A few years ago I read a book by Stephen M.R. Covey called The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything. The concepts in the book are especially applicable for those entering the law profession where trust plays such a large role.
One of my take-aways was simply a way to describe how you created trust. He said that you built trust by demonstrating your competence (delivering on-time results, utilizing simple processes, etc.) and character (living your values, treating others with respect, etc.)
Viewed differently, if trust were a tree, character would be the roots that kept you grounded and competence would be the trunk and branches evident to all.
Conversely, of course, you destroy trust when displaying poor character or incompetence.
Perhaps most helpful was a simple and powerful formula he shared to describe the impact of trust. He said that when trust is high, speed increases and costs decrease. The inverse is also true: when trust is low, speed decreases and costs increase.
Stating this as an equation:
A good application of this formula is what happened to our experience in airports after 9/11. As a result of decreased trust, it took longer to get through the terminal and cost more due to the increased security.
I hope that you’ll be able to use these ideas as tools for navigating your law career.
Eric Ryan has dedicated his professional life to service. He began his career as a teacher with Teach for America, teaching physics and entrepreneurship in rural North Carolina. His work earned him Teacher of the Year honors and he was highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, Parade Magazine, and a book titled Electric Dreams. Although he has focused on serving small nonprofit organizations, Eric has also consulted with numerous corporations and government entities. The primary focus of his work has been strategic planning. In addition to his consulting work, he has started one nonprofit, been an executive director, served on several boards, and is currently both a board chair and board member of two separate organizations. He is writing a book about strategic planning for small nonprofits.
