I almost didn't use this subject line, because it seemed to go against my deeply held belief that "trust is the new currency." Sure, trust has always been a form of currency because it's so precious, but since we are connected to more and more people all the time, it's harder and harder to trust. And the more scarce something is, the more valuable, right?

I chose to use that subject line because my research shows that it has components to make you open this column and that's my goal. It's my goal each and every week to bring you thoughts, insights, tips and suggestions that are worthy of your time. And to get those things to you, I need a "delivery service." Sure, there are the technical aspects of delivering this column each week - the software that I use, the design, the formatting, but you don't care all that much about that. And yes, over the dozen or so years that I've written this, I hope that many of you have learned to trust that I'll deliver something that might be worth your value. But none of that would really matter at all if there wasn't a compelling reason for you to take your precious time and see if there's something of value here. That's why I know it's important to develop a subject line that quickly lets you know whether or not there will be value, should you make that "click."

So why was I concerned about my subject line today? Because some of the components it has are the same ones used by tabloid type ads and web sites. The kind of titles that get us to open a lot of stuff on the Internet and then either don't answer the question we were hoping it did, sucks us into a sales pitch that we really have no interest in or the evil of all evils, a "click" could put something harmful on our computers or systems. Again, that's why I say it's all about trust. I don't just want you to trust me. It's imperative that you trust me. Why else would you bother reading anything I write? So I make certain that if I put a subject line like "2 Things You Don't Do Every Day That You Should", that I tell you what what those two things are, and they'll be relevant.

So here are the two things we don't do every single day that we should. We don't focus on learning how to make effective decisions and we don't focus on how to communicate. Yep that's it, two things. I'm not saying that we don't make effective decisions, I'm not saying that we don't communicate. What I'm saying is we tend to think the way we do things is okay, that we don't need to learn that there is no formal process for constant improvement of how to make more effective decisions and how to communicate. That's just wrong, and it's costing us a lot. Just because we grew up, running what most would consider successful careers, doesn't mean that we're good at making effective decisions and we know how to really communicate. Sure, there are ways to make more effective decisions by putting process in place and that's a great simple step, but there is so much more that it should be a lifelong learning endeavor. Making effective decisions is all about taking in and being open-minded to a lot of outside input, as well as knowing when to close out additional input and move forward. It takes a lot of strength, confidence and courage to make effective decisions and it's not something that you just learn and then keep repeating; it's something that you keep learning and learning and learning and learning.

It's the same with communication. There's enough material to be learned and applied about communication that it would be impossible to learn it all, and so the goal should be to take a little time every single day to learn something about communication. In many ways communication is really all about your community; you need supporters, ambassadors, evangelists and a host of others with whom you develop mutually beneficial relationships.

Trust evolves from these two things; people will trust you because they see your leadership and your ability to make effective decisions that impact you as well as those around you. People will trust you because you have developed good communication skills.

So there it is. Just two things. That should be manageable right? Let's not kid ourselves. They are two BIG things. But the cool thing is, it is possible to focus everything else we do into these two buckets and make incremental improvement the goal! I hope you'll see enough value in what I've said to give it some thought. Then I'll feel good that the subject line did its job and you'll trust me to come back next week!

Come join our discussion on our blog, or I welcome your feedback through email.