Trust is a very rare quality in the realm of humanity.
Few people can claim to be truthful always. Even fewer can claim to uphold that value in business. That is why when parties are getting into a business deal, they hire lawyers to draw all sorts of lofty contracts just in case one of them wants to break the spirit of the agreement.
Remember Shakespeare’s the Tragedy of Julius Ceaser? Ceaser walks into the Roman Senate not aware that a bunch of senators have conspired to kill him. He is not aware that his most trusted friend Marcus Brutus, who walks beside him, is one of the conspirators. The senators soon turn and stab Ceasar.
Well he is not amazed that they have turned against him. Most were his known enemies anyway. But what shocks him is seeing his friend Brutus lifting a knife and stabbing him on the chest. His dying words are: “Even you Brutus?”
Trusted friends can always betray you. Even in business you should be careful.
For business owners, a lack of trust is your biggest expense. It may take years for a manager or an executive to develop the trust of his or her employees, but only moments to lose.
Without trust, transactions cannot occur, influence is destroyed, leaders can lose teams and salespeople can lose sales. The list goes on.
Trust and relationships, much more than money, are the currency of business.
