Recently finished reading a book on a very simple, age old concept - TRUST. It's "The Speed of Trust" by Stephen M.R. Covey. I must admit that I bought the book thinking it was written by his father - Stephen.R.Covey (author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). This is one of those books which again make you wonder why you hadn't got hold of earlier in life. The concepts are not new. The stories are not new either. He has essentially given a good mix of "7 Habits..." and "Good to Great" (by Jim Collins). The book has its pages where you turn fast to skip to the next one, but it also has pages that you turn fast eager to see what is coming up next.
One key message or rather new message that I got was Trust is not just soft feeling attributed to good character, but also a combination of competence. Character + Competence = Trust. If only we can remember this, if not all, many of our relationship issues may get better (not solved). He says "Character includes your integrity, motive and intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, skills, results and track record." Each topic is structured in a manner that the concept or habit has 2 sides to it. He discusses the 2 extremes and how one needs to be in the "sweet spot" - right in the middle for effectiveness.
When I first started with my new job in Sydney, it took a while before I could implement a few changes. At first I did not have any clue why such a time-tested proven methodology takes such a long time to be adopted. Now I realize it has got nothing to do with the methodology. The stakeholders here did not have any clue either about my character nor my competency. That simply slowed down the process. Mr. Covey calls them the "Trust Tax". I was paying them so heavily that I was almost bankrupt. :-)
Talking about capabilities and competencies, he says "The attitude and habit of continually improving is one of the prime differentiators between companies that remain relevant and succeed and those that fall by the wayside in today's global economy". Simply put - Complacency Kills!!
The author was not too convincing (in my mind) though in terms what he tries to say about re-building trust in certain extreme cases. Yes, he definitely does not give a false pretention that anything and everything can be patched up. However his initial arguments of the ability to restore lost trust and how one can go about it is a little weak.
All in all a good book. Definitely worth giving your time for this.
Enjoy
C
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