Each time I head out of town, I take my 75 lb yellow lab to the doggie hotel. They do a great job there and she is well cared for. But, she is a rescue dog and I’ve only had her a year and a half. I don’t know her history, but clearly she was abandoned. The last two times I’ve dropped her off, she shrieked at the top of her lungs while I walked out the door. I know I’m coming back. And even though I have eight or so times, she doesn’t yet trust that I will. Each time I drop her off, that trust is broken a little bit and needs to be rebuilt.
It takes a long time to establish trust—much longer than you think it will. And it is really easy to lose. As a leader in business, your promises and actions either establish trust or break it. And even though you state you promise to do something, it takes keeping that promise a number of times before people actually trust that you will. How are you establishing trust in your business?