Quotes from Stephen M.R. Covey

Self-trust is the first secret of success . . . the essence of heroism.

We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behaviour.

The first job of a leader—at work or at home—is to inspire trust. It's to bring out the best in people by entrusting them with meaningful stewardships, and to create an environment in which high-trust interaction inspires creativity and possibility.

Trust is equal parts character and competence... You can look at any leadership failure, and it's always a failure of one or the other.

Above all, success in business requires two things: a winning competitive strategy, and superb organizational execution. Distrust is the enemy of both. I submit that while high trust won't necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one.

In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very measured, even precise, and they'll still misinterpret you.

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today.

The process of building trust is an interesting one, but it begins with yourself, with what I call self trust, and with your own credibility, your own trustworthiness. If you think about it, it's hard to establish trust with others if you can't trust yourself.

A person has integrity when there is no gap between intent and behavior…when he or she is whole, seamless, the same—inside and out. I call this "congruence." And it is congruence—not compliance—that will ultimately create credibility and trust.

we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior. This is why, as we'll discuss later, one of the fastest ways to restore trust is to make and keep commitments—even very small commitments—to ourselves and to others.

There are no moral shortcuts in the game of business—or life. There are, basically, three kinds of people: the unsuccessful, the temporarily successful, and those who become and remain successful. The difference is character.

Left untended, knowledge and skill, like all assets, depreciate in value—surprisingly quickly. —DAVID MAISTER, BUSINESS AUTHOR AND CONSULTANT

The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted. —MAHATMA GANDHI

Whether you're on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can't trust one another there's going to be trouble.

The trust we have in people and in organizations comes, in part, from believing that they do care.

S × E)T = R ([Strategy times Execution] multiplied by Trust equals Results)

The principle is simply this: We tend to get what we expect—both from ourselves and from others. When we expect more, we tend to get more; when we expect less, we tend to get less.

When you break the big laws, you do not get liberty; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws.

we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior.

Above all, success in business requires two things: a winning competitive strategy, and superb organizational execution. Distrust is the enemy of both." I submit that while high trust won't necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one.

A leader doesn't need any credit…. He's getting more credit than he deserves anyway. —ROBERT TOWNSEND, FORMER CEO, AVIS

The ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust with all stakeholders—customers, business partners, investors, and coworkers—is the key leadership competency of the new global economy.

for every thousand people hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the roots.

Low trust causes friction, whether it is caused by unethical