"Taking Yourself to the Next Level"

The Monthly Newsletter from Don Sardella, Business Development Coach for Financial Advisors – September 2006


To all our highly valued clients and acquaintances:

In this month's issue of "Taking Yourself to the Next Level", we want to encourage you to consider the importance and role of trust in your overall life and your specific business.

In May 2005, at a Franklin Covey Symposium in San Diego, CA, I heard an engaging presentation delivered by Stephen M.R. Covey, entitled “Business at the Speed of Trust”.

Stephen M.R. Covey is the oldest son of international best selling author/speaker/teacher Dr. Stephen R. Covey. With a 20+ year track record of success in his own right, Stephen MR Covey has his own unique contributions to make and to which I want to point.

On Friday, September 15th, I listened to a one hour Q&A conference call, where Stephen M.R. Covey talked and responded to questions about his upcoming book, “ The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything”, to be released October 17th, 2006.

After reading the first chapter (click here to read for yourself), I felt compelled to get an e mail out to as many people as I could, to signal my enthusiasm for what his upcoming book encompasses and how he approaches this most important, heart-of-the-matter topic.

Many of us have discussed in recent years that, more than anything else, we are in a relationship-service business and that our most important asset is our trustworthiness.

Can people take us at our word? Are we sincerely acting in our client’s best interest? Do we consistently make & keep promises? Do we say what we mean & mean what we say?

Some of us have discussed how we can be more conscientious about our PIA (Personal Integrity Account) – that’s where we make and keep promises, to ourselves and others.

If we are doing all that every time with everyone and we market ourselves well and we competently deliver great service and we develop/maintain a golden reputation for that, our life and our businesses will continue to grow and grow. Isn’t that what we want?

Creating a high level of authentic trust & safeguarding that trust is central for our success.

Credibility. Warren Buffett is quoted as saying: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

So what I am suggesting in this month’s “Take Yourself to the Next Level” newsletter?

As part of your renewed commitment to excellence in your life and in your work, I invite you to do the following to bring more conscious awareness/attention to this critical factor

  • Read the editorial book review below, to get an initial business-impact flavor.
  • Invest 30 minutes to read the first chapter excerpt (click here to read for yourself)
  • Make deposits into your PIA (Personal Integrity Account) – keep your promises
  • Write and speak with your clients about your commitment to trustworthiness.


May you finish 2006 well, as we begin to prepare for the successful launch of 2007.


Always looking to serve you with productive and revenue generating ideas.

Enthusiastically yours,

Coach Don

 

The SPEED of Trust:

The One Thing that Changes Everything

Editorial Reviews

Review

Covey convincingly validates our experience at Dell -- that trust has a bottom-line impact on results and that when trust goes up, speed goes up while costs come down. This principle applies not only in our professional relationships with customers, business partners, and team members but also in our personal relationships, which makes this insightful book all the more valuable." -- Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell Inc.

"This book can change lives. Covey helps us understand how to nurture and inspire immediate trust in every encounter, which is the foundation for true and lasting success in life. A very interesting and enlightening read." -- Larry King

"Covey brilliantly focuses on that overlooked bedrock of democratic capitalism -- trust. Like the air we breathe, we too often take this critical intangible for granted. As Covey makes clear, we do so at our ultimate competitive peril." -- Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes

"Want to be an irresistible positive force? Combine personal responsibility with compassion and respect for others. Want to know how to do this perfectly? Read The Speed of Trust." -- Dr. Laura Schlessinger, internationally syndicated radio host and author of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage

"Covey's book underscores the single most important factor -- the substrate -- that will determine the success (or failure) of any organization in the 21st century: TRUST. This is a powerful read: brave, imaginative, amazingly prescient, and backed up by empirical and analytical heft. A must-read for anyone in a position of responsibility, from a support group to a global corporation."

-- Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC, and author of On Becoming a Leader


Book Description

In the readable and riveting style of The Tipping Point, Stephen M. R. Covey uncovers the overlooked and underestimated power of trust in a page-turning look into what he calls "the one thing that changes everything." A groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting book, The Speed of Trust challenges our age-old assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver -- a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing. Written from his informed perspective as the former CEO of a $100 million enterprise, Covey draws on his pragmatic experience growing Covey Leadership Center (founded by his father, Dr. Stephen R. Covey) from a shareholder value of less than $3 million to a value of more than $160 million.

In this powerful new book, Stephen M. R. Covey articulates why trust has become the key leadership competency of the new global economy. He eloquently informs readers how to inspire lasting trust in their personal and professional relationships, and in so doing to create unparalleled success and sustainable prosperity in every dimension of life. He shows business, government, and education leaders how to quickly and permanently gain the trust of their clients, coworkers, partners, and constituents. Covey convincingly makes the case that trust is a measurable accelerator to performance and that when trust goes up, speed also goes up while cost comes down, producing what Covey calls a "trust dividend."

Covey reveals the 13 Behaviors common to high-trust leaders throughout the world and persuasively demonstrates actionable insights that will enable you to shift your behavior to increase -- and inspire -- trust in the important relationships in your life.

Like a ripple in the pond, The Speed of Trust begins within each of us personally, continues into our relationships, expands into our organizations, extends into our marketplace relationships, and ultimately encompasses our global society at large. Covey presents a road map to establish trust on every level, build character and competence, enhance credibility, and create leadership that inspires confidence.


 



Copyright 2006 all rights reserved. Don Sardella is a Business Development Coach serving Financial Advisors in their desire to create more profit in less time. His coaching program are delivered by means of teleconference calls, email and telephone. You are welcome to pass this “Coaching for Financial Advisors Newsletter " along to your friends and colleagues, as long as it is intact. The author of the “Coaching for Financial Advisors Newsletter" is Don Sardella. Contact him at don@coachingforfinancialadvisors.com or at Coaching for Financial Advisors - 14428 N. Fountain Hills Boulevard - Fountain Hills , Arizona 85268-2856 For administrative matters and for further information about our coaching program and other products and services, contact Don at: 480-837-8342 Office 480-836-8551 Fax
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