Our hyperconnected, hypertransparent world continues to add new dynamics and issues to consider. That is as it should be and certainly how it turned out to be. And undoubtedly how it will continue to be.
Trust is a funning thing, one of those soft things that we often rush by. What's not so funny is how often it lies at the center of our challenges and opportunities. "Trust is like the air we breathe," Warren Buffett said. "When it's present, nobody really notices. But when it's absent, everybody notices."
That is because trust allows us to function in times of uncertainty. When the Certainty Gap--that space between the unpredictable nature of the world and our ideal vision of stability--grows, we look for something to fill it. That something is trust. Trust calms the fears that uncertainty breeds. In times of high uncertainty, therefore, we pay more attention to the source of trust: human conduct--How we do what we do. Trust becomes, more vitally than ever, the currency of human exchange.
Trust's foundation is Divine Law can neither be ignored nor put aside. Perhaps, the most important of these laws is the 'law of love.' Put simply, "Love is Law, Law is Love." This amounts to the same thing as "the gift of giving" without the "hope of reward or pay," or serving others. The Law of Love flows through all religions.
In a connected transparent world, we look past the proxies of service and look to how the organizations and people with whom they do business engage and interact with them. Experience matters in a world where interrelationships matter. And not just customer experience, but supplier, employee, colleague, vendor competitor, regulator, and media experience matters, all the interactions with everyone you encounter throughout the business day. Experience is becoming the great differentiator.
In our hyperconnected, hypertransparent world, there is no longer such a thing as private behavior. For better or worse, everything that happens can now be forwarded, tweeted, and blogged about. We all now have unprecedented power to see over fences and through the walls past public relations (PR) departments and right into the innermost workings of organizations, even into boardrooms and into the characters of the individuals who lead organizations. We can evaluate not just what they do, but how they do it.
Over the years, I have discovered success is powered by three things: know-how, reputation and a network of contacts. That's it. That's the secret. The formula for success = your human capital (what you know and can do) times your social capital (who you know and who knows you) times your reputation (who trusts you).
Second chances are harder to come by in a transparent world.
It is easier for people to trip you up and, since times are full of uncertainty, harder for people to extend trust after it is broken. The fall down the ladder of trust is often long, and the landing particularly hard. Reputation is the only known antidote. It can inoculate you, to some degree, against the unease that others feel when suspicion enters a relationship. It buys you the benefit of the doubt.
In a world of connection and transparency, getting your "hows" right means making the shift from managing reputation to building it in everything you do.
Giving trust away has become a global business strategy used to forge deep connections in a connected world. Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, said, "As we settle into the twenty-first century with all of its unique challenges, it's clear that we can no longer regard success as a zero-sum game: one group rising only at the expense of another. In this new century people worldwide will rise or fall together. Our mission must be to create a global community of shared responsibilities, shared benefits, and shared values. This new focus will require all of us to think about the how, and to find new ways to take action to solve the global issues that none of us can tackle alone. This pivotal book ["how"] will help all of us who are committed to building that world and creating that future for many generations."
Sources: Dov Seidman: How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything
John Agno: Can't Get Enough Leadership: Book Notes & Coaching Tips