Trust in the Balance: Building Successful Organizations on Results, Integrity, and Concern (Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series) (Paperback)

by Robert Bruce Shaw (Author) "The reality of today's business environment is clear: embrace change or die..." (more)
Key Phrases: collaborative capital, trust imperatives, trust threshold, General Electric, Jack Welch, Steve Kerr (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I believe there's no neutrality in business (for example, you're either gaining market share or losing it). Likewise, your business success is either enhanced by trust or held back by distrust. Robert Shaw gives conviction and advice to the leader who recognizes that trust becomes a performance multiplier only when the leader is prepared to go first." --Craig E. Weatherup, CEO, Pepsi-Cola Company

"Trust in the Balance is an absorbing discussion of our desperate need to attAnd to the human necessity to feel safe within and without organizations. Shaw has produced an extremely readable and practical guide to paving a trail of trust into the twenty-first century." --Jim Kouzes, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge and Credibility, and chairman and CEO, TPG/Learning Systems

"The relationship between organization effectiveness and organization climate is a major issue for leaders and culture setters. Robert Shaw has pinpointed the essential linchpin--trust. His practical yet profound guide on how to develop and maintain a high-trust organization will be a welcome addition to any manager's bookshelf." --Richard Beckhard , coeditor, The Organization of the Future, and principal, Beckhard Associates

"Trust is a critical component in managing change and executing strategy, both so necessary to driving bottom-line results. The dilemma for managers at all levels is that when we need more trust in our organizations to achieve our goals, we are experiencing a loss of trust. Trust in the Balance is a must-read for managers and leaders who want to better understand how to build trust in their organizations and achieve a stronger bottom-line performance." --Eileen Kraus, chairman, Fleet Bank Connecticut

Robert Shaw's Trust In The Balance: Building Successful Organizations On Results, Integrity, And Concern presents a blueprint for building communities of trust within business settings. Shaw argues persuasively that the task of building trust in business settings in becoming increasingly complicated in an era of such high-tech telecommunications as email and video-conferencing. With companies becoming larger and more global the problems of trust building are further complicated. Shaw proposes a number of simple steps to foster trust in the new business atmosphere. He emphasis that trust is a key element of competitive success and explains that, in order to survive in today's complex economy, companies must communicate well both internally and externally, and must weather the changes and reorganizations required for increased efficiency. Trust In The Balance is "must" reading for anyone charged with the responsibility for succeeding in today's competitive business environment. -- Midwest Book Review

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Your business is either enhanced by the presence of trust or held back by the presence of distrust. Robert Shaw gives conviction and advice to the leader who recognizes that trust becomes a performance multiplier only when the leader is prepared to go first.
-- Craig E. Weatherup, president, PepsiCo, Inc.

If you've never examined how trust affects your organization, maybe you should. In this engaging book, Robert Shaw moves past the right thing to do argument and focuses on trust as a critical issue successful managers cannot take for granted. He shows how lack of trust is compromising more and more organizations in today's highly competitive environment. And he offers a way out. Drawing on a variety of examples from real business situations, Shaw explains trust's increasing importance at four key levels: individual credibility, one-to-one collaboration, team effectiveness, and organizational vitality. He then provides an assessment survey to help you determine how you and your organization measures up trust-wise, and offers action steps for overcoming trust dilemmas such as those that arise during reinvention efforts. A vital handbook for leaders, change agents, and anyone interested in building high trust for high performance.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1st. Ed edition (March 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787902861
• ISBN-13: 978-0787902865
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #586,252 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Interesting and Practical, July 29, 2000

By	Michael S. Wade (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

Robert Bruce Shaw addresses an issue that is often either neglected or handled with bromides. To its credit, Shaw's book does not overpromise by announcing a magical ten day program to restore trust. Instead, it provides an interesting variety of examples and succinctly shows how the organizations that have succeeded in establishing high levels of trust differ from their less adept colleagues. While doing so, Shaw does not engage in preachy denunciations. The overall tone of the book emphasizes creating solutions rather than affixing blame.

In that spirit, "Trust in the Balance" contains surveys of the key factors affecting trust in the workplace; surveys that can be easily used by the reader to spot problems in his or her organization. Each chapter has meaty analysis and specific guidance on the steps that should be taken to address particular trust problems. There is also a helpful "Trust-Building Resources" section in the back of the book.

One is fortunate to glean one good idea from many business books. Shaw's book contains many excellent points and observations. Anyone seeking a no-nonsense analysis of how to handle the "trust issue" should read this book. It will be well worth your time.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The business case for trust, July 12, 2001

By A Customer

We talk a lot about "trust" in my organization, but it's always in vague terms. You get the feeling that everyone has their own definition, which they assume everyone shares. This book breaks trust down into easily understood components, makes a bottom-line business case for improving your relationships in the workplace, and then helps you do just that. It focuses on behaviors, not motivations, and therefore gives you a framework for talking about trust without accusing or blaming. It's one of the most useful business books I've read in a long time.