Quotes from Stephen M.R. Covey

A humble person is more concerned about what is right than about being right, about acting on good ideas than having the ideas, about embracing new truth than defending outdated position, about building the team than exalting self, about recognizing contribution than being recognized for making it.

And it all boils down to two simple questions: 1) Do I trust myself? and 2) Am I someone others can trust? With regard to having trust in self, it often begins with the little things.

Some people say you can't change behavior. But there is clear evidence to indicate that people can and do change behavior—sometimes dramatically—and that doing so often produces extraordinary results.

The success of big business and the well-being of the world have never been more closely linked. Global issues cannot be removed from the business world because business has only one world in which to operate. Businesses cannot succeed in societies that fail. —JORMA OLLILA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, NOKIA

It's been my experience that the people who gain trust, loyalty, excitement, and energy fast are the ones who pass on the credit to the people who have really done the work. A leader doesn't need any credit. . . . He's getting more credit than he deserves anyway. —ROBERT TOWNSEND, FORMER CEO, AVIS

On the other hand, trust produces speed. And, as Stephen points out, the greatest trust-building key is "results." Results build brand loyalty. Results inspire and fire up a winning culture. The consistent production of results not only causes customers to increase their reorders, it also compels them to consistently recommend you to others.

the focus was clearly not on activities, but on results. In addition to the benefit of differentiating between results and activities, there's another positive dimension to taking responsibility for results.

H]e who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress.

A commit gives hope. Following through that commitment builds trust

Leadership is getting results in a way that inspires trust. It's maximizing both your current contribution and your ability to contribute in the future by establishing the trust that makes it possible.

A counterfeit manifestation of clarifying expectations is to create "smoke and mirrors"—to give lip service to clarifying expectations, but to fail to pin down specifics like results, deadlines, or dollars that facilitate meaningful accountability.

their founder, Frederick Smith, said, "We thought that we were selling the transportation of goods; in fact, we were selling peace of mind." In consequence of their performance, they earned credibility . . . and trust . . . and business. Today, people anticipate that FedEx will deliver on time because they have delivered on time—time and time again.

Authenticity is critical to building a relationship of trust. And that means you need to "declare your intent." Declaring your intent involves opening your agenda, giving the why behind the what. It is a great practice in using vulnerability to operationalize authenticity.

By now I hope you're convinced that, as I've said, nothing is as fast as the speed of trust. Nothing is as profitable as the economics of trust. Nothing is as relevant as the pervasive impact of trust. And the dividends of trust can significantly enhance the quality of every relationship on every level of your life.

A nation's well-being, as well as its ability to compete, is conditioned by a single, pervasive cultural characteristic: the level of trust inherent in the society.

If you think the problem is out there, that very thought is the problem.

Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless. —WARREN BUFFETT

While there is risk in trusting other people, there's far greater risk in not trusting them.

while ethics is fundamentally important and necessary, it is absolutely insufficient. It shows that the so-called soft stuff is hard, measurable, and impacts everything else in relationships, organizations, markets, and societies. Financial success comes from success in the marketplace, and success in the marketplace comes from success in the workplace. The heart and soul of all of this is trust.

he always tried to start off by "declaring himself." That meant he told them who he was, what mattered to him, and how he approached leadership and work. He told them about his goals for the company and for the relationship. He explained not only his what but especially his why.

Having spent many years trying to define the essentials of trust, I arrived at the position that if two people could say two things to each other and mean them, then there was the basis for real trust. The two things were "I mean you no harm" and "I seek your greatest good." —JIM MEEHAN, BRITISH PSYCHOLOGIST AND POET

while high trust won't necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one.

Leadership is a choice, not a position.

Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police. —ALBERT EINSTEIN