Imagine A Company Built On Trust
Imagine a company that truly lived by its values. Imagine a company where Trust was a core value. What would it be like to work for a company that habitually operated like the values they espouse?
Imagine This!
Trust
At Acme Inc., trust is not something that has to be earned. We give trust away freely from the start. Trust is essential to all successful relationships including company-‐ customer, leader-‐follower or peer-‐peer. That is why trust is a cornerstone value at Acme Inc.
Acme Inc. Has A Culture Based on Trust
“I will trust a person until they prove untrustworthy.”
Acme Inc. is an organization that is characterized by leadership at all levels. As leaders we build trust through making sound decisions, admitting our mistakes and putting what is best for others and the organization ahead of our personal agendas.
Trust is maintained within Acme Inc. in the following ways:
- We will not sacrifice our integrity.
- We will focus on shared goals rather than personal agendas.
- We will respect everyone as equal partners.
- We will keep our promises to our customers and each other.
- We will admit our mistakes and ask for forgiveness.
Acme Inc. believes that if you trust someone, they are more likely to act trustworthy. We have a culture where trust is given, trust is valued and trust is maintained. A culture of trust results in a better place to work and a better partner to do business with.
As Henry Cloud said:
“True trust comes when we realize that another’s goodness, and being for my best interest, is not dependent on anything. It is just part of that person’s integrity.”
The Bottom Line:
Acme Inc. is a company I made up. But, the way Acme defines Trust and then describes what trust looks like, makes me want to be part of that organization. If I am the leader of a team, I have the power to build a culture around trust.
I took this from one of my values white papers that are on my resources page. Each value is spelled out in much the same way as I did here.
Imagine what it would be like to work on a team with a culture like the ones described in those white papers! Imagine a company built on trust like this!
Question:
What would it be like to work in an environment like Acme Inc?
I’d not only want to work there but I would love to do business with them.
I take my car to Accu-Tech in Belvidere NJ it is a 35 min drive. These guys are honest and trustworthy. When they tell me I need new brake lines or new tires I don’t question them I know I need them. Trust is something they have built with their customer base and it keeps me coming back. Funny I was just talking with someone about the place I take my car and how much I trust the guys and her reply was, ‘you mean Accu-Tech?’
When you develop a reputation of trust, people want to work on your team, for your company, and/or with your company. A wonderful ROI and we didn’t even get into the payoff on employee engagement!
And it all starts with whoever is leading that team at Accu-tech.
Great article! I have also thought about this issue of trust, and I posted the following on my LinkedIn profile:
HOW TO ESTABLISH TRUST WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
GIVE BEFORE YOU ASK. I managed a service business. In order to build trust in our services, we always worked first, showing up, doing an excellent job, then sent the bill. Also, give as much information about your product or service (written in print or on the web), including the price, before even asking if the customer is ready to sign up or buy.
LISTEN BEFORE YOU TALK. Show you care, humble yourself, and get to know what people really need, before you suggest what you have to offer.
CARE ABOUT PEOPLE MORE THAN MONEY. No one wants to be treated as an object or obstacle.
YOUR “LOOK” BEGINS YOUR REPUTATION. First impressions matter. Project a positive, professional image right away, and minor missteps are forgiven as “not the norm”. Project a disorganized, sloppy, or crude image, and those same missteps will just reinforce the bad impression you first gave.
CREATE & MAINTAIN YOUR CULTURE. A company’s culture is its values and routine actions (How do employees dress? How do you talk to customers? What atmosphere is in the store, office, or warehouse?) should match the image.
ONLY PROMISE WHAT YOU CAN DELIVER. You may be tempted to be overly positive, and say what the customer wants to hear, but what the customer really wants is truth. If orders are backed up for a week, don’t promise a delivery tomorrow; promise delivery in 2 weeks, so that you will appear early, rather than late.
DELIVER MORE THAN YOU PROMISE. Beyond the time example above, you can add an unexpected bonus that brings the customer joy, and brings them back to you for more. My favorite auto-repair place completes the project on schedule, looks clean and professional, does excellent work, and above all that, gives me a tin of cookies when I pick up my car!
WHEN YOU FALL SHORT, MAKE IT UP TO THEM. We are still human, mistakes happen despite our best efforts, but you can make it right again and restore trust. Apologize, sympathize with the customer, give (refund it, or don’t charge for it), listen, and repeat all the other steps above.
Great points Annette! I like each of these as a component for building trust.