The act of running a business is something that has innumerable metaphors attached to it, from running a ship to spinning plates and beyond. They’ve all be overstated to the point of being background noise; any real, three-dimensional message they once carried is now lost in a sea of similar, familiar noises. But none of these metaphors was ever wrong – and, to run with the ‘plates’ metaphor for a second, it’s easy to lose sight of one when there are many to tend to.
This article is an exploration of one such ‘plate’ – but it’s not an organisational ‘plate’, like finances or HR or marketing. Rather, it’s an asset. A personal asset: trust. Trust is an incredible resource for an entrepreneur to be able to wield, and, particularly, a key influencing factor in business performance across international markets. As your business expands beyond national borders, you can expect to meet a wide and varied number of challenges, many of which can be solved through the building and maintenance of trust. But how?
1. Why Trust Matters More in Global Business Than Ever Before
First, let’s examine why exactly trust is so crucially important to global business – and, indeed, more so than ever before. Broadly speaking, international trade is tricky business; it requires and understanding of how laws change across borders, as well as an understanding of the social and cultural differences between different geographies.
In many cases, business leaders can’t know everything. That said, they can trust their clients and partners in the name of mutual benefit. Trust becomes a currency of its own, and one which has high value in a world of high-cost international logistics and geopolitical tensions.
2. Governance and Stakeholder Confidence
Trust is already of chief importance to businesses on a fundamental level. It underscores the relationship between business and financier, be it an angel investor or an armada of stakeholders. By building trust between yourself and your stakeholders, you are able to utilise this goodwill in properly, robustly expanding your stature and influence on an international stage – safe in the knowledge that your financial foundations are safe.
3. Maintaining Trust Across Different Markets and Cultures
Keeping the trust alive is a three-dimensional task, particularly when it involves operating in a wide variety of unfamiliar markets and territories. This is where you need to exercise some trust of your own, in a consultant firm capable of navigating those tricky logistical waters for you. Without some expert outside help, you could squander any trust you’ve built before making meaningful progress.
4. How Transparent Leadership Supports Sustainable Growth
As a final note, then, what does it take to secure trust for the long term? In a word: transparency. By being transparent with staff, with financiers, with clients and suppliers, and with the systems in which you intend to operate, you keep an open book – and you keep the right people on side.
