Trust Highlights Importance of ‘How’ vs. ‘What’ in Business

By Ashley Wilemon, Vice President, Dallas

For 13 years, Edelman has published its annual Trust Barometer, a snapshot of the world’s attitudes toward “everyone else.” I say “everyone else” because those who are surveyed during Trust are asked to evaluate institutions and industries – entities that undoubtedly influence and in fact drive our societies, but entities that are, at the end of the day, little more than concepts. It’s difficult sometimes to realize that the reason we (and those surveyed, who are intended to be a representative sample of “we”) have attitudes toward these entities – business, government, the technology industry, healthcare – is because they are comprised of individuals who make millions upon millions of decisions that collectively drive the entity.

I’m sure none of us think of ourselves as “business,” but when those surveyed in Trust are asked questions about their attitudes toward “business,” they’re talking about people like you and me, and they’re evaluating us based on the thousands of decisions we make every day, the way we counsel our partners, and how our work product is put out into the world.

When it’s broken down that far, it becomes both overwhelming and inspiring. On the one hand, we can’t turn the tide by ourselves, in one day, or even with one client, and that’s frustrating (especially for Type A PR professionals). But on the other hand, we are part of something bigger, and the decisions we make are active contributions to the world of “business” (or healthcare, or government, or whatever industry your business touches), and that’s empowering.

I remember a sign from high school that said, “Reputation takes years to build and a moment to destroy.” Not a novel sentiment, but it was profound to me at the time (Give me a break - I was in high school.) The same can be said for Trust. We are building trust every day – with our partners, our colleagues, our clients, everyone. And only about half of that reputation is built on WHAT we deliver; the other half (at least) is based on HOW we go about our business.

At a recent staff development meeting, there was a lot of emphasis placed on HOW we go about our work, and it got me thinking about HOW our methods help build (or break down) Trust. As individuals and as professionals, we should place a greater emphasis on taking the time to do things the right way, and as individuals and professionals, we should be more patient with those who take the time to do things the right way. It’s an investment in the long term, but those small deposits over time build equity. It’s a formula that is simple to understand but nearly impossible to implement. But if each individual can take on the burden to make the process better (the HOW), I am positive the WHAT will be better too. And as individuals whose decisions contribute to the direction of entire world-moving entities, our small steps will help steer the collective group in the right direction.