BBB to honor value of trust with Torch Awards

On April 24, Better Business Bureau serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming will honor eight businesses at our 10th Annual Torch Awards for Business Ethics. Those we will honor as well as those we have honored previously are shining examples of how businesses built on trust not only thrive, they succeed.

But as we’ve seen in past years, trust is a complex issue in today’s society. In various sectors and to varying degrees, we have at times lost faith in the very institutions that made this country great – the government, the military, the church, the media, schools, the nonprofit sector and certainly business.

Each has let the American consumer down at some point or another. Each has given us a reason to shake our heads, to heave a collective sigh, and to increase our skepticism. Each makes us feel less connected to the communities that should sustain us.

Robert Putnam, author of “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Society,” says, “People who trust others are all-around good citizens, and those more engaged in community life are both more trusting and more trustworthy. Trustworthiness lubricates social life.”

Trust is more than an emotion or a feeling. Trust requires a certain amount of logic, as well as a willingness to be vulnerable. Logically, we assess a situation and rationally weigh the potential in terms of gains or losses, and make a decision whether to trust someone based on our perceived probability that they won’t let us down. We open ourselves up to the interaction and, if it is successful – that is, we feel as if we have not lost more than we gained – then we will trust that person in a similar future circumstance. Trust develops because we have experienced trustworthiness.

Trustworthy behavior, repeated time and time again, is what is required to build true and lasting trust. The predictability of trustworthy behavior is critical to building and maintaining trust. Trust means being able to predict what other people will do in a given situation. When we surround ourselves with people we trust, we create a safe environment and we help ensure a better future for ourselves.

The saying, “It takes years to build up trust, and only suspicion, not proof, to destroy it,” is truer than ever in the age of instant communication, where a momentary lapse in judgment can tarnish a reputation instantly. We get to skip suspicion; the proof is there, often captured on someone’s cell phone camera. Do something particularly foolish and find yourself forever enshrined on YouTube. Just ask Michael Richards or Lindsay Lohan or Alec Baldwin.

Value of trust

In addition to being probable and predictable, trustworthy behavior must have a perceived value. The bulk of our relationships with other people are based on exchanging one thing for another. Goods for services is an easy exchange – either the goods you sell are as described or they are not. If the goods are satisfactory, then the exchange is satisfactory and you’ve won the customer’s trust.

The exchange of labor for money is a little more complex. All the variables that go into establishing working conditions, assessing productivity and distributing wages can lead to many interpretations of the value exchange. Reciprocity is critical to the success of this exchange, and it is in a constant state of flux.

Intent plays a much greater role here than in the exchange of money for goods; good employers provide working conditions that are acceptable to the large majority (if not all) of their employees. Good employees provide both the quality and quantity of work the employer has decided is appropriate.

We need to be so committed to trustworthy relationships – with our customers, shareholders, employees, vendors and others – that we do not look for immediate reciprocity.

To be successful in the 21st century means to hold fast to the tradition of trust in all aspects of society. We must reverse the current trend of self-interest and distrust.

Staying connected – not with digital devices but face-to-face – has extreme value by:

• making sure employees feel appreciated, safe and respected;

• ensuring that customers receive the best possible service in every interaction;

• involving their companies in the community around them;

• living a daily commitment to ethical standards; and

• valuing character and integrity in today’s business world.

BBB Accredited Businesses around the country remain committed to our vision: “An ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other;” and our mission: “To be the leader in advancing marketplace trust.”

BBB is setting standards for marketplace trust, and encouraging and supporting best practices. Through programs such as the Torch Awards, we celebrate our role models who set the standards we all strive to achieve.

Pam King is president/CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming.

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