Covey maintains that "Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust," meaning nothing can accelerate a transaction, a task, or project of any kind like trust. For instance, when there is a high level of trust between parties in a business transaction, deals can be made in minutes with a handshake.
Not only does trust make things faster, it simply makes every aspect of our lives better. To use another business example, a high level of trust between an organization's members promotes innovation, generates productivity, and results in cost savings. Trust "changes everything." It's not just a touchy-feely concept. Covey gives statistics to back it up.
Covey explains that trust is a function of character and competence. He further breaks these components down into "4 Cores of Credibility" - integrity, intent, capabilities, and results. He also outlines 13 Behaviors that generate trust. The Cores and Behaviors "are the tools that establish or maintain trust in every context." Similar to the 7 Habits, it all starts with the individual - i.e. self trust. Trust then can extend or ripple an additional 4 waves - to relationship trust, organizational trust, market trust, and societal trust. Covey gives tips for how to develop trust at each wave, resulting in increasingly remarkable outcomes.
After reading the book, you will believe that, "prioritizing trust - actively seek to establish it, grow it, restore it, and wisely extend it - will bring personal and organizational dividends that far exceed any other path." Although it has value for everyone, this book is especially helpful and important reading for those in leadership positions.
Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper
Review
Covey convincingly validates our experience at Dell -- that trust has a bottom-line impact on results and that when trust goes up, speed goes up while costs come down. This principle applies not only in our professional relationships with customers, business partners, and team members but also in our personal relationships, which makes this insightful book all the more valuable."
-- Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell Inc.
"Covey's book underscores the single most important factor -- the substrate -- that will determine the success (or failure) of any organization in the 21st century: TRUST. This is a powerful read: brave, imaginative, amazingly prescient, and backed up by empirical and analytical heft. A must-read for anyone in a position of responsibility, from a support group to a global corporation."
-- Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC, and author of On Becoming a Leader
"This much-needed book provides many practical examples of how greater trust produces better results, at less cost, sooner -- at work and in life. It's invaluable."
-- Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese? and coauthor of The One Minute Manager
"Stephen Covey's work changed the world. I'd bet the price of this exciting book and more that his son, Stephen M. R. Covey, will have at least as much impact. The Speed of Trust is an amazing book, starting with its novel and powerful title -- my greatest wonder was why it hadn't been written before. From the epigraph -- 'Speed happens when people truly trust each other' -- to the closing bell, this is a book worth savoring -- and implementing."
-- Tom Peters
"When I received this book and was asked to read it and offer my comments, my first impulse was, 'I don't have the time.' However, as I read the foreword, then the first few chapters, I could not put it down. It is exactly what business leaders need today. This book gets to the core roots of ethical behavior and integrity and how 'trusted' leaders and organizations do things better, faster, and at lower cost. Everyone should make the time to read this book."
-- Nolan D. Archibald, Chairman and CEO, The Black & Decker Corporation
"I am happier when I am trusted, and I bet you are too. Covey has done a masterful job teaching that trust is conditioned on our behavior and that we can consciously shift our behavior to deserve trust. This one realization can change your life. This is the best book by a Covey since 7 Habits."
-- Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Don't Get Scrooged