Simon Mainwaring. The We First Blog.

Smart Trust: Your must-read guide building trust to ignite your brand

No topic strikes at the heart of so many problems challenging our country, the private sector, and business success than the issue of trust.

Today’s marketplace is almost defined by a lack, or loss, of trust. This is borne out by research by the world’s largest PR firm, Edelman, whose 2011 Trust Barometer found that trust in US business to do the right thing had fallen eight points in the last year to be only five points above Russia. So nothing could be more important right now than a book that speaks to the architecture of trust with a view to core business benefits that include teamwork, culture change and leadership, all of which drive profits.

Smart Trust, by renowned bestselling New York Times bestselling author, Stephen Covey and Greg Link, is a book that all business leaders need to read. This is apparent from the outset, where the foreword by Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo (Fortune’s most influential female business leader for the last five years running), characterizes this book as a renaissance of trust.

Like all hard-won victories, trust needs to be earned, built, and maintained. Steven and Greg to a masterful job of telling us exactly how to do that step-by-step so that we can integrate it within our organizations and take it to market. Not surprisingly, rather than looking at the issue of trust from the outside in, they challenge each of us to build trust within an organization from the inside out. Specifically, it starts by requiring that each of us choose to believe in trust again and builds through 5 key steps:

1. Choosing to believe in trust
2. Starting with yourself
3. Declaring your intent and assuming the same positive intent in others
4. Doing what you say you’re going to do
5. Leading by extending trust to others

As self-evident as these may sound, anyone who’s worked in a large organization knows that the integration of such human qualities throughout a company’s culture requires a delicate and specific set of skills. Using insights from their work with thousands of employees in companies like AT&T, Frito Lay, La Nova, Zappos and Whole Foods, Steven and Greg walk us through the insights learned from hands-on experience in transforming large scale corporate cultures into bastions of trust.

Ironically, it’s these very human qualities that define the interactions between employees, between employees and leadership, and ultimately the profits of a company. Smart Trust is an indispensable guidebook in how you not only create, disseminate, and inspire trust within an organization, but in so doing, unlock all the brand reputation, customer service, and bottom-line benefits for a company that only trust can create. It’s a must read so order your copy now by clicking here, or visit SmartTrustBook.com.

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Robert Tercek: The Future of TV, Social Media and Storytelling

We’re super excited to announce that Robert Tercek is a special guest speaker at ther We First Seminar on February 1-2 at the Marina del Rey Marriott in California. Robert is one of the world’s most prolific creator of interactive entertainment and former President of Digital Media for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as previously serving in executive leadership roles at Sony Pictures Entertainment, MTV: Music Television and several startup technology companies.

So I wanted to share this TEDx talk to give you a little insight into some of Robert’s thinking. At the We First Seminar, he’ll be working on your Social Branding Blueprint for 2012 with a specific focus emerging media and technology so you’re well positioned for success this year and beyond. Specifically he’ll address the following questions:

1. Why social media isn’t just a business modification but a total business transformation

2. How to dialogue with your customers using the latest in social technology and media

3. The skill sets you must possess to keep up with your audience and market successfully in the future

So if you’re interested in what comes next there is no better authority than Robert and along with Carol Cone (Global Practice Chair of Edelman Business+Social Purpose), we’ll be working with you for two days on building your Social Branding Blueprint for this year and beyond. But don’t delay, places  are limited and time is almost up to register. Go to www.WefirstSeminar.com and join us to ensure your success in 2012

You can follow Robert on twitter @superplex

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Tweet Memories: Top Ten Posts of 2011

As we wave good-bye to 2011 it’s always fun to look back at some of the ground we covered in the news, our thinking and our lives. Here’s the ten most popular posts for 2011 from my blog and thanks for sharing your time and attention with me.

1. How non-profits use Facebook to build awareness, community and fundraising

2. 2011: Facebook puts all brands on notice

3. Sherry Turkle of MIT: The human cost of social technology

4. Zynga: How the virtual world can save the real world

5. Exactly what role did social media play in the Egyptian revolution?

6. Review: Brian Solis, ‘The End of Business as Usual’

7. Why storytelling and social media need each other to survive

8. How brands rediscover the lost art of conversation

9. Egypt: Social media as a life or death proposition

10. Apple: How brands, customers & society benefit when a company shows what it stands for

Thanks to everyone for sharing your comments and these posts in 2011. We all now 2012 is going to be very interesting with the explosion of social business, mobile, gaming, citizen activism, the U.S. Presidential election and so many other issues that will shape our lives. I’m looking forward to exploring them with you.

And don’t forget. If you’re interested in attending the We First Social Branding Seminar to ensure your brand success in 2012, this is the last day of the New Year’s Special that gives you 50% off. Just click here to register and enter the special code NEWYEAR. You leave the event with a Social Branding Blueprint specific to your business that you can act on plus invite a non-profit for free. So click here now as the offer ends this week!

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