We urgently need to understand the behaviours that erode trust and eradicate them. We need to value the practices that build trust and multiply those. Lack of trust is costly to society, to businesses and to us as individuals.
Proud contributor to: Trust Inc. out today!
About twelve years ago I became fascinated by trust – what builds it, how to measure it, what erodes it. Just over two years ago I wrote my major research paper on the key factors of inter-organizational trust for my masters degree. That research was the genesis of the Twelve Weeks to Trust blog series, an Ignite Guelph presentation and more recently, a contribution to Trust Inc: 52 Weeks of Activities & Inspirations for Building Workplace Trust. I’m so honoured to contribute to the publication which represents the efforts of dozens of experts… and me.
If, like me, you believe that trust is the most important organizational strategy of the 21st century, if you believe we need to find macro strategies for macro trust problems, then I hope you’ll commit to incorporating at least one trust activity during the upcoming year. I ordered my copy tonight… can’t wait for it to arrive in my mailbox.
To find out more about leading in trust and leading with trust, visit Trust Across America.
Full disclaimer: I receive no royalties from the purchase of this book
The value of volunteers and their vision
In the season of Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday and holiday gift giving, I wanted to thank all volunteers for their vision and astounding contributions. Imagine for a moment that all volunteers vanished – No one delivering meals on wheels, no one fundraising for hospitals or hockey. How would that change the face of our community? In every facet of our lives, volunteers enhance our wellbeing.
In 2010, Statistics Canada reported that 13.3 million Canadians over the age of 15 participated in volunteering for a total of 2.1 billion volunteer hours.
While we could debate the dollar value of that contribution, we would inevitably come up woefully short. How do you put a value on an hour spent with a Little Sister or Little Brother or with a family that’s together for their last moments in a hospice? How do you assess the value of preserving history, creating a new festival or 5k race? How about the doctors who volunteer with Médecins sans frontières or disaster relief? What do they save the State not only in cost but also in prevention?
A recent article in my local daily highlighted the amazing power of volunteerism. The piece titled Canteen compassion from Guelph and Wellington County recounts how people in my community raised funds to support 34 mobile canteens throughout Europe during WWII. The canteens, also staffed by volunteers, provided food for stretcher bearers, fire crews and displaced people. It reminded me of a very modest display I saw during a visit to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. As I left the main hangar I almost missed the board- more high school project than museum display. It outlined the contribution of the I.O.D.E. (Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire ) and explained how, in1940, the organization raised $100,000 in one month for the Canadian Government to purchase a Bolingbroke Bomber.
Imagine raising $100,000 in one month to buy a war plane… in 1940! The amount and the effort boggle the mind. But that is the resourcefulness of volunteers.
With Giving Tuesday and the International Day of Volunteers close at hand, I want to honour those women and all volunteers who give selflessly of their time, talent and treasure. Your efforts enrich our daily lives and echo through the generations.
Shame on the Rogers ad campaign
A father watches a hockey game instead of his daughter’s dance recital. A family retreats to separate quarters of a home to watch three different hockey games so they don’t have to choose a game to watch together or even be together. This is Rogers Telecommunications pathetic idea of a slice of Canadiana.
I’ve had it with crappy values being normalized on television for the sake of a telecom bundle. What happened to the “communications” part of telecommunications? Rogers is promoting self-centeredness, rudeness and isolation. While it may seem benign, there is a cost to deteriorating relationships in families and communities. Families need presence, pride and support. Hockey games should bring crowds together in solidarity, rivalry and shared experience. Communities can’t build resiliency if everyone retreats to their personal, fictional worlds. We need to tell Rogers their perspective is offensive and deeply flawed.
Accolade Communications 