Trust Works

Four Keys to Building Lasting Relationships

Ken Blanchard, Cynthia Olmstead, Martha Lawrence

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780007523405
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Commerce Général

Bestselling author Ken Blanchard brings you the tie-in guide to accompany his TrustWorks! training program.

Part I

A Tale of Trust

Broken Trust

Once upon a time in the country home of Mr. and Mrs. Berryhill, there lived a cat named Whiskers and a dog named Woof. The two did not get along.

They had their reasons.

Woof’s goofy personality and sloppy personal hygiene annoyed the cat.

Whiskers’s snooty attitude and finicky habits alienated the dog.

Some time ago Woof got so excited he chased Whiskers up a tree. She’d never forgiven him.

A couple of times Whiskers’s sharp little claws had come out. Ever since, Woof had avoided her.

Plus, it was common knowledge that cats and dogs did not get along. Both Whiskers and Woof had heard from their mothers and fathers all the horror stories of the generations-old enmity between cats and dogs.

One day Woof made the terrible mistake of accidentally stepping on Whiskers’s tail. Whiskers lashed out, swiping the dog across the face. Stinging with pain, Woof snarled and snapped at the cat, who leaped toward the dining room table to escape. She didn’t quite make it. Her claws sank into the tablecloth, and as she fell back, she pulled the entire table full of dishes—just set for dinner—onto the floor, where they broke with a loud crash.

That’s when Mrs. Berryhill came running into the room, her toddler in her arms.

“Oh, no. What a mess!” she cried.

The toddler, Billy, began to wail—a horrible, earsplitting sound.

Next, seven-year-old Kylie dashed in. “What happened?” she cried.

Finally, Mr. Berryhill burst into the room, his face red with anger.

“That’s it!” he yelled as Woof and Whiskers scurried out of the room. “If you two don’t learn to get along, I’m going to get rid of you. All of you!”

When Mr. Berryhill said “all of you” he was referring to the three other animals that lived in the house: a parrot named Presley, a hamster named Harriet, and a goldfish named Wiggles. Mr. Berryhill’s voice boomed, so every animal in the house heard him loud and clear. It was also evident from Mr. Berryhill’s tone that this was no idle threat. He’d been annoyed by the chaos created by Woof and Whiskers for quite some time. Mr. Berryhill seemed to have reached his breaking point.

Kylie’s eyes filled with tears. “No, Daddy! Please don’t get rid of our animals!”

Mr. Berryhill squatted down and looked his little girl in the eye. “I don’t want to get rid of them, honey, but we have to trust these animals to behave if they’re going to live in our house. If they’re going to fight and break our dishes, they’ve got to go.”

“But, Daddy—” Kylie began.

“Daddy’s right,” said Mrs. Berryhill. “If the animals are going to be part of our family, we have to be able to depend on them.”

“If they behave, can we keep them?” Kylie asked tearfully.

“Yes, but only if they stop fighting,” said Mr. Berryhill.

The parrot, who was old and wise, gravely shook his head. To human ears, Presley merely began squawking. But to every animal in the house, his announcement was clear:

“All animals, meet in the living room tonight at the stroke of midnight. Your presence is mandatory. This is an emergency!”

That night as they were getting ready for bed, Mrs. Berryhill had a heart-to-heart with her husband.

“Honey, the dog and cat did make an unfortunate mess tonight. But your reaction seemed a little over the top. Is there something going on that I should know about?”

Mr. Berryhill sat down with a sigh. “Things aren’t going as well at work as I had hoped. I had a meeting with my boss today and he said he wasn’t sure if I was in the right position.”

“What did he mean by that?”

“He said he was disappointed that I didn’t seem to have the skills to get things done on my own. Said he didn’t have time to do his job and mine.”

“That must have really bothered you,” Mrs. Berryhill said.

“No kidding,” he replied. “My position has a lot of new responsibilities, and I’ve been working my tail off. It annoys me that he expects me to be up to speed overnight. I wish he’d spend a little time helping me identify people who can coach me if he doesn’t have the time.”

“Can you talk to him about that?” asked Mrs. Berryhill.

Mr. Berryhill shook his head. “It won’t be easy. He says his door is always open, but to get a meeting with him is a major project in itself.”

“Sounds like you and your boss have trust issues. Just like we have with our cat and dog,” she added with a smile.

“Yeah, stress at work, chaos at home. I’m between a rock and a hard place!” he said with a laugh. “Thanks for listening, honey. I certainly need this weekend to decompress.”

A Matter of Perception

That night the animals gathered at midnight as planned. Sitting high on his perch, Presley began the proceedings.

“The status quo cannot continue,” the parrot said. “There must be peace and harmony among all of us, or there will be great sorrow for each of us.”

The animals were silent. They knew that Presley spoke the truth.

“First,” said the parrot, “the two of you”—here he looked at the dog and cat—“must learn to get along.”

“Impossible,” said Whiskers, licking her paws. “Woof simply cannot be trusted. He nearly bit my head off today!”

“You nearly clawed my eyes out today!” Woof protested.

“After you crushed my tail!” Whiskers yowled.

“I didn’t mean to!” Woof cried, jumping to his feet.

Whiskers arched her back and hissed loudly.

“STOP!” squawked the parrot. “Keep it down, or we’ll all be thrown out!”

“You see?” said Whiskers. “Dogs cannot be trusted. Everyone knows that. There’s no point in further discussion.” With that she turned and left the room.

Woof sank onto the carpet and put his head on his paws.

“I didn’t mean to upset Whiskers,” the dog said. “I never do. It’s all a misunderstanding, I swear.”

Harriet the hamster, who had been silently running on her wheel, spoke up.

“Misunder...