Presentation for the TEEPEE CIO Roundtable Group

1. Trust and Trustworthiness
Who trusts you? And Who do you trust?
TEEPEE
March 21, 2012
John Fisher
Chief Value Officer
NET(net), Inc.

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Trust & Trustworthiness
Just what is Trust?
We readily give it and strive hard to earn
it…..with each other, with our clients and with
our business partners
Trust is earned, not assumed!
• Acquired through open, honest and complete
communication with the other party.
• Maintained by predictable dependable behavior.
• Nourished through mutual respect and an
understanding of the value it derives.

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Trust Exercise
1 2
List the names of people you Explain why you trust the
trust: (Friends, Family, people on the list
associates, clients)
3 4
List the names of people or What would have to happen
things you do NOT trust to make you trust this person
or thing?
Source: The Dooley Group

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What did we learn?
• There were a few surprises
• There were some contradictions
• Common elements of Trust
• Predictability
• Shared positive experiences
• Common History – it doesn’t happen quickly
• Honesty – no hidden agendas
• Clarity about intentions
• Taking care to do the right things
• Isn’t always both ways
• Often based on faith/belief
• Time can change it – so can circumstances

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What did we learn?
• You should know your own trust framework
• Think about what it takes to get trust in the first place
• How is it different to regain trust in an organization
versus trust in a person?
• What does it take to get trust back?
• Does it take 15 years vs. 15 minutes or 15 days?
• Can it ever be regained?

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Is IT or the CIO Trustworthy?
• What are we doing to build trust?
• What are we doing to destroy trust?
• Projects are late
• Expectations are not clarified
• We often don’t communicate changes in plan or intention
• IT is often an Institution or a “thing”
• Trust in Things is hard to develop and easy to lose
• Every customer encounter can build or destroy Trust
• Technology is often difficult to understand,
• But is very important to our clients
• The way organizations use technology often changes
• Even in the middle of a project
• Constant communications is a key to keeping trust

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Trust & Trustworthiness
Fostering trust, confidence & support from your
clients and business partners
• Communicating Goals of the Project/Organization
• Understanding Expectations
• Managing Challenging Times
• Reporting Bad News Effectively
• Build a Good History of Your Engagements

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Trust Building Ideas
• Always prepare your business partners prior to a meeting
that will contain controversial issues.
• Poll members, understand their position and work behind the
scenes to reach as much consensus as possible
• Outline and present the core issue as you perceive it in
order to avoid misperceptions
• Full disclosure on all issues. No surprises. All relevant
information disclosed
• Kept current on all matters of interest or importance.

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Communicating Bad News Effectively
• Your clients do not like surprises.
• The skill is knowing when to prepare them for the potential of bad
news vs. distracting them with non critical matters
• They want to be informed of potentially adverse news
when there is still time for their suggestions and input
• With the delivery of bad news be prepared to quantify the
financial impact, offer alternative strategies to recovery
and demonstrate a willingness to solicit their advice

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NASA Challenger Example
• January 28, 1986, the
space shuttle Challenger
exploded shortly after
launch
• Seven Astronauts died
because two rubber O-
rings leaked due to cold
temperatures
• Engineers from Morton
Thiokol wanted to abort
the flight

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NASA Challenger Example
• Here are the
actual graphs
and charts
they used to
communicate
the issues to
NASA
management.
--Edward Tufte (1997) Visual and Statistical Thinking : Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions, p. 24

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NASA Challenger Example
• A total of 13
charts were
used.
• Only 6 had
data on either
launch
temperature or
O-Ring failure
• None showed
the relationship
between the
two
--Edward Tufte (1997) Visual and Statistical Thinking : Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions, p. 25

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NASA Challenger Example
• Here is a better approach
• A simple scatter plot demonstrates how far out of range the proposed
launch temperatures were.
• Lesson: Keep It Simple!
Temperature at
launch was projected
Relationship of
to be between 26°F
O-Ring Failure
and 39°F. Any launch
to Temperature
below 55°F was likely
to experience O-Ring
failure
--Edward Tufte (1997) Visual and Statistical Thinking : Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions, p. 23

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What can we do to keep Trust?
• Make sure there is a clear understanding of
expectations
• Examine why things did not go well (openly
review without blame)
• Don’t over-react or people will become
paralyzed to make decisions.
• Never violate it!......It means more than any
single issue that may be at hand.

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Some Things to Think About
• First impressions are often lasting impressions
• Do a good job the first time
• Every impression counts
• Each person representing IT can impact the trust of any client
they come into contact with
• Once lost or damaged, trust is difficult to restore
• Trust in an organization or institution is easier to lose
and more difficult to restore than trust in an individual
• Clients will forgive a mistake much faster than a lapse
in trustworthy behavior
• Once you have establish a high degree of trust,
inevitable mistakes will be more easily accepted.

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Questions
Thank You !