What if you knew exactly what was going to happen in 2009? Do you think those golden eggs might help you build trust today and throughout the next year?

Well, lookee here:

Nine Predictions for 2009

Author and branding expert Tom Asacker lets the cats out of the bag.  He tells you precisely what will happen in 2009. And as you read, you will no doubt have some realizations about certain trust-building opportunites that are ripe for your picking.

Hope you find this short, fascinating report useful. I know I sure did. Thanks so much to Tom Peters for mentioning this report in his blog.

Richard Dennis

… No, not Indians. Actually …

… newsletter publishers!

Well - “always” is probably too strong a word. But there was a time, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when I was just blown away by people who could publish their own newsletter. I wished, I wished, I wished I could do it. But I couldn’t.

I was driving a bus back then. Writing and publishing and mailing out a newsletter cost a lot of money. It meant you had to have ideas - which I had. It also meant you needed some pretty expensive technology - which was way out of reach for me.

This was certainly all true as recently as 20 years ago. Today? Anybody can publish their own newsletter, and the cost is close to zero. The technology is readily available. The learning curve is so easy, anyone can master it.

So a wish that was financially impossible for me just two decades ago is now a standard in business. Anybody who wants to publish their own newsletter can do it, at very little cost.

And I believe they should.

“Getting better” is a crucial part of trust-building, especially in this age of rapidly-changing technology. Part of your gameplan to increase trust with your stakeholders MUST be a daily “training session”, designed to get you better at some aspect of life or business.

Not sure? Well, look at it from YOUR viewpoint. Let’s say you are making a choice between 2 possible mentors. You notice that one is a pretty good talker, decent & productive writer, and he also is serviceable with podcasts and can effectively create and present video.

The other is a good talker … but none of the rest is apparent.

Who do you choose? Barring other evaluation, it’s pretty obvious which one has done the work to get better. Don’t you trust them more because of this? Don’t you trust them more to be able to teach you what you need to know, for you to be successful?

I’ll bet you do.

Heck … there are people out there who are very good just at marketing by cell phone. They have spent time learning and doing, and they have found the resources to constantly update their skills. I’ll bet a LOT of people would love to get good at marketing by cell phone. And if they were looking to choose a mentor or vendor or connection, they would have much more faith and trust in a person who could teach them a skill they thought would be really valuable to them.

So the message is … get better. Learn technology. Set aside time every day to learn and get better at some of the most useful technologies around these days. Upgrading your skills will gain you the trust of a LOT of people.

Take care,

Richard Dennis

Amazing & astonishing? I usually avoid words like that. They are way overused these days. To be really amazed & astonished, you must have witnessed a VERY unusual event. For instance …

I was amazed & astonished in typing class in high school in Flossmoor, Illinois, when the Principal’s voice on the public address system announced that President Kennedy had been assassinated in a motorcade in Dallas. I was thinking, “It is 1963, not 1865! How on earth could such a thing ever happen today?”

I was amazed & astonished as I walked out of the Orange Bowl late on January 1st, 1983, after the Miami Hurricanes beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won their first football national championship. I came to South Florida in 1971. The Canes were dreadful for my first 8 years in town. Championship? Ridiculous. But they got better. They started January 1, 1983 ranked 5th in the country. The bettors pegged them an 18-point underdog against Nebraska. And yet by the end of the day, the other higher-ranked teams all lost and the Hurricanes won by a point. Bingo. National championship. How on earth could such an incredible series of games actually happen in one day?

I was amazed and astonished when I turned on the car radio the morning of September 11, 2001. How on earth could THAT happen in this country, in this day and age?

And I am amazed and astonished today. This event will probably only get local publicity, not national or international. It probably really shouldn’t surprise me that government could do something so stupid and trust-destroying. But yet … even so, it is truly incredible to me.

Cheryl & I took a trip to see the grandkids in South Florida the last few days. On Thursday, grandson Jeremy starred in a high school play. On Sunday, granddaughter Jazmyn competed in the Florida State Gymnastics championships. So we drove 500 miles to watch & celebrate.

It was terrific. They both did great. But this article is about what happened Friday … not Thursday or Sunday.

Look … I don’t know … maybe this thing isn’t so unusual. Maybe it’s routine someplace. Maybe it’s not as idiotic as I think it is. Maybe it won’t take citizen trust in government to an even lower level. Obviously, somebody somewhere thinks it’s a good idea.

You decide for yourself.

Me? I am amazed and astonished at the monumental stupidity of a local government that would put up a new tollbooth on an old Interstate freeway (I-95 through North Miami) with a toll that is never the same. Every time you go through, you will pay a different amount. Depending on the time of day and the traffic, according to the news, the toll may be as little as $0.25. Or … as high as $6.00 And you will NEVER know, until you pull up to the booth to pay.

OK. I realize this event certainly doesn’t touch the 9/11 terrorist attacks or Kennedy’s assassination or even the Hurricanes’ first national championship as a news item. But that doesn’t make it any less astonishing or amazing to me.

Do these people not think? Putting in a new tollbooth will tick off a lot of people … for a few weeks. Then they’ll be used to it, and eventually, they’ll forget the drive used to be free. They would throw in their 50 cents or 75 cents and forget about it.

Now? Drivers will never forget. Everytime they get to the booth, they’ll be reminded when they hear they owe a different amount. They’ll have to wait in line behind traffic searching for more money, drivers who didn’t have a clue their toll would be $4.50 at THIS time of day in THIS traffic.

Government aggravates all of us at one time or another … or even regularly. I’m amazed and astonished that those who bring you higher taxes have found a way to set up their system so it is a constant in-your-face reminder of the power they have over you, spotlighting your frustration about your inability to do anything to stop them.

That same type of frustration at the arrogance of the politicians resulted in the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which many believe was the first act of the American Revolution. It’s probably not very smart to flaunt the fact that you have the power and you don’t really care whether anyone trusts you or not.

I’m really curious about this - what do YOU think? Are you amazed & astonished, or do you just see this as business as usual?

Richard Dennis

Richard Dennis

There’s no doubt it’s valuable to consider the different ways that increasing trust can improve our relationships and our lives.

But maybe the “glass half-empty” approach is worth taking a look at, too. What happens when we totally ignore trust and create distrust?

Margarethe Zelle was born in the Netherlands in 1876. Her mother died when she was 15. Margarethe answered a newspaper ad, responding to an Indonesian-based Dutch army officer looking for a wife. This connection resulted in an abusive marriage and two children, who both died young.

At 27, Margarethe, divorced, settled in Paris and soon gained international fame as an exotic dancer. In the 10 years preceding WWI, she met and romanced powerful men from many countries. Her lovers included military officers, politicians, and the German crown prince. Margarethe adopted a stage name which in Maylay meant “eye of the dawn.” She was celebrated as a great entertainer. It all seemed to work fine for her … for awhile.

Then came the War. Still legally a Dutch subject, Margarethe could freely cross all borders, because the Netherlands stayed neutral. So she did. She visited her lovers, who included military officers from both France & Germany … who were now at war with each other.

In Germany, Margarethe - stage name Mata Hari - was rumored to be a French spy. In France, she was accused and tried for treason, for being a German spy. There was never strong evidence for either case. Mata Hari may well have looked at it all as her game.

But that game quickly spun out of her control. It ended on October 15, 1917, in front of a French firing squad.

Most of us will never face a firing squad, of course. But it’s a good reminder of the emotions that get stirred up when your actions give the appearance of a betrayal of trust. It may or may not have been fact, but emotions far outweigh facts when it comes to people - let alone entire countries - who feel betrayed.

Richard Dennis