The lead representative for the FBI’s construction operations was asked to participate on a panel at a lawyer’s conference. The topic was termination for default, a death sentence for any contractor. As the sole representative from the owner’s perspective, the FBI representative quietly listened while the other panelists prepared for the panel discussion. Finally, he spoke. “It’s really very simple,” he said. “If a project goes bad and I trust the contractor representative sitting across the table from me, the guy I’ve worked with on a daily basis up to that point in time, he is always my best option – I will never terminate him.” He went on, “But, if that same person sitting across from me has tried to deceive me one time, he’s gone. If he was willing to deceive me when the project was going well, how can I possible trust him when things get tough?”
The critical phrase in his statement was “tried to deceive me.” The contractor representative didn’t have to lie, or even succeed in deceiving him. All he had to do was try to deceive him.
Trust. It’s an all or nothing proposition. You have opportunities to build it every day. One intentional breach and your business can disappear. In the highly connected world you live in today, you need to recognize that whatever you do, whatever you say, truly can end up on the font page of the local newspaper.
Fortunately, Americans generally give each other the benefit of the doubt. People are assumed to be trustworthy until they prove otherwise. However, if someone breaches that trust, it is difficult, if not impossible, to regain it within a timeframe necessary to preserve a relationship – it will never be the same.
How do you create a high-trust culture? Integrity and transparency. Mr. Dean, principal of Integrative Business Solutions, LLC has developed and maintained a reputation for building high trust cultures throughout his career. Part listening, part teaching, part mentoring, and part modifying behaviors. Building high-trust cultures starts with individuals, moves to the internal relationships within an organization, and spills over into the outside world. Even when trust is lost, it can be regained, but it takes a significant commitment and Mr. Dean is ready to help.
Of all the services Mr. Dean provides, this is the one that drives all the others. He believes a commitment to building trust in all you do can change the way business gets done. Even further, by doing business in this way, an example can be provided for other organizations, both governmental and non-profit, of how to build trust and solve real-world problems in real time.