TRUST MUST BE EARNED AND PROTECTED

Every organization I work with talks freely and frequently about the importance of trust as a crucial business asset. No one seems to doubt how important trust is to business or personal relationships, and everyone seems equally aware of the tremendous costs of distrust.

Yet despite enlightened rhetoric about trust, many people in business regularly engage in conduct that undermines trust and damages credibility.

It's really quite simple: To be trusted one has to be perceived as being trustworthy. That means being scrupulously honest even on little things, and especially when one may have to pay a high price. Trustworthiness is a lot more than telling the literal truth. It requires conveying the truth. Deception through clever wording or half-truths is essentially dishonest.

Individuals and companies that really care about building and retaining trust don't rely on legalistic loopholes or take refuge in the idea that "you never asked." People worthy of our trust are forthright and candid as well as truthful. They tell us what they know we want to know, even if it's not in their self-interest. Thus, being trustworthy involves a complex trio of concepts: truthfulness, nondeception and candor, all aspects of honesty.

But it also requires integrity, promise-keeping and loyalty. We trust people who put principles above profit and who have the courage of their convictions. We don't trust those who look for and find exceptions and special circumstances justifying dishonesty.

Trust isn't attained by wishing and wanting. It must be earned by actions. And even after it's been earned, it must be continually protected. Remember, even a little lie can raise the question: "What else have you lied to me about?"