One of the mastermind groups I am participating in was created by my friend Paul and it based on Michael Hyatt’s book Platform. We have challenged ourselves to read and mastermind on twelve books this year all focused on living and working with integrity while providing our service and as Hyatt puts it, “Get Noticed In A Noisy World.” (See my original post on Platform)
This will be the first of twelve each, four-week series dedicated to the twelve books we are studying this year. This series is based on David Horsager’s book “The Trust Edge.” How Top Leaders Gain Faster Results, Deeper Relationships, and a stronger Bottom Line.
The basic premise of the book is that when we build trust, we gain a competitive advantage in the world we live in. I believe that this applies to both our personal and professional lives. Simply put, when we build trust, we build relationships. And as we all know, people want to spend time with, associate with and do business with people they trust.
Horsager opens the book by making a case for trust by describing three concepts:
1. THE TRUST EDGE
Horsager defines trust as:
- To do what is right
- To deliver what is promised
- To be the same every time, whatever the circumstances
He goes on to make this statement: “The trust edge is the competitive advantage gained when others confidently believe in you.” I have always know that trust is very important in almost every asect of our lives. He has done an amazing job bring clarity to just how important it is. My father taught me many years ago, that you should never invest in a business without being able to invest in the people behind it. Understanding the trust edge brings clarity to what he told me thirty years ago.
2. IMPACT OF TRUST
Horsager suggests that “Trust, not money, is the currency of business and life.” This statement packs a lot of power. Think about it – typically when we want something, we have to pay for it. This is generally done using money. Understanding the impact of trust, we understand that if you really want something you will go to a trusted source. More importantly, in business or in our personal lives, if we want to sell a product or service we need to have the trust of our client or customer. Put this to the test – who do you do business with or buy from? I would suggest that it is from a trusted source.
3. BARRIERS TO OVERCOME
“Fewer than two out of five employees today have trust or confidence in their senior leaders.” Does that number surprise you? Less than forty percent of people trust the person they are working for. Several things strike me about that statement. How does this equate to employee engagement? Productivity? Loyalty? At the end of the day, employees are both a companies’ greatest asset and greatest liability at the same time. If they are not trusting you as a leader, their focus will most likely be on someone or something that they view as being more interested in protecting their assets that they will be in protecting yours.
The Trust Edge has totally exceeded my expectations. Horsager does an outstanding job expanding the concept of trust and how it relates to so many more areas of the things we do and who we are. Part 2 and 3 will cover Horsager’s Eight Pillars of Trust.
The question I leave you with today is very simple: Do you have the Trust Edge?
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Barry Smith www.buildingwhatmatters.com 1/23/13 photo courtesy of Amazon
