There has never been a more critical time in our history to be concerned about the trust stakeholders place in institutions. As has been stated by Tim Hartford, “Trust enables people to do business with one another. Doing business is what creates wealth.”

Yet, each day, we hear more stories of trusted executives who betray stakeholder trust. Despite the best intentions of some organizational leaders, public exposure and scrutiny of corporate greed and fraud are so prevalent that stakeholder skepticism is commonplace. In fact, the potential for perceived breaches of trust also presents a risk to corporate leaders. So, what is to be done? What can executives do to right the ship – to exude values that establish, maintain, and maximize stakeholder trust?

In a recent qualitative study of three U.S. institutions, including a Fortune 500 corporation, a government entity, and a nonprofit organization, the author found that there are seven critical elements of a comprehensive trust repair agenda. The first, and most important finding is that when trust has been violated, stakeholders are motivated to understand why the violation occurred.

Findings show that stakeholders first want to understand the circumstances surrounding the violation. Managers and executives should provide an open account of key features of the transgression. Explanations which are authentic, reasoned, open and relevant to the transgression in question enhance fairness judgments, and can increase trustworthiness perceptions. Our findings have been supported by scholars (see Barclay 2008; Greenberg, 1993), and practitioners.

The provision of information is one of the most important elements of a trust repair agenda. However, transparency in information is insufficient. A comprehensive trust repair agenda requires more… organizational leaders should provide as much information as possible without causing harm to their organization.

Practitioners are recommended to ensure their post-transgression communication plan includes: a) a forthright and complete explanation of the organizational failure, including who and what is responsible; b) a comprehensive, reasoned plan going forward, including safeguards against repeating the transgression; and c) honesty and transparency. Practitioners should be mindful that their integrity and competence is being measured by stakeholders at all times.

Organizational executives without the respect of their stakeholders, particularly due to lack of integrity, will have a difficult time restoring trust. Managers are advised to have many reparative conversations during a time of crisis, while providing real evidence of promised change.

About the author:

Rachel Y. Daniel is the CEO of Synergy Marketing Strategy & Research, Inc. Synergy has been designing strategies that build trusted brands for over seven years. Working with Fortune 500 companies, government entities, universities, and mid-sized businesses, Synergy utilizes sound marketing strategy, rigorous marketing research, and excellent customer and stakeholder relationships. For your marketing and branding needs, please visit this site or this site

Rachel completes her doctorate at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in May 2010.

Her research interests include brand and organizational trust, and the impact of justice and fairness perceptions on trust.

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Tags: ethics, trust, conduct, behaviour, moral

Standing back and applying a ‘Reputation Lens’ to our business is a useful way of ascertaining whether someone, or something internally, may be enhancing our reputation, or damaging it. Whether we’re building trust or breaking it.

Everything we do has an impact on how we are perceived and judged. Unfortunately, however hard we might work to control our reputation, the reality is we can’t control it – we can only influence it. We can’t control it because we can’t control what others think of us, and what they think of us is our reputation – in their opinion.

However, it makes sense to periodically review what we can control, and these largely fall into three groups that can have a huge affect on the level of trust and reputation you have. I call them the 3 P’s:

People
If you’re a solo-operator this is you. If you employ others, it’s every one of them and you. Are the people that answer your phone, send out your newsletters, visit clients and do your book-keeping helping build trust or damaging it? Do they understand and support your values and have the training and confidence to make sound judgment calls when dealing with a difficult customer or situation? Is the way they come across and behave representing you in ways that enhance your reputation and build trust? If not, it’s up to you to help them understand the impact of their choices and actions and provide the training and support to enable them to step and represent you confidently and with ease.

Processes
Do you periodically carry out ‘mystery’ or ‘secret shopper’ checks to see how the processes you have in place may affect your reputation? Do you encourage ongoing, wide-ranging feedback from clients and customers and give any suggestions for improvement serious consideration? Do you give people options so they can interact with you in ways that suit them, rather than one way that suits you? Encouraging both formal and informal feedback from staff, customers, suppliers and others will enable you to monitor and adjust the impact your processes may be having and ensure you remain relevant, rather than redundant.

‘Partnerships’
Who and what are you associated with, formally and informally, that may affect your reputation and the level of trust someone has in you? ‘Partnerships’ relates not only to legal partnerships, but also includes your associations – formal or otherwise, with professional bodies, individuals, companies, brands, joint-venture initiatives, co-operative groups and so on. Is being associated with them helping or hindering you? Are there others you should consider being associated with? Have you considered possible effects if their reputation is damaged in some way and you’re formally or loosely associated with them? What might you do in those circumstances?

