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Win a Free Copy of The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook

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Over the past few months we’ve counted down 144 daily #TrustTips on Twitter.  Each tip aimed to help you improve your trustworthiness and trusted relationships within your professional and personal lives.  We collected them all here.

Now that our new book, “The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook,” nears its release date, we are looking to hear from you, oh avid readers, which tips you felt were the most useful, profound or just plain interesting.

You Be the Judge

We listed a few of our favorites – now it’s your turn. We’d like to share, right here on Trust Matters, a few of yours.

So go ahead and tell us which #TrustTip was your favorite and why (no more than a few sentences). We’ll enter each submission into a drawing to win a copy of the new book autographed by both of us, as well as the opportunity to be singled out on our site (eternal fame, in other words).

Enter Now! Just go ahead and list your favorite #TrustTip in the comment section below or, email us at: [email protected].  Once again, here’s the full list of #TrustTips.

We can’t wait to hear which tips you choose!

Trust Tips: A Deeper Look

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The countdown continues until “The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust,” (from Wiley Books) hits shelves everywhere. As we eagerly await publication, my co-author, Andrea Howe, and I are posting a series of daily Trust Tips.

These brief yet insightful tips can be found on Twitter by using the hashtag #TrustTip. Or,if you prefer, you can go straight to the source by finding us on Twitter at @AndreaPHowe and @CharlesHGreen.

Not keen to leave those of you out who haven’t jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon, we keep a running tally of all the Trust Tips right here on our site.

We do recommend you take a second, or third, look at Twitter though. We’ve been having some great discussions over there about the tips and more. We’d love for you to chime in.

The Tips

The tips are published every workday as a means to give you a quick method to heighten your trustworthiness and build stronger work relationships.

If you need to catch up, see our recaps of Tips #144-135; #134-115; and #114-105.

Trust Tips #104-90

#104: “Trust but verify.” = blowing smoke. If you have to verify, it’s not trust.

#103: Acknowledge uncomfortable situations: try “I’m probably the only one wondering this, but…” You won’t be.

#102: Name and Claim the Elephant in the Room. Candor drives trust; it’s controlled risk taking.

#101: Don’t gossip or promote relationship “triangles.”

#100: Think it through: how will your client react to what you’re thinking of saying?

#99: Don’t think “I can’t trust yet, it’s too risky;” risk is what creates trust. Take the first risk.

#98: Possibly the best sales/client/relationship question is: Tell me more–please.

#97: Be the same person to all people at all times. That’s a good definition of integrity.

#96: Practice asking difficult questions or making difficult statements before you deliver them

#95: By being willing to have a Point of View, you help everyone else crystallize theirs

#94: Hold others accountable; letting others off the hook lets them live down to your expectations

#93: Write your next proposal with your client; sitting next to them; on the same side of the table

#92: Talk more with your eyes, ears & body, and less with your mouth

#91: Be empathetic: the benefit-to-cost ratio of empathy is nearly infinite.

#90: Next time something great happens, pin the credit on someone.

A Couple of My Favorites:

#93: The normal routine for writing proposals just reinforces the separation between ourselves and our clients (or customers, or partners). We say, “good meeting, I’ll get back to you with a . PDF document by Friday, and ship you hard copy as well.”

Instead, try saying, “Let’s book the conference room again this Friday, and write this proposal together, sitting on the same side of the table. We’ll each bring all our questions and data and we’ll make sure we come up between us with the best possible approached. Of course it’s still a proposal, I know we may not win–but it will be the best possible proposal the two of us can possibly produce.”
#90: We’re pretty good at pinning the blame on others. And we’re often quick to take credit. Taking responsibility is a good antidote to blaming, and ‘pinning the credit’ is the cure for hogging it all to ourselves.

Next time something good happens and you start maneuvering to look like it was your doing, stop–and pin the credit on someone else. They’ll appreciate it, and it’s a good way to practice lowering your self-orientation.

A #TrustTip Highlight Reel

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We’re counting down the days until “The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust,” a new book written by myself and Andrea Howe (to be published by Wiley Books, hitting the shelves on October 31) by lighting up the twittersphere with a series of daily Trust Tips.

You can find these snippets of insight on Twitter by using the hashtag (or pound sign) followed by TrustTip, like this: #TrustTip. Or, if you prefer, you can go straight to the source by finding us on Twitter at @AndreaPHowe and @CharlesHGreen.

We’ve had some good discussions on Twitter and would love for you to put your two cents in.

For those of you still averse to Twitter, we keep a running tab of all the Trust Tips right here on our site.

The Tips

The Tips are concise. They’re published every work day, helping to increase your trustworthiness and build better work relationships.

If you need to catch up, see our recaps of Tips #144-135 and #134-115. Below are #114-105.

Trust Tips Redux: #114–105

#114: Do you know your main customer’s kids’ names? Should you?

