TRUSTED BUSINESS ADVISOR?
We live in a world where 'free', means chew-carefully-and-mind-the-hook; consulting means someone else is using your watch to tell you the time, and then invoices you for it; and 'trust me' means you should definitely double-check the T&C's. Trust has become the unfakable trading commodity, how can you enhance it?
Today our business turns 8 years old. Time to stop and reflect. If your business was a car, then:
- cashflow would be your petrol;
- vision would be your GPS;
- strategy would be your engine; &
- trust would be your car key's chip.
You can always open the car with a duplicate cut key, but without the chip you are not going anywhere in a hurry. Here are three ways to enhance trust:
1.) BE REAL: Be genuine, authentic (true to yourself). Be the best version of yourself you can be. Do not try to be anyone or anything else than you. Be you as often and as long as you can. And if you can not be real, rather decline or refer...
2.) HONOUR YOUR WORD: "Yes" means yes, and "no" means no! Keep your promise. Under-promise and over-deliver. Your reputation is all you have, and when you only have your reputation, it is everything. Never compromise on your reputation.
3.) BE HONEST: Never, ever settle for any variations on the theme. Remember that if people find that they can trust you with a little, they will almost always be willing to entrust you with more. Always be tactfully truthful, even if it is unpopular, or hurts, or is not in your own interest.
If trust is broken or damaged, be frank about it, have real conversations, show remorse, display insight and commit to rebuilding the trust. Do not allow yourself to become tangeld-up in a relationship where the other person does allow you to fix the trust, because they prefer to keep you as their emotional prisoner of guilt!
Managing Director Occuledge- Orion Edutech International Support Entity
8 年Good Article
Manager Organisational Effectiveness Namport
8 年Trust - a rare commodity; thank you for apt analogy and guidance, Cobus!