Max S. Dunn

Book: The Speed of Trust

Posted by: Max Dunn on January 18, 2011 09:14:07

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of business books are three times longer than they should be? Take The Speed of Trust for instance. It has a really good message and one that is important for business, but does it really take 322 pages to convey it? Even speed-reading through this I saw lots of duplication and often became bored. Okay, now that I got that rant out of my system, let's talk about what was good with the book. What is good is that it goes into depth (great depth!) about how trust can help a business. Here is the outline:

1. Self Trust
   1. Integrity
   2. Intent
   3. Capabilities
   4. Results
2. Relationship Trust
   1. Talk straight
   2. Demonstrate respect
   3. Create transparency
   4. Right wrongs
   5. Show loyalty
   6. Deliver results
   7. Get better
   8. Confront reality
   9. Clarify expectations
   10. Practice accountability
   11. Listen first
   12. Keep commitments
   13. Extend trust
3. Organizational Trust
4. Market Trust
5. Societal Trust

One caveat: while Covey does talk in later chapters about the right balance of trust and how not to get burned by overextending trust, this doesn't come across in the earlier chapters. So when he extols the virtues of doing a large business deal with only a handshake, it might give the wrong impression to inexperienced business students that this is the best way to conduct a deal.

I liked this definition of leadership which provides a good summary of the book: "Leadership is getting results in a way that inspires trust."