{"id":3772,"date":"2018-02-13T08:46:25","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T13:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=3772"},"modified":"2018-02-13T08:46:25","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T13:46:25","slug":"low-trust-is-killing-your-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=3772","title":{"rendered":"Low Trust is Killing Your Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Did you know that the average lifespan of a public company is now less than 20 years, down from 60 years in the 1950s? While some might argue that disruptive technology is to blame, that’s a smoke screen for the real culprit. After all, high trust companies are great innovators.<\/p>\n

Today’s pervasive low trust business environment might be the #1 risk to every company. Without trust as a foundation, the\u00a0chances for long-term survival are\u00a0slim to none, and crises are a sure bet.<\/p>\n

While trust holds\u00a0the key to long-term success<\/a>\u00a0 it remains the single most overlooked, yet one of the simplest business strategies to implement.<\/p>\n

How many of these low trust warning signs are present in your organization?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Trust is taken for granted and viewed as a soft skill<\/strong>. It is never discussed.<\/li>\n
  2. There is no Chief Trust Officer <\/strong>or keeper of the culture.\u00a0Instead, the Chief Compliance Officer wields the “big stick” and remains the laughing stock of the employees.<\/li>\n
  3. A\u00a0corporate credo<\/strong> or core values<\/strong> are nonexistent, or the one in place is no more than Kumbaya \u201cwords\u201d on the corporate website.<\/li>\n
  4. Strategies<\/strong>\u00a0to elevate organizational trust have never been discussed let alone defined, shared or agreed upon.<\/li>\n
  5. Leadership is focused on survival and short-term profitability.<\/strong>\u00a0In fact, compensation is tied to quarterly earnings.<\/li>\n
  6. The leadership team lacks leadership skills<\/strong> and never speaks publicly without “legal” sign off. (Great college lacrosse players don’t necessarily make trustworthy leaders.)<\/li>\n
  7. There is not a single woman<\/strong> in sight on the executive leadership team.<\/li>\n
  8. A well-defined hiring strategy<\/strong> has not been implemented resulting in cultural misalignment, confused and non engaged employees.<\/li>\n
  9. Employee turnover<\/strong> is high but no one asks “Why?”<\/li>\n
  10. Board members<\/strong> are \u201cYes men\u201d for the CEO, and \u201cYes\u201d they are all men.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How many of these trust “fails” do you see on a daily basis? What’s your guess on the longevity of your business?<\/p>\n

    Want to learn more about building organizational trust? Our website<\/a> provides an endless number of tools and resources for elevating organizational trust. Many of them are free. Read a book<\/a>, join our Trust Alliance<\/a>, find an hour to discuss a Case Study<\/a>, read the Trust Across America blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Barbara Brooks Kimmel\u00a0is the CEO and Cofounder of\u00a0<\/em>Trust Across America-Trust Around the World<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She also runs the world’s largest global\u00a0<\/em>Trust Alliance<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and is the editor of the award- winning\u00a0<\/em>TRUST INC.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0book series. In 2017 she was named a Fellow of the Governance & Accountability Institute, and in 2012 she was recognized as one of \u201c25 Women who are Changing the World\u201d by Good Business International.\u00a0She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch at the City University of NY.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Join our Constant Contact mailing list<\/a>\u00a0for updates on our progress.<\/p>\n

    Copyright 2018 Next Decade, Inc.<\/p>\n

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