Leadership guru Stephen M.R. Covey said trust is the new business currency and is an economic priority that drives efficiency and financial results that lead to success in business.

“Trust is an economic priority, not merely a social virtue, and you can put an economic value on it,” said Covey in the ABS-CBN News Channel’s “Leading with Trust, A Session with Stephen M.R. Covey” workshop on June 19 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.

Covey, a Harvard MBA holder, best-selling author, and CEO of the Covey Leadership Center urged Filipino and Philippine-based business executives, government leaders, corporate leaders, and Human Resources professionals to learn the “economies of trust” in order to achieve success in different aspects of business.

When trust is low, said Covey, companies pay a “trust tax” because speed and efficiency goes down and cost goes up. On the other hand, when trust is high, companies get “trust dividends” because speed goes up—everything will happen faster and cost will go down.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of the book “The Speed of Trust” also stressed the role both leaders and employees play in building a high-trust environment and achieving results.

“If we don’t trust people, how will we engage them?” asked Covey. “There is a reciprocity of trust and distrust. Trust is contagious; so is distrust. When we give our trust, people not only return it but are inspired by it. They rise to the occasion. They perform better and it brings out the best in them.”

He advised the attendees to learn and practice “smart trust,” and adapt a high propensity for doing so to inspire innovation, creativity, and reciprocity, which eventually leads to “trust dividends” or financial gains. To complete the session, he led the participants in an interactive workshop that gave them a trust-building framework to work on for their respective organizations.

ABS-CBN Integrated News head and ANC managing director Ging Reyes said Covey’s talk is very useful and relevant for organizations in this age of “disruption, negativity, doubt, and distrust.”

“It’s important to build a culture of trust in organizations whether you are in the private sector, in media, in government, or even if you are just a small team. It’s important to remember how character and behavior help in the building of trust and in making sure that members of your team are on the same page,” she explained.

The event was moderated by “Headstart with Karen Davila” anchor Karen Davila, who previously moderated the 2017 ANC Leadership Series Forum on Global Governance & World Economy with Dr. Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. Secretary of State.

Stephen M.R. Covey is the fourth international speaker brought to the Philippines by ANC, the country’s premier 24/7 all-English cable news channel, in the past three years. Early this year, ANC also brought in Peter Guber, the executive chairman and co-owner of reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors and chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, while Virgin Group founder Richard Branson was the inaugural speaker of the ANC Leadership Series in 2016.

“ANC Presents: Leading with Trust, A Session with Stephen M.R. Covey” is part of the country’s premier all-English cable news channel efforts to raise the level of discourse on global affairs and business issues in the country by bringing globally-respected thought leaders for a one-day speaking engagement.

For news and information, watch ANC, your news channel, your partner on cable. Watch ANC in high definition on cable on ANC HD. You may also visit news.abs-cbn.com/anc or follow @ANCalerts on Facebook and Twitter. For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.