About the Author

Stephen M. R. Covey is cofounder and CEO of CoveyLink and of the FranklinCovey Global Trust Practice, and the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Speed of Trust. A sought-after and compelling keynote speaker, author, and advisor on trust, leadership, ethics, culture, and collaboration, Covey speaks to audiences around the world. A Harvard MBA, he is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which under his stewardship became the largest leadership development company in the world. Covey resides with his wife and children in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.

Rebecca A. Merrill has served in numerous leadership positions in community, education, and women's organizations. Coauthor of Connections: Quadrant II Time Management, she also assisted Stephen R. Covey on The 7 Habits Highly Effective People.

Recognized as one of Time magazine's twenty-five most influential Americans, Stephen R. Covey (1932-2012) was an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author. His books have sold more than twenty-five million copies in thirty-eight languages, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century. After receiving an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University, he became the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a leading global training firm.

Reviews

"Covey brilliantly focuses on that overlooked bedrock of democratic capitalism -- trust. Like the air we breathe, we too often take this critical intangible for granted. As Covey makes clear, we do so at our ultimate competitive peril."
-- Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes

"Covey's book underscores the single most important factor -- the substrate -- that will determine the success (or failure) of any organization in the 21st century: TRUST. This is a powerful read: brave, imaginative, amazingly prescient, and backed up by empirical and analytical heft. A must-read for anyone in a position of responsibility, from a support group to a global corporation."
-- Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC, and author of On Becoming a Leader

"I am happier when I am trusted, and I bet you are too. Covey has done a masterful job teaching that trust is conditioned on our behavior and that we can consciously shift our behavior to deserve trust. This one realization can change your life. This is the best book by a Covey since 7 Habits."
-- Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Don't Get Scrooged

"Stephen Covey's work changed the world. I'd bet the price of this exciting book and more that his son, Stephen M. R. Covey, will have at least as much impact. The Speed of Trust is an amazing book, starting with its novel and powerful title -- my greatest wonder was why it hadn't been written before. From the epigraph -- 'Speed happens when people truly trust each other' -- to the closing bell, this is a book worth savoring -- and implementing."
-- Tom Peters

"This book can change lives. Covey helps us understand how to nurture and inspire immediate trust in every encounter, which is the foundation for true and lasting success in life. A very interesting and enlightening read."
-- Larry King

"This much-needed book provides many practical examples of how greater trust produces better results, at less cost, sooner -- at work and in life. It's invaluable."
-- Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese? and coauthor of The One Minute Manager

"Want to be an irresistible positive force? Combine personal responsibility with compassion and respect for others. Want to know how to do this perfectly? Read The Speed of Trust."
-- Dr. Laura Schlessinger, internationally syndicated radio host and author of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage

"When I received this book and was asked to read it and offer my comments, my first impulse was, 'I don't have the time.' However, as I read the foreword, then the first few chapters, I could not put it down. It is exactly what business leaders need today. This book gets to the core roots of ethical behavior and integrity and how 'trusted' leaders and organizations do things better, faster, and at lower cost. Everyone should make the time to read this book."
-- Nolan D. Archibald, Chairman and CEO, The Black & Decker Corporation

Covey convincingly validates our experience at Dell -- that trust has a bottom-line impact on results and that when trust goes up, speed goes up while costs come down. This principle applies not only in our professional relationships with customers, business partners, and team members but also in our personal relationships, which makes this insightful book all the more valuable."
-- Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell Inc.

In his first book, Covey (CEO, CoveyLink Worldwide), son of Stephen R. Covey of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fame, explores the concept of trust and its positive impact on personal and professional success. He introduces the image of ever-widening concentric ripples of water, which he defines as the "Five Waves of Trust": Self-Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational Trust, Market Trust, and Societal Trust. The degree and magnitude of trust one develops at each wave impacts the effectiveness of interactions at the next highest level, and the stronger the trust involved at each level, the more efficiently and quickly the desired outputs of that level can be achieved. Covey has an engaging style and uses many anecdotes and quotes from famous people to illustrate his points. The book's organization into waves, behaviors of High Trust Leaders, and Cores of Credibility makes the prose easy to digest and reminiscent of the format of the leadership seminars from which Covey got his start. This book would be of interest to public libraries and universities with self-help, psychology, or popular business collections. Crystal Renfro, Lib. and Information Ctr., Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

"Covey brilliantly focuses on that overlooked bedrock of democratic capitalism -- trust. Like the air we breathe, we too often take this critical intangible for granted. As Covey makes clear, we do so at our ultimate competitive peril."
-- Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes
"Covey's book underscores the single most important factor -- the substrate -- that will determine the success (or failure) of any organization in the 21st century: TRUST. This is a powerful read: brave, imaginative, amazingly prescient, and backed up by empirical and analytical heft. A must-read for anyone in a position of responsibility, from a support group to a global corporation."
-- Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC, and author of On Becoming a Leader
"I am happier when I am trusted, and I bet you are too. Covey has done a masterful job teaching that trust is conditioned on our behavior and that we can consciously shift our behavior to deserve trust. This one realization can change your life. This is the best book by a Covey since 7 Habits."
-- Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Don't Get Scrooged
"Stephen Covey's work changed the world. I'd bet the price of this exciting book and more that his son, Stephen M. R. Covey, will have at least as much impact. The Speed of Trust is an amazing book, starting with its novel and powerful title -- my greatest wonder was why it hadn't been written before. From the epigraph -- 'Speed happens when people truly trust each other' -- to the closing bell, this is a book worth savoring -- and implementing."
-- Tom Peters
"This book can change lives. Covey helps us understand how to nurture and inspire immediate trust in every encounter, which is the foundation for true and lasting success in life. A very interesting and enlightening read."
-- Larry King
"This much-needed book provides many practical examples of how greater trust produces better results, at less cost, sooner -- at work and in life. It's invaluable."
-- Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese? and coauthor of The One Minute Manager
"Want to be an irresistible positive force? Combine personal responsibility with compassion and respect for others. Want to know how to do this perfectly? Read The Speed of Trust."
-- Dr. Laura Schlessinger, internationally syndicated radio host and author of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage
"When I received this book and was asked to read it and offer my comments, my first impulse was, 'I don't have the time.' However, as I read the foreword, then the first few chapters, I could not put it down. It is exactly what business leaders need today. This book gets to the core roots of ethical behavior and integrity and how 'trusted' leaders and organizations do things better, faster, and at lower cost. Everyone should make the time to read this book."
-- Nolan D. Archibald, Chairman and CEO, The Black & Decker Corporation
Covey convincingly validates our experience at Dell -- that trust has a bottom-line impact on results and that when trust goes up, speed goes up while costs come down. This principle applies not only in our professional relationships with customers, business partners, and team members but also in our personal relationships, which makes this insightful book all the more valuable."
-- Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell Inc.