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Archive for December, 2018
Around this time every year, the news “treats us” to the top leadership failures, and 2018 is certainly no exception. “The trust buck” certainly stopped on the CEO’s desk at Facebook, Uber and Theranos, to name just a few.
While the media may continue to believe that only “bad” sells, I launched Trust Across America-Trust Around the World more than ten years ago, with one objective of directing attention to the “good” because their stories rarely get told. Perhaps they are just too “good” to get air time, and just maybe the media is ignoring the stories that people want to hear.
This list is not about CEOs taking stands, feel good philanthropy, “check the box sustainability” or CSR projects, but rather about high integrity leaders who believe that a long-term holistically trustworthy strategy will positively impact ALL stakeholders.
Top Ten Stories of 2018
(presented alphabetically)
- *Chip Bergh runs Levi Strauss and continues his focus on building a long-term culture with great success. (And BTW: Chip and I share the Lafayette College alma mater.
- Many people like to throw darts at Jeff Bezos at Amazon for “disrupting” retail, yet he also gives back in a big way. This is his newest preschool initiative.
- Larry Fink Blackrock’s CEO rattled the business world in his letter to CEOs by announcing a new model for corporate governance.
- David Kleis is St. Cloud Minnesota’s longest serving Mayor, who, over the past 3 years, has been hosting monthly dinners at his house and almost 700 town halls to get to know his constituents, complete with a mobile bus!
- *Rose Marcario at Patagonia is using the company’s $10 million tax break to help save the planet.
- *David Reiling is CEO of St. Paul-based Sunrise Banks. Under his leadership, Sunrise became Minnesota’s first bank certified as a community development financial institution, a legal benefit corporation, and a member of the Global Alliance of Banking on Values. As David says “At the end of the day, if the community succeeds, we will be able to thrive along with them.”
- Physician Kylie Vannaman runs MDPCA (Midwest Direct Primary Care Alliance) a group that is buying back medical bills from those who cannot afford to pay them.
- Martin Van Trieste, a former Amgen executive is the CEO of Civica RX. Never heard of them? This mission driven company plans to stabilize the soaring costs of prescription drugs.
- Bob Wilson an 89-year old California business owner just wrote 1085 checks, each for $1000. Find out why.
- Jeff Yurcisin, a former Amazon executive who recently became president of Zulily, talks about why trust is the #1 leadership imperative.
Let’s celebrate these trustworthy leaders and their organizations. Let’s work together to continue to build organizational trust in 2019.
* Chip Bergh, Rose Marcario and David Reiling also appeared on this list in 2018.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO and Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She also runs the world’s largest global Trust Alliance and is the editor of the award- winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2017 she was named a Fellow of the Governance & Accountability Institute, and in 2012 she was recognized as one of “25 Women who are Changing the World” by Good Business International. She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch at the City University of NY.
For more information visit our website at www.trustacrossamerica.com or contact Barbara Brooks Kimmel, CEO and Cofounder
Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com
You may also join our Constant Contact mailing list for updates on our progress.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, barbara kimmel, Board of Directors, C-Suite, CEO, CSR, culture, integrity, leadership, trust across america, trustworthy behavior, values
Articles written by experts, Behavior, culture development, Ethics, Governance, HR, Leadership, Professional Development, Risk, SalesDecember 22nd, 2018
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World, our global Trust Alliance “elves” have spent the year hammering away at new (and free) tools to elevate organizational trust in any organization regardless of size, location or industry.
We are happy to provide our readers with “12 days of organizational trust resources.”
- Our special TRUST! Magazine spring issue focused on the intersection of trust and good governance. It’s a gem and should be read by every Board member everywhere!
- Several members contributed to our growing case study library called Trustlets.
- Dozens of hours of collaboration lead to the publication of TAP (Trust Alliance Principles)
- Our “Million Taps” campaign launched with an inaugural group of fifty signatories. As of this moment 29,544 global professionals have accessed TAP, with thousands joining our movement ever month.
- Through our global network, TAP is now available in 16 languages. Our readers can download the translations at no cost. English, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese , Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish
- The July issue of TRUST! Magazine focused on TAP with many Alliance members weighing in.
- Our first annual Country Trust Index was published with the help of our global members. The index was the most popular download on our website in November. Switzerland wins!
- The 4th annual Showcase of Service Providers was published in October, featuring the work of some of our members.
- This “2 pager” can be accessed under the Research tab on our website. It is a sample of the material contained in our 10th anniversary report “Trust & Integrity in Corporate America” made possible by the Alliance warriors working collaboratively to elevate trust during the past 10 years.
- Our members contributed to the publication of many articles on various organizational trust topics.
