The Speed Of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything

Covey shares his experiences during his tenure at an investment banking firm where deep-seated trust issues hampered the team’s progress. Although his senior leader believed the trust was irreparable, Covey disagreed, seeing trust as a potential tool for enhancing performance and quality of life. He defines trust as faith in another’s integrity and abilities and notes that its absence breeds suspicion and misinterpretation, leading to stagnation and frustration.

Covey’s personal account of the Franklin Quest and Covey Leadership Center merger illustrates the importance of trust in leadership. His initial oversight in establishing trust bred suspicion, underlining the vital role trust plays in harmonious work environments. He managed to catalyze constructive dialogue and rebuild trust by openly addressing the brewing mistrust and conflicts, leading to increased speed and efficiency in the company’s operations.

Covey turns to the societal crisis of declining trust across various sectors, including government, media, businesses, personal relationships, and self-trust. He illustrates this decline through various surveys and studies, showing how widespread this issue is. He then ventures into the economics of trust, explicating its impact on speed and cost. Trust and its resulting efficiency have a direct inverse relationship with cost: As trust increases, speed escalates and costs fall, emphasizing trust’s tangible and quantifiable nature.

Covey substantiates these claims by exploring real-world implications of trust. The 9/11 terrorist attacks exemplify how decreased trust in flying led to slower processes and additional costs due to heightened security measures. Similarly, the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US—a response to lack of faith in public markets—improved trust but also significantly increased time and costs. Contrarily, high-trust environments, like Warren Buffet’s acquisition of McLane Distribution from Wal-Mart or Herb Kelleher’s swift decision-making at Southwest Airlines, showcase increased speed and reduced costs. Even a small-scale example of a vendor in New York City increasing revenue by trusting his customers illustrates this concept.

Covey introduces the notion of a “trust tax,” a hidden cost stemming from low-trust relationships, comparing it to an income tax that people reluctantly accept. However, high-trust relationships result in a “trust dividend” characterized by increased speed, efficiency, and satisfaction in both personal and work life.

Covey presents trust as the “hidden variable” in the formula for success, influencing the effectiveness of strategy and execution. He refutes common misconceptions about trust, stating that it is not a soft, slow, and unquantifiable factor that cannot be restored once lost or learned if not inherent. Instead, he posits that trust is hard, fast, and quantifiable and can be built, restored, and taught.

Covey explains how his father instilled the importance of responsibility and trust in him, which laid the foundation of his understanding of trust as a crucial driver in relationships and achieving outcomes. Trust, Covey clarifies, is a blend of character (including integrity and intent) and competence (encompassing skills, capabilities, and track record). Both elements are required for trust, with character remaining constant and competence being situational.

To further elaborate on the multidimensional nature of trust, Covey introduces the idea that there are five “waves” of trust. The first wave, self-trust, emphasizes the need for personal credibility through character and competence. Relationship trust, the second wave, focuses on building trust with others through consistent behavior. Organizational trust requires aligning goals and actions. Market trust is built through reputation and influences customer loyalty and behavior. The fifth wave, societal trust, involves contributing to the broader society, thereby reducing cynicism and building trust on a larger scale.

Covey reiterates that trust begins with the individual, who can influence trust at all levels. He also notes that trust can be restored once damaged. He exemplifies this through the story of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, showing that gestures of goodwill can mend broken relationships.

The book, according to Covey, equips readers with a “trust lens,” a language to articulate trust-related issues, and behaviors to foster trust. By implementing these concepts, readers can experience immediate benefits, build robust relationships, and achieve more effective outcomes. Covey insists that trust is not just instrumental for short-term achievements but also significantly impacts all aspects of one’s life and is key to long-term success. His ultimate goal is to understand and effectively apply the principles he outlines to build, grow, restore, and extend trust.