#113: Be relentlessly discreet; honor confidentiality

#112: An expectation is a premeditated resentment; stay curious and bemused

#111: Sign up for a Google alert on yourself and your firm: See yourself the way others see you

#110: Send a hand-written note of acknowledgment/thanks

#109: In conversation with your client, occasionally wait half a second longer before talking

#108: Offer to take notes in a meeting

#107: Tell your client something you appreciate about him/her

#106: The great thing about always telling the truth is you have only one version to remember

#105: The easiest, safest and most durable way to make others trust you is to actually be trustworthy–worthy of their trust

A Couple of My Favorites:

#112: An expectation is a premeditated resentment; stay curious and bemused

We all have ideas about what’s going to happen in the future; we couldn’t function without them. But when those ideas turn into expectations to which we become attached–when we start rooting for an outcome, twisting the evidence to support or even encourage a particular result–we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. Just down the street from disappointment lives resentment; and resentment poisons everything.
Be light on your feet. If the home team loses, hey, it happens. If the sale didn’t come through, don’t let it ruin your sleep. If you didn’t get what you wanted, be grateful for what you got. Learn for the future, but don’t let the learning ruin today.

#109: In conversation with your client, occasionally wait half a second longer before talking

Sometimes we can be too eager to answer a question or solve a problem. Next time, don’t you be the one to fill that silent hole in space. If what you say sounds too rehearsed, even if it isn’t, trust begins to erode. Pausing, even for just a moment, can make a noticeable difference. Indicate that you’d like the other person to speak next. Not only will you seem more thoughtful, but you will be more so. And you’ll hear stuff.

Which tips did you find most meaningful?

We’ll be publishing more Trust Tips next week and every week to book publication. Share the wealth; tell others about #TrustTip—new tips posted every weekday at 8:30AM.

Counting Down the #TrustTips: Daily Tweets on Trust

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In celebration of the “The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust” a new book written by myself and Andrea Howe in partnership with Wiley Books, we’ve been tweeting a series of Daily Trust Tips.

Andrea and I tweet one #TrustTip per business day, counting down until publication day, October 31. You can access these daily trust tips on Twitter, by using the hashtag (or pound sign) followed by TrustTip. Like this: #TrustTip. You can find us on Twitter at @AndreaPHowe and @CharlesHGreen.

The Tips

We try to stay away from platitudes. They’re meant to be precise and provocative, things you can apply today to enhance your trustworthiness and build stronger, more trusting relationships.

And if that still isn’t enough to motivate you to get on Twitter, we keep a running list of all the #TrustTips right here on our site.

The past two weeks of tips have sparked a good deal of talk on Twitter. Below is the recap of Tips #134-115. You can find the recap of #144-135 here.

Trust Tips Recap: #134– #115

#134: The purchasing agent is your new client. Treat them so. Their needs go beyond beating you up.

#133: If you feel odd about something: notice it. Say it out loud. Talk about it. Trust your gut.

#132: Don’t say what you’ll do, do it. Doing is the best talking. Sell by doing, not by talking.

#131: When you don’t know the answer: say, “I don’t know the answer.” What a concept.

#130: Don’t lie. Don’t fake it. Don’t justify it. Don’t leave things out. Don’t mislead. Don’t lie. Don’t.

#129: Easy way to increase reliability: say you’ll do something—then do it. On time.

#128: Under-promised and over-delivered means you’re lying. Better to do exactly what you said you’d do.

#127: Over a drink, ask your client what (s)he thinks their boss most wants from them.

#126: Dress code: one tiny notch higher than your client—no less, but no more either.

#125: Subscribe to your 2nd biggest customer’s 2nd most important industry trade publication.

#124: Adopt the safest cultural time standard: if you’re on-time, you’re late.

#123: Return calls unbelievably fast. You can wait to get the fix, but return the call unbelievably fast.

#122: Make lots of small promises & consistently follow through.

#121: Announce changes immediately & acknowledge the impact—especially when you won’t deliver as promised.

#120: Don’t just not lie; tell as much truth as possible, except where hurtful to others.

#119: Use pre-meetings; the final meeting should be ceremonial, no surprises.

#118: Identify some of your customers’ unique terminology; if it fits, use it yourself.

#117: Five credentials after your name on the business card is three too many.

#116: Give your meetings goals—not just agendas.

#115: In a meeting, notice who looks like they want to say something. Ask them to do so.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

# 129, Easy way to increase reliability: say you’ll do something—then do it. On time.

How many times have we been reliant on someone to get their job done in order for us to complete ours? It starts in middle school—from home-made science projects—and carries through to our professional lives. Efficient teamwork is part of every successful business. That teamwork extends outside of your office and into your client’s. Your client’s ability to rely on you to get the job done when you say you will makes for a smooth relationship, where no matter what, they feel they can trust you. Reliability is one of the four key factors in the Trust Equation, and one of the key factors we reference in any recommendation.

#116, Give your meetings goals—not just agendas.

