Trust in a Transactional World

A good friend recently sent me a copy of The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey. I’ve come across this book before, but apparently a gifted copy was the nudge it took for me to actually read it.

Stephen starts off Chapter 1 saying this:

“There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world-one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.

“On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. Yet, it is the least understood, most neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time.

“That one thing is trust.”

I couldn’t agree more. For instance, John Gottman, the infamous marriage researcher, spent years studying the way marriages succeed and fail. The one thing he found over and over again is that the marriages that succeed are ones where partners each assume the other is operating out of good intentions.