Our People, Processes and Partnerships hold our reputation in their hands. They have the power to make or break trust on a daily basis, yet rarely do we consider just how much impact they can have on how we are perceived.

If you haven’t applied a ‘reputation lens’ to the three Ps in your business lately it would certainly be worth doing so. We’re only as strong as our weakest links. Better to identify and minimize chinks in our armour before they become triggers that can severely damage our reputation and breach the trust people have in us.

Want to know more? Download Hannah’s free report: ‘Reputation Branding Essentials’ and opt-in to receive her electronic newsletter, ‘Reputationz’, at Here

Hannah is a specialist reputation advisor, professional speaker, author and founder of online performance-based service directory, TRUSTcite. She regularly comments on issues around reputation, trust and integrity in mainstream media and on her blog

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Tags: ethics, issue, trust, person, result

I was looking through an old notebook the other day – and stumbled upon a card someone had given me – and inside it said: Resurrect a childhood dream, let your passion take flight.

I kept the card on my desk and glanced at it throughout the day – and then, it hit me, all the ‘stuff’ that’s been ‘up’ for me as of late, and the clarity that I’m receiving about my True Purpose, and the next phase of my own business, is something that I see others struggle with too which is: having an immense distrust in the true intentions of other people who are in business.

The card spurred some very old memories – and reminded me that – ever since I can remember I’ve always had a passion for business – it was (and is) – in my blood and I LOVE it.

So, it’s no coincidence that I went off to biz school, and then to Corporate America, and eventually decided to become an entrepreneur. And it’s been a beautiful, wonderful, challenging journey with lots of emotions and twists and turns – which has contributed to tremendous personal growth as well as an immense spiritual awakening.

And through this spiritual awakening, and personal growth, lots of clarity, and lots of realization has come to the surface. And what I’ve realized is: my original LOVE for business was based on what I see as the TRUTH about why I believe that we’re in business to begin with which is: to serve others with our gifts and of course make a profit in doing so, while also growing personally, professionally, and spiritually in the process.

Yet, everyday, we’re all inudated with so much ‘stuff’ that is screaming all the options available to help you ‘succeed’, that it’s hard to decipher and determine who and what to trust. Do you agree?

And, in looking back, I can see that my own trust in business and what I see as its true intention, got covered by some serious muck as I took on many false beliefs around what others’ true intentions were with their businesses. Some of my false beliefs were: ‘everyone is out to screw you’; ‘they’re all crooks’, ‘don’t trust anyone’. I can hear my Dad’s voice now as I type this, and God love him, he is right in many cases.

Yet, based on my love for business, I wanted to prove my elders wrong. So as I made my way in the business world, I became tremendously gifted at having lots of compassion, strategic forethought, and solving problems for people in an extraordinarily creative and consultative manner.

However, in that same quest to prove my false beliefs wrong, I also kept unconsciously collecting evidence to prove them right. Over the years, I’d get myself into situations whether personally or professionally where the whole ‘they’re out to get you’ belief got proven right in one capacity or another.

I see now that my decisions were coming from a good place – a place in me which wanted to believe that at the core people are good – and not everyone is ‘out to get you’, and that people really do have your best interests at heart.

And thank goodness as I’ve transformed my own false beliefs, I’m collecting more and more experiences and people in my life who I know have my best interests at heart – and reinforce my true intention and mission with my own business: Live To Give!

And what I’ve learned through all of it, even some very expensive ‘mistakes’ is this: My money is best spent with people who have the same value system that I do – they are in business for what I consider to be the ‘right reasons’, and their main mission and intention is to help me find my own answers, rather than feeding me theirs.

It can be an endless trap constantly looking for the answers from someone else. You wind up continually buying paint for their paint brushes and masterpiece, rather than discovering your own ‘true colors’ to paint your own.

There are plenty of people who will take your power, and your money, and show you the ‘way’, their ‘way’, which is fine in many cases, if that’s what you want.

But, if you’re a woman who knows she smart, knows she has tremendous creative gifts, and simply needs a way to get at them and express them, with lots of confidence and courage, then you don’t need an external plan, you need access to your own internal map.

That’s it, seriously.

You already have your own ‘true colors’ within, the masterpiece may be lying dormant under some muck that got thrown on it throughout the years, but it’s there, and what’s also there is your own unique ‘way’ of how you are uniquely designed to express it.

Sure, tactics and industry standards can help you, without a doubt, but you also have the power and smarts on your own to create new standards, new innovative ‘ways’ of doing things, and new, unique ways of sharing your gifts within your own business – all while helping people with sharing your gifts!