- With the help and support of our members, our 9th annual Top Thought Leaders in Trust nominations have been a huge success. Honorees will be announced in the winter issue of TRUST! Magazine at the end of January 2019.
- Our 2019 calendar “Building High Trust Teams” is now available simply by registering for our Constant Contact mailing list. It is the beginning of Phase #2 of TAP with monthly discussion questions provided to elevate trust in your team during 2019.
Our website welcomes over 20,000 visitors every month. If you use our resources and would like us to continue to provide more at no cost in the future, please consider
making a donation so that our elves can maintain their tools in tip top shape in 2019.
Our plans for 2019? Our Trust Alliance members will be building and benefiting from a new tool every month throughout the year!
May 2019 be the “Year of Trust.”
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, CEO & Cofounder
Copyright 2018, Next Decade, Inc.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, barbara kimmel, Board of Directors, C-Suite, CEO, corporate reputation, CSR, culture, ethics, integrity, leadership, organizational trust, trust across america, Trust Inc. 52 Weeks of Activities & Inspirations for Building Workplace Trust
Ten years ago, in the wake of the financial crisis, I undertook a study of organizational trust. Ten years later, and with the assistance of hundreds of global experts, I offer the following observations gleaned over the past decade.
Organizational trust is built over time and in incremental steps. There are simply no shortcuts.
Trust facts:
Organizational trust is an “inside out” strategy built through…
- A shared purpose and tactical vision acknowledging all stakeholders, not just shareholders
- A high integrity/high accountability board and CEO
- Long-term and corporate-wide intentional trust building strategies
- Daily reinforcement
- Hiring (and firing) in accordance with corporate values
- Rejection of hidden agendas
- Vulnerability and a willingness to admit mistakes
- Transparency, truth telling and promises kept
- Rewarding moral character
- Trust measurement and tracking
Recently my colleagues and I have witnessed some “sloppy” use of the word “trust” via short-term thinking attempts to provide quick and easy illusory measurements and solutions.
Trust Fiction:
Trust is not built through…
- Delegation of trust building to middle management or online ethics training modules
- Expensive and slick PR or “branding” campaigns
- CEO activism unrelated to the business
- CSR “one off” projects and ESG “check the box” practices
- Self-fulfilling surveys, reports and “best of” awards
- Philanthropy
- Empty apologies, lots of talk and little action
- Social media “strategies” and buzz words
- More rules and larger legal departments
- Short-term share price action
There are no short-term solutions to building a trustworthy business. Attempting to cut corners not only wastes time and resources but damages reputation. For those Boards and CEOs who want to learn more, check back next week when we offer 12 free tools to elevate trust in every organization, regardless of size, industry or location.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel is an award-winning communications executive and the CEO and Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. A former consultant to McKinsey and many Fortune 500 CEOs and their firms, Barbara also runs the world’s largest global Trust Alliance, and is the editor of the award-winning TRUST INC. book series and TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 she was named one of “25 Women who are Changing the World” by Good Business International, and in 2017 she became a Fellow of the Governance & Accountability Institute. Barbara holds a BA in International Affairs and an MBA. Don’t forget to TAP into Trust!
For more information contact barbara@trustacrossamerica.com
Copyright(c) 2018, Next Decade, Inc.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, Board of Directors, C-Suite, CEO, CSR, culture, ethics, trust across america
PersonalDecember 5th, 2018
This post has nothing to do with trust… well almost nothing
If I were stranded on a desert island and given one food choice it would be potatoes. Fortunately I can enjoy them in my kitchen, especially during Chanukah. Nothing spells “comfort food” quite like latkes! (And the house will retain the aroma for days).
Over the years I’ve experimented with all sort of recipes and have uncovered several “must dos” for the perfect crispy latke.
The ingredients:
Potatoes, onions, eggs, salt & pepper (no flour, no baking soda)
The secrets:
- Combine peeled Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes (preferably organic)
- Do not use the Cuisinart! Grate by hand with the “large side” of the box grater
- Have a thin kitchen towel or cheesecloth available to wring out all the liquid from the grated potatoes
- Grate onion into potatoes after step above
- Remember the electric frying pan you received as a wedding gift? This is the one time in the year when you should use it! Set temp around 375 degrees.
- Keep the latkes small. They fry faster, thinner and crispier.
- I’ve been using organic Canola oil for frying. A little goes a long way and latkes are not greasy.
- Some apple sauce and sour cream… and maybe a nice glass of wine.
- Don’t worry about rewarming the leftovers. There won’t be any!
Have I missed any secrets? What’s yours?
Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas!
Let’s work together to elevate trust in 2019.
And remember, actions speak louder than words.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, CEO & Cofounder Trust Across America-Trust Around the World
Barbara Brooks Kimmel, barbara kimmel
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