I received this book as a review copy from the publisher. Each month or so, they put out a list of the available titles, from which to select and when I saw this one, I knew I had to pick its up. In this book Dr. Cloud dissects trust, what it takes to have trust, specifically five aspects of trust: understanding, motive, ability, character and track record. He then delves deeply into each of these aspects, using examples from personal relationships as well as business relationships, using real life examples from his many years as a clinical psychologist and leadership consultant. After delving into these aspects, he deals with establishing trust, growing in trust, repairing trust and moving forward in trust. One of the things I appreciated was when he looked at the biblical admonition for forgiveness, and how forgiveness is something we need to do, but there is a difference between forgiveness and trust. While forgiveness should be automatic, trust needs to be earned.
The whole time I was reading this book, I found myself doing two things. First, I found myself looking at my own relationships, both personal and professional, and examining my behavior and my motives in them, namely am I as trustworthy as I need to be, and where do I need work. Secondly, I found myself thinking of people who could benefit this book and its teachings. This book is a must for anyone who finds themselves leading or counseling others. Dr. Cloud is clearly extremely intelligent and well spoken, yet this book also comes across as “plain-spoken,” i.e. Dr. Cloud takes complex ideas and thoughts and makes them very clear and easily understandable. This is a great book.
AMOKArts 