Meetings seem to be a way of life when it comes to maintaining a steady business. It’s a practice that we all acknowledge for its necessity but in a way, seem to dread. Why is that? Many times meetings abide by a checklist of items to be discussed but after just thirty minutes minute details start taking over and the overall goals are lost. Creating goals as well as agendas for your meetings allows for the bigger picture to be maintained. It’s important to ensure everyone feels that they aren’t losing valuable time doing something else while they are listening to you veer off course.

#131, When you don’t know the answer: say, “I don’t know the answer.” What a concept.

It is amazing how simple this concept is–yet how few people subscribe to it. One of the quickest ways to reduce your customer’s trust in you is to answer their question incorrectly or to dodge it entirely. The reverse is ironically true as well: if you truthfully answer a question—especially if the answer is, “I don’t know”—they will trust you in that moment, and from then on as well.

Which ones did you find most meaningful?

We’ll be publishing more #TrustTip next week and every week to book publication. Share the wealth; tell others about #TrustTip—new tips posted every weekday at 8:30AM.

 

144 Tips on Trust: The Great # Countdown

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Last week we announced “The Trusted Advisor FieldBook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust,” a new book written by myself and Andrea Howe in partnership with Wiley Books.

As part of the build-up to the book, we started a series of Daily Trust Tips, one per business day, counting down until publication day, October 31. You can access these daily trust tips on Twitter, by using the hashtag (or pound sign) followed by TrustTip. Like this: #TrustTip


Andrea Howe and I alternately publish the tip du jour every weekday at 8:30AM EST; then whichever isn’t tweeting will re-tweet within the hour. You find us on Twitter at @AndreaPHowe and @CharlesH.Green. Or, you can simply do a twitter search on #TrustTip. That way you can easily spot the whole series at any time.

The Tips

We try to stay away from platitudes. They’re meant to be precise and provocative, things you can apply today to enhance your trustworthiness and build stronger, more trusting relationships.

And if that still isn’t enough to motivate you to get on twitter, then every two weeks or so we’ll publish the most recent TrustTips here on this blog. Here they are, plus a few bonus thoughts.

Trust Tips Redux: #144 – #135

#144 Find out what your client’s customers like best about your client.

#143 Subscribe to 7 Google Alerts: some about your customers, some about their industry.

#142 Develop 5 great customer questions: Ask a partner to pick the top 3 from your list. Use them.

#141 When you present, practice in front of the mirror 4 times. Seriously! 4 times! You’ll get more relaxed.

#140 How much personal time: Hours, $: will you invest this year in you?

#139 Find out where you best customer went to high school. Don’t flaunt it; just learn it.

#138 Host an event that brings key stakeholders together; you be the moderator.

#137 When the customer asks you the price, tell them. Straight away. No hem, haw, wait. Answer the question.

#136 When you tell a story: refer to 3 of the 5 senses in telling it. It’ll make it more memorable.

#135 Don’t walk in without a point-of-view. It doesn’t have to be right; it does have to be thoughtful.

Here’s a couple of my favorites:

# 140, for example. Part of Google’s success clearly lies in happy, engaged employees. If you don’t work for Google, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little google for yourself. Reinvesting in yourself gives you a break from the daily grind. Feeling comfortable with your position, your team, and your bosses allows you to be more relaxed when faced with difficult situations. When your job is more than where you punch in and punch out, you can be there for your customers. Customers will then look to you as someone who has their best interests in mind—and begin to believe that you might actually care about their goals.

# 137. Almost all price problems are of our own creation. Every reason we concoct for being reticent—don’t quote price until they’ve heard value, etc.—just resonates with the client as obfuscation and avoidance. What’s he hiding? Why can’t he answer a direct question? Any financial planner will tell you, clients find it easier to talk about their sex lives than to talk about money; and any salesperson who appears hesitant is immediately causing suspicion. It’s so easy: just answer the question, and if they don’t ask it, put it out there. It’s a relevant fact; and oddly enough, you get credit for being forthright in mentioning it, simply because no one else will!

Which ones did you find most meaningful?

We’ll be publishing more #TrustTip next week and every week to book publication. Share the wealth; tell others about #TrustTip—new tips posted every weekday at 8:30AM.

Announcing the Trusted Advisor FieldBook

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I am very proud to announce with my co-author Andrea P. Howe the publication this fall of “The Trusted Advisor FieldBook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust,” in partnership with Wiley Books. Our tentative publication date is October 31, 2011 (no jokes about the date, please).

The Trusted Advisor FieldBook is a practical working companion to “The Trusted Advisor,” by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford. Long on how-tos, tips and sensible advice, the book also addresses issues of social media and virtual relationships that weren’t so prevalent a decade ago.

We are sharing a Daily Trust Tip on Twitter every day to celebrate the publication of The Trusted Advisor FieldBook, starting today, in a count down to the publication date of October 31. Check every morning at 8:30 AM EST for Twitter hastag #TrustTip, or follow @andreaphowe or @charleshgreen.

We’ll share more ideas with you as we get closer to publication, but right now we wanted you to be the first to know. Please help us celebrate our partnership with Wiley, and look forward to getting your copy of “The Trusted Advisor FieldBook” this fall.