Behavior that Builds or Maintains Trust #3: Create Transparency

Rule #3 from Covey, The Speed of Trust (2006, p. 152): "Create Transparency."

He summarizes it on p. 157: "Tell the truth in a way people can verify. Get real and genuine. Be open and authentic. Err on the side of disclosure. Operate on the premise of 'What you see is what you get.' Don't have hidden agendas. Don't hide information." Be open, honest, authentic, and act with integrity with the people around you. If you run a company, open up your books to your employees. Have an employee sit on your board. Discuss everything with them.

There's a paranoid streak in entrepreneurs that says, "If I tell my employees or coworkers everything, they might steal my idea, or go out and form a company and compete with me." Well, that's a possibility, but more a paranoia than a possibility. If you're open with people, and they trust you, they're more likely to open a business within your business. Of course there are always difficult people, and you would probably have had trouble with them in any case.

What do you do to maintain your level of trust or build it?

My goal here is to bring out more skilled entrepreneurs. How am I doing? What do you think of this? Any comments?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy.

It makes Your Stop for Real Estate, my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my writing. Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and publishing and read my mystery for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.