Building Your Trust Account

By Drue Lawlor, FASID

Do you or your team members feel as if you have to know everything, be able to answer any question asked of you, and prove you are an expert in every area of your field in order to build a financially successful business?

If so, you are probably like many others and might be interested in a study referenced in Forbes Magazine.  Research that was carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology indicated that 85% of your financial success is due to skills in what they referred to as “human engineering”; i.e. your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead.  Surprisingly only 15% is due to technical knowledge.

In addition, Nobel Prize winning Israeli-American psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, discovered that people would rather do business with a person they like and trust — even if the likeable person offers a lower quality product or service at a higher price!

Keeping this information in mind, rather than strictly focusing on your conventional IQ (Intelligence Quotient), the article encourages making an investment in strengthening your EQ (Emotional Intelligence), MQ (Moral Intelligence), and BQ (Body Intelligence).  Although these may be more difficult to measure, their significance is much greater than IQ.

So when you are networking at various events, communicating on social media, blogs, your website, etc. keep this research in mind.  Focus on building trust through relationships, rather than trying to impress strictly with intelligence and knowledge.

When you look at each of these I think you will agree that they should be key factors when deciding with whom to do business as well as when building your own team.   After all, your team is a reflection of your company — and consequently, of you.

Emotional Intelligence is being aware of not only your feelings but the feelings of others and adjusting those appropriately for the situation, your self-motivation and building relationships.

Moral Intelligence reflects your integrity, responsibility, sympathy and forgiveness.  Remember how you treat yourself is how others will treat you.  Be sure to keep commitments, be honest, accept responsibility, and maintain your integrity.

And finally, your Body Intelligence relates to your physical health and how you take care of your body.  Do you listen to the signals your body sends you or do you constantly tell yourself you are too busy to eat, too busy to exercise, too busy to get adequate sleep, and then wonder why you aren’t functioning as you should.

So the next time you begin to compare yourself to other designers who may have had more education, or whom you imagine know more than you do, remember that someone with less education but who has effectively developed their EQ, MQ, and BQ can be far more successful that the person with a seemingly impressive education but who is lacking in these other areas.

Finally remember to focus on building your trust account  – not only will it be more likely to positively affect your financial success, but it will also help to build a strong personal and professional reputation.