The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
by Stephen M. R. Covey, with Rebecca R. Merrill, forward by Stephen R. Covey

ISBN: 074329730X
ISBN-13: 9780743297301
Format: Hardcover 384pp
Publisher: The Free Press

Hardcover, 2006
Online Price: $20.80
Buy at B&N.


FROM THE PUBLISHER
From Stephen R. Covey's eldest son comes a revolutionary new path towards productivity and satisfaction. Trust, says Stephen M.R. Covey, is the very basis of the new global economy, and he shows how trust — and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees and constituents — is the essential ingredient for any high–performance, successful organization.

For business leaders and public figures in any arena, "The Speed of Trust" offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in our every transaction and relationship — from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction — and how to establish trust immediately so that you and your organization can forgo the time-killing, bureaucratic check-and-balance processes so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.

FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Trust is so integral to our relationships that we often take it for granted, yet in an era marked by business scandals and a desire for accountability this book by leadership expert Covey is a welcome guide to nurturing trust in our professional and personal lives. Drawing on anecdotes and business cases from his years as CEO of the Covey Leadership Center (which was worth $160 million when he orchestrated its 1997 merger with Franklin Quest to form Franklin Covey), the author effectively reminds us that there's plenty of room for improvement on this virtue.

Following a touching foreword by father Stephen R. Covey (author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and related books), the junior Covey outlines 13 behaviors of trust-inspiring leaders, such as demonstrating respect, creating transparency, righting wrongs, delivering results and practicing accountability. Covey's down-to-earth approach and disarming personal stories go a long way to establish rapport with his reader, though the book's length and occasional lack of focus sometimes obscure its good advice.
(Oct.) Copyright © 2006 Reed Business Information

Library Journal
In his first book, Covey (CEO, CoveyLink Worldwide), son of Stephen R. Covey of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" fame, explores the concept of trust and its positive impact on personal and professional success. He introduces the image of ever-widening concentric ripples of water, which he defines as the "Five Waves of Trust": Self-Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational Trust, Market Trust, and Societal Trust. The degree and magnitude of trust one develops at each wave impacts the effectiveness of interactions at the next highest level, and the stronger the trust involved at each level, the more efficiently and quickly the desired outputs of that level can be achieved.

Covey has an engaging style and uses many anecdotes and quotes from famous people to illustrate his points. The book's organization into waves, behaviors of High Trust Leaders, and Cores of Credibility makes the prose easy to digest and reminiscent of the format of the leadership seminars from which Covey got his start. This book would be of interest to public libraries and universities with self-help, psychology, or popular business collections.
-Crystal Renfro, Lib. and Information Ctr., Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, Copyright © 2006 Reed Business Information

Soundview Executive Book Summaries - Soundview Summary
There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy and civilization throughout the world — one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.

On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. That one thing is trust.

The Five Waves of Trust model serves as a metaphor for how trust operates in our lives. This summary will cover these forms as the structure for understanding and making trust actionable, including a look at the Four Cores of credibility and the 13 Behaviors of high trust leaders.

Nothing Is as Fast as the Speed of Trust
Simply put, trust means confidence. The opposite of trust — distrust — is suspicion. The difference between a high and low trust relationship is palpable. Take communication. In a high trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low trust relationship, you can be very measured, even precise, and they'll still misinterpret you.

You don't need to look far to realize that, as a global society, we have a crisis of trust on our hands. Low trust is everywhere. On the organizational level, trust within companies has sharply declined. But relationships of all kinds are built on and sustained by trust. They can also be broken down and destroyed by a lack of trust.

Society, organizations and relationships aside, there's an even more fundamental and powerful dimension to self trust. If we can't trust ourselves, we'll have a hard time trusting others. Personal incongruence is often the source of our suspicions of others.

Economics of Trust
Trust always affects two outcomes: speed and cost. When trust goes down, speed goes down and cost goes up. Consider the time and cost of airport security after 9/11, or costs for Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, passed in the U.S. in response to Enron, WorldCom and other corporate scandals. When trust goes up, speed goes up and cost goes down. Warren Buffet completed the acquisition of McLane Distribution from Wal-Mart on the basis of a two-hour meeting. Because of high trust between the parties, the merger took less than a month and avoided the usual months and millions for due diligence and attorneys.

The serious practical impact of the economics of trust is that we are paying a hidden low-trust tax right off the top - and we don't even know it!

A company can have an excellent strategy and a strong ability to execute; but the net result can be torpedoed by a low-trust tax or multiplied by a high-trust dividend. This makes a powerful business case for trust, assuring that it is not a soft, "nice to have" quality.

One of the reasons this hidden variable is so significant in today's world is that we have entered a global, knowledge worker economy that revolves around partnering and relationships. The ability to establish, grow, extend and restore trust with all stakeholders — customers, suppliers and co-workers — is the key leadership competency of the new, global economy.

Inspiring Trust
Trust is a whole life choice, and until you are actually in a front line situation, you will not even see the full power of the Cores and Behaviors on speed, cost and trust. Look immediately for ways to apply them and find opportunities to teach them to others. You will see how the of speed of trust; the profits of the economics of trust; the relevance of the pervasive impact of trust; and the dividends of trust can significantly enhance the quality of every relationship on every level of your life.

You may still be hesitant or fearful when it comes to actually extending trust, but leaders who extend trust become mentors, models and heroes. Inspiring trust is the prime differentiator between a manager and a leader and the prime motivator of successful enterprises and relationships. Companies that choose to extend trust to their employees become great places to work. Children develop character and competence in the care of parents who love them, believe in them and trust them.

Most people respond well to trust and do not abuse it. We are all born with a propensity to trust and choosing to retain or restore that propensity is key to our ability to forgive. We have countless opportunities to extend and inspire trust to others, but it also makes a difference in our own lives. Trust is reciprocal.
Copyright © 2006 Soundview Executive Book Summaries