Smart Trust: Creating Prosperity, Energy, and Joy in a Low-Trust World

by Stephen M. R. Covey, Greg Link, Rebecca R. Merrill

Overview

After illustrating the global relevance of trust with his book The Speed of Trust by selling more than one million copies in twenty-two languages, Stephen M.R. Covey again illuminates the hidden power of trust to change lives and impact organizations in Smart Trust. In a compelling and readable style, he and long-time business partner Greg Link share enlightening principles and anecdotes of people and organizations that are not only achieving unprecedented prosperity from high-trust relationships and cultures but—even more inspiring—also attaining elevated levels of energy and joy.

Find out why trusted people are more likely to get hired or promoted, get the best projects and bigger budgets, and are last to be laid off. This sea-changing book will forever shift your perspective as it reveals and validates, once and for all, the transformational power of trust. Reading Smart Trust will increase your probability of thriving in this increasingly unpredictable marketplace. The more unpredictable it becomes, the more your (and your organization’s) sound judgment and ability to trust in this low-trust world will give you a tremendous competitive advantage—and the capacity to navigate the uncertainty low trust creates.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451651478
Publisher:	Free Press
Publication date:	01/10/2012
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	729,958
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Stephen M. R. Covey is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust, which has been translated into twenty-two languages and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. He is also the author of the newly released Wall Street Journal bestseller, Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others, which was named as the #1 Leadership Book of 2022 by the Outstanding Work of Literature Awards. Stephen brings to his writings the perspective of a practitioner, as he is the former President and CEO of the Covey Leadership Center, where he increased shareholder value by sixty-seven times and grew the company to become the largest leadership development firm in the world. A Harvard MBA, Stephen cofounded and currently leads FranklinCovey’s Global Speed of Trust Practice. He serves on numerous boards, including the Government Leadership Advisory Council, and he has been recognized with the lifetime Achievement Award for “Top Thought Leaders in Trust” from the advocacy group, Trust Across America/Trust Around the World. Stephen is a highly sought-after international speaker who has taught trust and leadership in fifty-seven countries to business, government, military, education, healthcare, and NGO entities.

Greg Link is co-founder of CoveyLink, FranklinCovey’s Global Speed of Trust Practice, and the former Covey Leadership Center. A trusted executive confidant, advisor, and compelling speaker, Link is a recognized authority on trust, leadership, sales, marketing, and high performance. He led the strategy that propelled Covey's father's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to one of the two most influential business books of the twentieth century.

Rebecca A. Merrill has served in numerous leadership positions in community, education, and women’s organizations. Coauthor of Connections: Quadrant II Time Management, she also assisted Stephen R. Covey on The 7 Habits Highly Effective People.

Table of Contents

Foreword Indra Nooyi xvii

Our Intent xxi

Part I The Paradox and the Promise

Chapter 1 The Great Paradox 5

Chapter 2 Blind Trust or Distrust: Which Glasses Are You Wearing? 37

Chapter 3 The Third Alternative: "Smart Trust" 52

Part II The 5 Actions of Smart Trust

Chapter 4 Smart Trust Action 1: Choose to Believe in Trust 85

Chapter 5 Smart Trust Action 2: Start with Self 109

Chapter 6 Smart Trust Action 3: Declare Your Intent…and Assume Positive Intent in Others 142

Chapter 7 Smart Trust Action 4: Do What You Say You're Going to Do 176

Chapter 8 Smart Trust Action 5: Lead Out in Extending Trust to Others 206

Part III What Can You Do?

Chapter 9 Creating Your Own Renaissance of Trust 247

About the Authors 259

Notes 265

Index 287

Editorial Reviews

According to best-selling author Covey (The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything) and leadership consultant Link, the biggest impediment to global economic health is not the economics of the financial crisis but the loss of trust the crisis caused. To help resolve this situation, Covey shares the insights and practical advice of leaders and organizations throughout the world that are building high-trust relationships and cultures, which they believe will foster greater economic prosperity, energy, and joy. The authors make the case for the importance of trust and then teach readers how to trust in an untrustworthy world: by coupling the universal innate propensity to trust with a high level of critical analysis. Examples from prominent companies like eBay, quotations from respected managers like sociologist Peter Drucker, exercises for reflective thinking, and even Dilbert cartoons make this a highly readable book for a lay audience as well as business executives. [N.B.: Stephen M.R. Covey is the son of the Stephen R. Covey who authored The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.] VERDICT This book not only raises interesting points but offers well-researched data and techniques with which to respond to them successfully. Well done! [See Prepub Alert, 8/1/11.]

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