll bet a lot of companies have come and gone.
Cath, One of my mentors liked to say, “Underpromise and overdeliver.” Unless your business is delivering babies, I think that’s great advice. Speed is always of the essence, and I hold the Web responsible for that!
Alina, Consistency is a great, great point. Unexpected change causes people to freak out. McDonald’s is noted for its consistency. We live near their HQ and training center and I’ve seen the great lengths to which they drill franchisees in an effort to make every restaurant predictable. It works.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Trust Me
How can you trust a bill that allows for all the persons involved in our current “credit crisis” to be unaccountable for their actions, and to give them more money to try and fix it?
I think if the plan was better we could pass it, but not the way it is. That is wrong. Who in their right mind would give away their money to someone who just lost all their money?
~ Jim
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In Corporate America I can look back and recall less than 5 leaders whom I trusted and stand out even today as great leaders. Trust was earned by clear communication, adherence to their word and actions that matched their words. Initial trust is fragile and is easily broken. I earn my customer’s trust by matching my actions to my words.
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Jim, Who exactly are you referring to? The Treasury Dept? Congress? The Federal Reserve?
Karen, The former mayor of Detroit is sure a poster child for poor leadership. Chicago and Illinois state government are anything but inspiring. Sad.
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The Sec of Treasury and the Bank Employees. The Sec will have free rain to spend the money the way he wants to, and the Bank Employees who misspent the money last time will not be penalized.
If I understand correctly,
~ Jim
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Test
Testing back…
Jim Gaudets last blog post..The Secret – Do you believe?
Jim, Every time a government representative speaks on the crisis, the market averages drop about 3%. So far none of the fixes have fixed anything.
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