Over two million copies sold. Stephen M. R. Covey shows how trust--and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees, and all stakeholders--is the single most critical component of a successful leader and organization.
Stephen M. R. Covey, widely known as one of the world's leading authorities on trust, asserts that it is "the most overlooked, misunderstood, underutilized asset to enable performance. Its impact, for good or bad, is dramatic and pervasive. It's something you can't escape." Thankfully, it's is also the thing that can dramatically improve your personal and professional success.
Why trust? The simple, often overlooked fact is this: work gets done with and through people. The Speed of Trust offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in every transaction and every relationship--from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction. It specifically demonstrates how to establish trust intentionally so that you and your organization can forego the time-killing, bureaucratic check-and-balance processes that is so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.
This 2018 updated edition includes an insightful afterword by the author which explores ten key reasons why trust is more relevant now than ever before--including how trust is the new currency of our world today.
Industry Reviews
Covey brilliantly focuses on that overlooked bedrock of democratic capitalism -- trust. Like the air we breathe, we too often take this critical intangible for granted. As Covey makes clear, we do so at our ultimate competitive peril.
-- Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes
Covey convincingly validates our experience at Dell -- that trust has a bottom-line impact on results and that when trust goes up, speed goes up while costs come down. This principle applies not only in our professional relationships with customers, business partners, and team members but also in our personal relationships, which makes this insightful book all the more valuable.
-- Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell Inc.
Covey's book underscores the single most important factor -- the substrate -- that will determine the success (or failure) of any organization in the 21st century: TRUST. This is a powerful read: brave, imaginative, amazingly prescient, and backed up by empirical and analytical heft. A must-read for anyone in a position of responsibility, from a support group to a global corporation.
-- Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC, and author of On Becoming a Leader
I am happier when I am trusted, and I bet you are too. Covey has done a masterful job teaching that trust is conditioned on our behavior and that we can consciously shift our behavior to deserve trust. This one realization can change your life. This is the best book by a Covey since 7 Habits.
-- Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Don't Get Scrooged
Stephen Covey's work changed the world. I'd bet the price of this exciting book and more that his son, Stephen M. R. Covey, will have at least as much impact. The Speed of Trust is an amazing book, starting with its novel and powerful title -- my greatest wonder was why it hadn't been written before. From the epigraph -- 'Speed happens when people truly trust each other' -- to the closing bell, this is a book worth savoring -- and implementing.
-- Tom Peters
This book can change lives. Covey helps us understand how to nurture and inspire immediate trust in every encounter, which is the foundation for true and lasting success in life. A very interesting and enlightening read.
-- Larry King
This much-needed book provides many practical examples of how greater trust produces better results, at less cost, sooner -- at work and in life. It's invaluable.
-- Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese? and coauthor of The One Minute Manager
Want to be an irresistible positive force? Combine personal responsibility with compassion and respect for others. Want to know how to do this perfectly? Read The Speed of Trust.
-- Dr. Laura Schlessinger, internationally syndicated radio host and author of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage
When I received this book and was asked to read it and offer my comments, my first impulse was, 'I don't have the time.' However, as I read the foreword, then the first few chapters, I could not put it down. It is exactly what business leaders need today. This book gets to the core roots of ethical behavior and integrity and how 'trusted' leaders and organizations do things better, faster, and at lower cost. Everyone should make the time to read this book.
-- Nolan D. Archibald, Chairman and CEO, The Black & Decker Corporation
