A week or so ago, Jamie Notter pointed to a recent interview with Stephen M.R. Covey in Associations Now magazine. This Stephen Covey is the son of the other Stephen Covey and even though his language and approach is similar, he’s clearly forging his own path. His most recent book is focused on Trust and the interview is a brilliant read as Covey lays some of the groundwork for taking the ’soft’ label off the idea of trust. He argues there are simple economics associated with trust and distrust. The highlight is that there is a direct cost to trust (Covey calls it a dividend) and distrust (more like a tax).

Being an idealist, I’m hopeful for the day when we can take the ’soft’ and ‘hard’ distinctions off of essential organizational qualities. Managers and organizational leaders will see concepts such as trust, openness, and empathy just as relevant and important as quantitative measurements and financial results. Yet, I’m also a realist and know that this change in management thinking will take time and patience. What Covey is attempting to do is create a bridge that will help facilitate this change. His bridge is communicating something foreign (or at least not well understood) using the hard skills, metrics-focused, old-school individual’s more familiar language. So, if we apply the term ‘economics’ and its related methodologies to soft organizational qualities, will that make them easier to digest in the corner offices? God knows anytime I’ve even come close to introducing the idea of spirit or empathy in a meeting, I can see some managers getting the sweats and looking for the door. I’ve found success far more readily when I’ve taken the time to gauge my audience and determine just how open they are to different ways of thinking about management and leadership. The learning here is that if you’re trying to successfully communicate with a Hungarian, don’t start by speaking Mandarin Chinese.

Update: Jamie has followed his original post about trust with another gem. Go check it out.