I saw this line in a management type book the other day and while I found it interesting, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it so I thought I'd throw it out to you for discussion.

 

"It's human nature not to take responsibility for one's own shortcomings, so when working with others you've got to try and see the whole picture and not be reactionary." 

 

Ok, but who's going to help us see our own shortcomings?  Is it only possible for others to see them?  Is it really impossible to look in a mirror and see anything accurately?  Is this why we don't recognize our own voices when we hear them and don't like the way we look in photos?  And if the answers are yes, how can we trust ourselves and our self assessments or those for our businesses?  I really do want to hear you thoughts and until I get them, here are mine.  (I hope you'll visit our RealWired! News Blog.)  We are awful at seeing ourselves.  That's where trusted friends and advisors come in which brings me to what I really want to explore with you...trust.

 

I believe trust is going to trump everything.  I believe it already has, but no one has figured it out yet.  As much as I love process and technology, I know that it's completely useless without trustworthy people to implement and use it properly.  Not that long ago, there was a time when we didn't trust the technology(ies), but it now seems we trust technology and not people.  So in keeping with my "there's always opportunity" philosophy, I see great opportunity for advancement and improvement in business through exploring how to be the one that people trust.  Of course this isn't a new idea...far from it, but I do think it's more important than ever.  We are bombarded hundreds of times a day with things we need to make judgments about (to trust or not trust) and there are certainly social norms in business that dictate non-trust, particularly in the commercial real estate industry.  Heck, comedian's can enjoy long careers on the material about real estate, and it's not just the residential side of the business.

 

So why do we trust technology more than ever?  Because it's becoming more and more reliable and predictable.  Can we say the same for ourselves?  Do we keep getting better and better, more and more reliable and predictable?  In some cases yes, but sadly in most cases it doesn't seem so. Maybe it's because we can't "see" ourselves.  I work with companies (or at least try to) that refuse to see their shortcomings and so they have little chance of improving.  I try hard to get them to trust that I've got their best interest at the heart of the issue, which in turn is good for both of us.  It's a challenge.  They've been taught not to trust.  They've been taught that others are out only for their own good.  But it's possible to change the way business is done.  It's possible to prove high integrity.  Technology can help, because it's done with processes which we expect have been thoroughly tested, so borrow from that and make sure you follow processes that others will see have been tested.

 

Trust is one of those things that is earned.  There are no "rights or entitlements" associated with it.  As a result, there's incredible opportunity to do really well in our businesses if we stand out as trustworthy.  So I guess the statement I shared above..."It's human nature not to take responsibility for one's own shortcomings..." is why the demand for trustworthy people and companies is going to trump all else...if only others can really "see" for us, we sure want to trust their vision.