The entrepreneurial world needs new leaders – new innovations – new ideas – new businesses that are built on a value system of service – and businesses that are run by powerful, smart, feminine women who have their hearts in the right place and who want to make a difference and be of great service – while sharing the wealth in numerous ways.

Are you ready to join this ‘the new generation of female entrepreneurs’ and design a business and a life that contributes to a new world – a world that is full of meaning and overall fulfillment – where you share your wealth not only for your own benefit but for the benefit of others?

If you feel the call in your heart, there is no better time then right now.

And, as always, its your choice.

Brenda Stanton is a leader in the field of female empowerment. A creative visionary, business advisor, and personal coach, Brenda supports women to Claim Your Worth™ in all aspects of life and business. Brenda specializes in helping women to value themselves and show them how to go from feeling like “not enough” to “more than enough” – while transforming their perceptions and beliefs so they feel capable, deserving, and worthy of the life-style and business of their dreams. To learn more about Brenda and her Transformative, Life-Style programs visit her at Here

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Tags: ethics, problems, person, trust, business

In 20 years I’ve seen a lot of marketing—some that worked well and some that didn’t. I’ve distilled 20 years of seeing what worked and boiled it down to these 29 tips about using news releases (often called press releases from the days when newspapers and magazines were people’s main sources of news). Here’s what I’m sharing with you:

The 4 reasons you should be using news releases regularly

* The 7 elements of a good news release

* The 9 types of topics that tend to get picked up

* The 5 groups of people you must send your release to

* The 4 OTHER things you should do with it

The 4 reasons to use news releases regularly

Once is not enough—in more ways than one. Name recognition is almost never built by a single document, no matter how exciting or noteworthy the topic; it must be regular and ongoing. Choose a frequency you can live with—once or twice a month is ideal.

1. Publicity – any name recognition is good; favorably written recognition is excellent!

2. Credibility – people tend to believe you’re good if they read that you’re doing good things, and especially if you’re doing them with other well-known names

3. Trust – your prospects and customers develop a feeling of comfort and trust when they see you visible in the marketplace—it confirms the intelligence of their decision to do business with you

4. Generate fresh content for your marketing campaigns—direct mail, website, etc.—and remind yourself how good you are!

The 7 essential elements of a good press release

1. Contact

2. Headline, sub-headline

3. City of origin, date

4. The news hook

5. The benefit(s) to audience

6. The quotes (one high exec from your company and from the other organization involved–whether customer, vendor, government agency, or whatever)

7. The Plug

Newsworthy topics come in 9 categories

1. inventions – new processes

2. improvements – dramatic changes in materials/processes

3. new clients – new projects

4. work you are doing with associations/other high-profile types

5. promotions of staff

6. new hires for significant positions in the company

7. new partnerships with 3rd party vendors

8. pro bono work for high-profile organizations

9. any activity that involves you or someone else making money, making new connections (partnerships), making progress

The 5 groups you should send your release to

1. The press – target publications and/or other media

2. Prospects – purchased or, preferably, homegrown lists

3. Customers

4. Vendor partners

5. Professional associations/networking groups

The 4 OTHER things you can do with your news release

1. Immediately post the press release on your website. Place a link from the home page to your “press room.” If you do your own website, this is cost-free. If you hire outside help, it is still simple and inexpensive.

2. If you should by chance also get a story published, you may make some machine copies of the article (if you’re allowed) and include them in your snail mailing. N.B. Just make sure you’re not violating copyrights. Many publications require you to pay reprint fees.

3. N.B. There are no restrictions on making copies of your own news releases! Make copies of the news release and put them in the information kits you hand out or send to visitors and prospects. Include a copy in that month’s invoices.

4. Post the press release (or any published story) prominently in selected spots in your office–wherever employees and visitors will see it.

5. If you are doing a promotional or newsletter mailing to prospects, include a reference (and a link) to the news release. If the release has been posted on any publication websites such as Yahoo, you may choose to make the link to that location.

Use your press release for all of the above whether you get an item published or not.

Call us if you’d like to get personal coaching on your press release—or if you’d like us to write one for you.

Barbara Payne, managing principal of the web, helps companies and executives, and professionals find their True Voice and use it to attract loyal, profitable customers via speeches, presentations, and corporate blogs. Visit her “Guide to Writing a Successful Corporate Blog – 5 Steps” and get FREE tips on writing your business blog.

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Tags: news release, pr, publicity, credibility, trust