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Book Review: The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything

By Carrie Cavanaugh

The thesis of Steven M.R. Coveys The Speed of Trust is that nothing is as fast as the speed of trust and that the ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust with all stakeholders is the critical leadership competency of the new global economy (p. 323). His logic and examples are convincing, but I think most people of our generation have been feeling the need for greater trust for years. Indeed Steven M.R. Covey accurately felt the pulse of the business world and our society in general when he set out to write this book. But is the attention this book is getting only due to the relevant issue it addresses? After laying out a solid argument for the need for increased trust in business and private life, Covey goes on to explore in depth the various aspects of trust and ways we can both increase trust and lose trust. He firmly asserts that it is possible to do things that will make people trust us more and that we can almost always win back trust even if it has been lost before. The strength of the book lies in its plethora of real life application. Indeed it is a storehouse of wisdom ringing true and not inconsistent with Biblical wisdom literature. I found that I already knew much of what he wrote about either intuitively or from my Christian upbringing. Still, I did discover some aspects of trust that I hadnt thought about before. The Speed of Trusts strength lies in its true and practical suggestions on how to build trust with others. For example, one of the first issues he talks about is the importance of beginning with self-trust. He warns that if you make a promise to yourself, it is vital that you keep it, or you wont trust yourself and this is apparent to others. Accompanying each suggestion are anecdotes driving home the importance of each element of trust. If this book is anything, it is thorough. The biggest drawbacks about the book are its overwhelming plethora of ideas and its obtuse organization. Coveys thorough exploration of the topic leaves one reeling with all the options of action before him. I suppose this issue can be remedied by reading the book slowly and working through each of his suggestions as they come up. As for organization, there certainly was an effort at organization, but moving from one topic to the next there were only weak connections and not enough perspective was given. Steven M.R. Covey is the son of Steven Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a leading global professional services firm. Although it may have been hard to follow in his fathers footsteps, Steven M.R. Covey has done well for himself as cofounder and CEO of CoveyLink Worldwide, an organization that helps further the speed of trust. At one time he was also the CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which he nurtured into the premiere leadership development company in the world. There is no doubt that his

success is in large part due both to the lessons he learned from his father as well as the education he received while earning an MBA at Harvard. As the examples in the book reflect, Steven M.R. Covey has had a lot of experience with trust and this has been a key to his success. All in all, Steven M.R. Coveys The Speed of Trust is a much needed book on a very relevant subject, however it is not perfect. This encyclopedic exploration of the topic of trust could be better organized and key points highlighted, but nonetheless it has much to offer.