The Trust Edge

Friends,
I support a lot of causes and organizations, but one of the most important to me is the Better Business Bureau. My A+ Accredited Business status is a huge source of pride. Besides supporting the Bureau with my dues, I also serve on the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Advisory Council and the Statewide Iowa Better Business Bureau Board. This Spring I attended the Better Business Bureau Integrity Awards Luncheon in Des Moines. The speaker was Dave Horsager from the Minneapolis area. And I was blown away by what he had to say. He spoke on trust, what it is, how you earn it, how you can lose it and why it is so vitally important. As a bonus he did it while doing clever and meaningful sleight of hand tricks to emphasize his message.
We spoke afterward and he is a personable, friendly young man (compared to me) who exudes trustworthiness. As many speakers do, he had copies of his book, The Trust Edge, available for sale and I bought one. I’ve been reading it a little at a time each day and in my mind it is the most meaningful book I’ve read since Positioning, the Battle for Your Mind. I strongly recommend you get a copy and read it. It’s an easy read and extremely important, especially for resolving many of the political, financial and integrity problems we are facing these days. I believe if you follow what Horsager presents you will be successful in life and in business. If you don’t think trust matters, ponder the difference between “I’d trust him with my life” and “I don’t trust her any farther than I can throw her.”
One of the “pillars” of trust he discusses is clarity. It has inspired me to do two things. One is to clarify my vision of my business, which I now say is to “find the practical truth for my client that adds to their success.” Second, I will add a “trustworthiness” question to my usual battery of brand positioning questions.