Trust - the invaluable intangible

It is but natural that any object obtained with great effort or after a tremendous struggle, is of enormous value; similarly, anything gotten without a huge price or effort attached to it lacks that value.

Just sometimes, either the value of achieving it or the severity of losing it makes it so direly important an object. Sometimes, these objects are tangible, but more often than not, are intangible matters of immense substance.

Value refers to anything that carries importance for us e.g. buying an expensive and luxurious vehicle, a house that one always dreamed to own, travelling on an expensive airline for excellent experience of comfort and service, or simply being in service industry serving one’s own customer, facilitating / leading the team, taking care of the family or friend(s) etc.

My experience with reference to ‘value’ is a mix of whatever I have been able to understand from the wisdom of the learned authors whose books I have read, from my own hard-earned experiences, others’ mistakes and also their experiences.

As individuals, most of us are taught the basic etiquette of carrying themselves as good beings i.e. to speak truth, do good deeds, help others, avoid wrong doing etc.

With time and actions on these elements, there are certain characteristics that develop within the personality that take form of predominant traits that one gets known for. These traits become ‘values’ for such individual- principles that outweigh his/her being.

With years and years of reinforcement and harnessing, these traits create an aura around the individual, an identity that earns a superior level of acceptance around him/her.

In my own personal as well as professional experience, I have seen a number of individuals who were remarkable personalities; although not all of them carried high profile positions, the grandeur of their character and the energy of their courage created a charisma that I, to date, try to emulate to polish myself. Such people believed in themselves and became the light that brightened the world around them.

I have also seen institutions that fit the criteria shared above. Ones that are lucky to have been established for the right reason of being known for their character and leaving a legacy behind to live beyond centuries.

Consistent demonstration of character winning the test of time in both triumph and lurch, living the basic elements of integrity, commitment, responsibility, respect, teamwork is what creates the sixth element – TRUST.

This is what created the brand name Habib.  A colossal brand image that none other could dare compete with. Earned not over a decade or two but beyond a century. This trust is the fruit reaped after years and years of relentless and mammoth endeavors and dependable experiences. It carries the weight of the pride of each dedicated soul that invested its sweat and toil in the journey; feeling of losing this trust seems like it might cost at the very least survival and at the most the ages of character that created the legacy.

Each individual in the institution is a thread, out of the innumerous colored ones, where each one of them put in its place, sewn correctly, makes the whole look good, loss of threads here and there costs the tapestry its original design.

Leaders today represent the individuals of yesteryears and beacons of tomorrow that would enlighten the paths of others with resilience in their character and living all the traits that the ones before them have lived, to lead the voyage to its destination – the envisioned pinnacle.

These leaders, as I shared earlier also, need not be at the highest echelon of the corporate ladder, rather any individual with the strength of character, courage and belief in the sixth element can be the beacon.

I have seen it happen before, more than once, that any strong believer and practitioner of these elements: Integrity, Commitment, Responsibility, Respect, Teamwork and the resultant Sixth Element – TRUST become the strength of the institution and, it is then for the competition to realize ‘they are a force to be reckoned with’.