Notes on The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey

A long time ago, I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. It's one of my favorite and one of the most impactful non-fiction books I have ever read. Someone recently recommended to me The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey, the son of the author of the first book, and I just finished reading it. The concept of trust is something I have been thinking about a lot (how it's earned, how quickly to grant it, etc.), so I enjoyed reading a full book about the topic.

I found the book interesting and learned several things from it. I enjoyed the perspective of how the level of trust can either create dividends or taxes (in a relationship, organization, or society) and the breakdown of how trust is created (character and competence) and some of the sub-components and behaviors of each. I liked how it methodically broke things down.

I don't think it was as impactful for me today as the first book was for me many years ago, but I still found it interesting and useful. Some of my takeaways and notes are below.

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​1
The one thing that changes everything
Trust means confidence in others
Trust affects speed and cost
Build trust by keeping small commitments
Do you trust your boss?
Low trust tax
High trust dividend

2
Trust is about character and competence 
5 waves of trust
Self trust: credibility 
Relationship trust: consistent behavior
Organizational trust: alignment
Market trust: reputation
Societal trust: contribution

3 the first wave: self trust
4 cores of credibility
Integrity
Intent
Credibility
Results
Following through on your own goals, morning alarms, New Year’s resolutions, etc.
Make and keep commitments to self
Little things count
Speeduptrust.com questionnaire
2 cores about character, 2 about competence 

Core 1 integrity
Congruence
Walk your talk
Make and keep commitments to yourself
Stand for something 
Written mission statement

Core 2 intent
Motive
Agenda
Behavior
Abundance thinking

Core 3 capabilities
What makes me credible
Talents
Attitudes
Skills
Knowledge
Style
Continuous learning throughout life
Know where you’re going

Core 4 results
Track record matters
Past performance
Current performance
Anticipated performance
Take responsibility for results not activity
Expect to win
Beginners are many. Finishers are few. 

The second wave: relationship trust
13 behaviors
Actions more meaningful than words

Behavior 1: talk straight
Don’t spin
Be honest
Use simple language

Behavior 2: demonstrate respect
Sharing
Acknowledging lower ranks - waiter rule

Behavior 3: create transparency 
Disclose conflicts 
Open book management of financials

Behavior 4: right wrongs
apologizing and making restitution 
Making someone whole
Extra mile effort
Don’t cover up mistakes

Behavior 5: show loyalty
Give credit to others
Speak about others as if they were present
Talk directly to the other person 

Behavior 6: deliver results 
Be on time 
Overdeliver

Behavior 7: get better
Learn new things
If not falling, not pushing hard enough to improve
Send continue/stop/start survey to your team
Reframe mistake as feedback

Behavior 8: confront reality
Treat people like adults

 Behavior 9: clarify expectations 
Quantify everything
Who what and by when
Quality, speed, and cost

Behavior 10: practice accountability 
Good leader takes their share of the blame and gives out more credit to others

Behavior 11: listen first

Behavior 12: keep commitments
Keep them at work and at home

Behavior 13: extend trust

Third wave: organizational trust
Alignment
Taxes
Redundancy
Politics
Disengagement 
Turnover
Churn
Fraud
Dividends
Value
Loyalty

Fourth wave: market trust
Brand, reputation, feeling you have
Trust monetized

Fifth wave: societal trust
Contribution to society

Inspiring trust

Extending smart trust
Blind trust not the goal
Low propensity to trust
High analysis
Level of trust vs. level of analysis
Smart trust zone 2 best (high trust and high analysis)

A propensity to trust