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Sep
24

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Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. Golda Meir, Former Israeli Prime Minister

Tonight at sundown marks the start of the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement.) The days in between are a period of reflection and repentance.

Occasionally I receive a note or a call from a religious leader acknowledging the importance of trust in our everyday lives.  But a Rabbi’s recent message struck a chord. This rabbi presides over a large congregation of business leaders. He said he regularly visits our website and had read our first book. It had inspired him to write a sermon about the subject of trust for the High Holidays. He joked about his audience being a captive one. “They have to listen.” The Rabbi acknowledged that “In most relationships, trust is taken for granted. It’s never discussed. But when the same occurs in business, the implications of low trust are much broader.”

A holiday is around the corner for most of us- Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. These are times for family gatherings. They are an opportunity to discuss trust and its role in our everyday lives.

  • If you have a young family, talk about family values and what they mean. Perhaps you can even make a written list and regularly refer to it at the dinner table. Update it and modify it over time.
  • If your children are older, the discussion might focus on a recent trust breach from the news- the NFL or Home Depot.
  • If you are spending time with adult friends, talk about the role of trust in your professional lives and how it might be improved.

Have the “trust talk.” It’s a great time of the year to do it.  But most important, never take trust for granted.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

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Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

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