trust

The Speed of Trust - Page 7

The Five Waves of Trust

Reputation

Market trust

Contribution

Societal trust

Market trust is easy to understand and measure. It is driven by your reputation. When customers, investors and others in the marketplace trust your brand, they act differently. They will buy more, refer more and give you the benefit of the doubt. They will also stay with you especially when they can see how your brand is evolving and improving over time. The fourth wave of trust rests squarely and solidly on the foundation of reputation. Your brand’s value will be based on the amount of trust it has in the marketplace. If your reputation is good, people will trust you and you will be able to get things done at greater speed and lower costs.

Societal trust increases when you create value for others and for society at large. The key here is to make a meaningful contribution. When you give something back to society, suspicion and cynicism can be offset or allayed. Frequently these actions also inspire others to create value and to contribute aswell.

Alignment

Reputation

2 1 Credibility

Consistent behavior

Contribution

Reputation

Alignment

1 Credibility 2

Credibility Consistent behavior

The essence of the fifth wave of trust is to make a contribution. It is to create value by giving back instead of taking. Contribution leads to a healthy society and has become a social and economic necessity in the knowledge era. While there have been numerous headlines about individuals who have made substantial contributions to society, the great bulk of the contributions are made by thousands of individuals and organizations who contribute in small ways in communities throughout the world. The aggregate of the donations of time and energy donated towards causes like literacy, health, education and social welfare far outweighs the high profile contributions which attract all the media coverage. The pragmatic benefits which flow from these contributions are important and very noteworthy. Many organizations now see doing good as an integral part of their business model rather than as something which is done in addition to business. For example, an increasing number of companies have elevated the concept of global citizenship to a position of prominence. It’s becoming more and more widespread for organizations to report on a “triple bottom line” basis which measures corporate success not only by financial measures but also in terms of societal and environmental impact. “At the heart of organizational global citizenship is individual global citizenship. It’s you and me making the conscious decision to value and invest in the well-being of others. It’s you and me carrying out that decision in every dimension of our lives.” – Stephen M. Covey “One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in another department. Life is one indivisible whole.” – Mahatma Gandhi “Customers get impressions about products from hundreds of sources, but when they believe a company is a good citizen, they feel more positively about a brand.” – Shelley Lazarus, chairman and CEO, Oglivy & Mather “Commerce dies the moment, and is sick in the degree in which men cannot trust each other.” – Henry Ward Beecher, author

Building your brand is actually little more than applying the 4 Cores and the 13 Behaviors at the organizational and marketplace levels. If your organization strengthens its 4 Cores and demonstrates the 13 behaviors with all its stakeholders, there will be measurable increases in the value of your brand. To look at how you’re doing in this area, ask yourself: Does our brand have integrity – do we have a reputation for being honest and willing to face everything head on? Does our brand demonstrate good intent – are we perceived as being focused on serving our customers or simply as being out to make a profit? Does our brand have positive connotations – do people associate the brand with excellence or irrelevance? Is our brand associated with results – do our customers feel like we deliver what was promised and are they willing to recommend us to their friends? If your answers to these questions pinpoint some problems, the 4 Cores provide a great diagnostic tool for understanding the reasons why and then doing something about it. It will either be a problem of character (integrity or intent) or competence (capabilities or results). Once you understand where the problem lies, you can then zero in on the area where improvement is needed. By then analyzing how your organization performs on the 13 Behaviors, you can maximize your efforts to enhance your reputation.

“Without customer’s trust, the rest doesn’t matter.” – Ram Charan, business author

“Trust is a key building block in the creation of a company’s reputation, and as a direct result, its shareholder value.” – Robert Eckert, CEO, Mattel

“Mistrust doubles the cost of doing business.” – Professor John Whitney, Columbia Business School

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