If we trust someone we put ourselves at risk, but we do so voluntarily. In business there may be no way of clinching that deal without engaging in that personal risk, but to deny or externalise that risk is to enter the world of blame and misuse of power. This book reconnects our intuitive understanding of trust with the roots of business risk.
When there is a strong enough trust between parties in a business environment, you can:
* Be aware of far more of the workings of the environment, including how to generate value for other stakeholders
* Strengthen business relationships which help to deal with unimagined opportunities and contingencies
* Understand how to develop lean business processes without unnecessary or counterproductive management activities
* Manage business risks that could otherwise play havoc with the business
When business people deny the importance of trust, when some of their business relationships become cynical and exploitative, then a cycle is formed: lack of trust leads to cynical actions and cynical actions lead to a further erosion of trust. In this book, Aidan Ward and John Smith teach how to trust others and pinpoint real ris k in business.
In this book Aidan Ward and John Smith propose that the key to understanding and improving the potential for business success lies in the power of trust. By delving into the complex issue of how an organization operates they uncover how relationships between people have a direct link to value creation. Through the authors' discussion of the uncertainties and risks that face all business they demonstrate how the relationship between individuals needs to be actively developed in order to cope with, and capitalise upon, this environment. In essence we need to understand trust to see how it can work as a business model.
In today's business environment the ability to manage trust to support change adds up to the strategic resource in developing effectiveness and innovation. You don't need (and can't have) absolute control - you need to know who you need to trust to do better.
