Trust is the currency of business, as it is the cornerstone, and business grows with it. Business relies on it to reap the fruits of effort and work.
It is an industry that coincides with two things: actions and time. Its importance lies in its ability to establish identity/branding internally among the work team, and externally with customers.
If the internal environment is based on trust, it will inevitably reflect on the behavior of the customers. Thus, trust is a seed that is planted inside and its fruits are outside, and this is done through indicators that can be measured -SMART-, and through the presence of a performance measurement tool -KPI-, whether through increased sales, good reputation for the brand or the available opportunities and the type of challenges that can be faced and benefited from.
And because trust is a purely human act, based on actions and reactions, words, ideas, and intentions, it is an area that needs high accuracy, extreme care, and follow-up to ensure the existence of trust that aims to establish a strong identity/branding culture inside and opens up productive spaces for positivity, innovation, accountability, and correction.
Trust can be made as it can age and be destroyed as well.
These are indispensable foundations for the sustainability of any system for making a strong brand, whether for government entities or small businesses.
Business strategist David Horsager speaks internationally on the bottom-line impact of trust. He has developed a system with which he teaches leaders how to build the Eight Pillars of Trust:
1. Clarity – People trust the clear and mistrust the ambiguous
2. Compassion – People put faith in those who care beyond themselves
3. Character – People notice those who do what is right over what is easy
4. Competency – People have confidence in those who stay fresh, relevant, and capable
5. Commitment – People believe in those who stand through adversity
6. Connection – People want to follow, buy from, and be around friends
7. Contribution – People immediately respond to results
8. Consistency – People love to see the little things done consistently.
When trust is enabled within any system, the results of this go beyond any physical measurement and exceed the variables that may pose a threat to the stability of the system. This can be seen through the direct relationship between trust and increased efficiency of the work team, as well as its reflection on the productivity of the members of the system.
Trust is an accelerating passage for many potential strengths that can be utilized, not only in times of prosperity and ease but also in times of adversity, which is the key thing. When there is trust between team members and within any system, there will be attention to presenting a summary of thought and making an effort to continue the workflow despite challenging circumstances, and clinging more to work rather than abandoning it or entrusting the matter only to an executive or manager.
Trust is a collective concern, a changing and effective presence, and a high energy of focus. As soon as you attend, ideas and visions emerge, as well as effort for hidden energy that appears when cultivating confidence in individuals.
When the members of any system are treated as “thinking” heads and not as “automatic” cogs, then they can get the best of them without asking, as they have reached the arena of participation, belonging, and belief in a common goal. Then they could digest the “greater why” that makes them experienced in what they do and not get stuck to their positions, as some have, which makes “the job” an automated movement to get the salary at the end of the month and nothing else.
Creating trust in all systems from government entities to major companies and even small and medium enterprises is not an option anymore, it settles in the circle of necessities for any work environment that desires the following:
1. Healthy continuity
2. Outstanding productivity
3. The ability to withstand changes
4. Development and correction
5. The ability to translate trust with clients with spontaneity and authenticity
6. Expansion in both “vertical” directions in services and products and
“horizontal” in branches and including other services or products
7. Smart investment in internal capabilities
8. Preserving productive staff and limiting their exit
All of this will be reflected in the work system and shed the light on the following matters:
1. Reputation
2. Profitability
3. Encouraging work environment
4. Expansion
5. Innovation and high competitiveness
And all of this is only done through a correct understanding and true belief in the centrality of the human being at work, and a departure from the mentality of the collective mind that was formed after the first industrial revolution, and is still circulating among us through the projections of trade and industry by making the human being a manufacturing tool for the product and a number that can be changed. Working to make man the focus of action, and not an auxiliary tool is what matters.
The trust industry is an important axis in any work environment and is considered a real capital that can be relied upon if it is implemented with clear mechanisms and follow-up linked to the results.