By Noah St. John
Nothing smells like the ink of a printing press.
Back in the 70's, my father was the editor of our hometown newspaper.
My brother and I loved going into Dad's office and watching those giant printing presses churn out the day's news -- news that would go into our neighbor's homes and keep people connected in our small community.
Today, thanks to the Internet and social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, our community has gotten a bit bigger -- it's called planet Earth.
The Internet has made the idea of a daily newspaper sound quaint to most, downright prehistoric to anyone born after 1990.
Yet, despite the galactic shift in how people get their news in the past decade, human nature still hasn't changed.
People still want their news current, relevant, and easy to digest.
But today, more than ever, there is one essential human currency we all depend on, yet is in increasingly short supply: the essential element of trust.
We used to trust big companies, politicians, and people on the news.
Today, if you asked most people if they believe that big companies had their best interests at heart, you'd get a good laugh in the face.
Studies show that Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, is the nation's most trusted journalist. What does it tell you when a comedian is voted America's most trusted news source?
That's why, over the coming months, I'll be talking more about how to build trust in a time of uncertainty.
In order to stand out from the crowd -- indeed, survive -- in today's hyper-competitive marketplace, you must be perceived as a Thought Leader.
What is a Thought Leader?
Very simply, a leader is someone whom other people are following.
Therefore, a Thought Leader is someone who leads by virtue of the strength of their ideas and ideals.
The fact is, no Thought Leader ever became one without the essential component of trust.
As Warren Buffet has noted, "It takes years to build your reputation, but only minutes to ruin it."
Today, I want you to think about who you trust and why.
Really think about that question. When you need advice on something, who do you turn to? Why?
Was it someone who has given you good advice in the past?
Someone you've spoken with, or someone you've merely heard about? Someone whose book you read and enjoyed?
In most cases, that person you're thinking of is a Thought Leader, whether they know it or not.
To become a Thought Leader, there are three essential elements you must build into your business.
Like a stool with three legs, if one or more of the legs is missing, it won't stand up.
I'll be talking more about these 3 essential pillars in future articles and videos.
For right now, ask yourself these questions:
1. Who do I trust to help me grow my business? (If the answer is, "No one", you're what I call a "lone wolf entrepreneur". Lone wolves don't survive long in the wild.)
2. Why do I trust that person?
3. Where did I hear about him or her?
4. What can I do this month to increase the level of trust my customers have with me?
A Thought Leader has followers because people trust him or her. Here are five things you can do to build trust, starting right now:
1. Be a real person. The days of hiding behind a corporate brand are gone. In today’s marketplace, what people crave is real human connection.
2. Say how you feel. It used to be that those messy things called “feelings” had no place in the workplace. Those days, too, are over. Now, people want to know how you feel. But that doesn’t mean you should share every feeling you have. They want to know how you feel about things that are important to them.
3. Be yourself. Dale Carnegie once wrote that he tried to be an actor by “borrowing the mannerisms” of every great actor of the time. Of course, he failed miserably. Then as now, people can tell when you are faking it and not being authentic.
4. Know your Value. One of the biggest areas I see my clients struggle with is not knowing their Value in the marketplace. All Value is perceived Value. Therefore, understand what you bring to the table and who might perceive that as being valuable.
5. Stop trying to please everyone. As Ben Franklin said, “There are many roads to success, but only one sure road to failure. That is to try and please everyone else.”
Trust between people is like the oil in your engine. Without it, you're not going anywhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment