ETP Professional Member since 2008 and Co-Author of fast selling book Win the Race for 21st Century Jobs   and CEO of ETP sponsor partner, MeridiaSystems.com

Each of us has a personal story to tell about why we decided to join the ETP Network and learn its fresh new approach for building trusted relationships with others. For some, it‘s the excitement of keeping pace with social networking and its impact on business and technology. For others, it‘s the dismal failures and disappointments associated with the ―black hole‖ network where we learned that countless hopes and dreams can vanish into the void with a simple click of the SEND button. For some, it‘s a subtle combination of the two.

But regardless of the reason for joining, there are still certain aspects of membership that occasionally need to be reexamined so that we can all benefit from the inherent value each person brings to the group. It‘s time for us to remind ourselves that the heart and soul of networking is the building of connections, and those truly meaningful connections — relationships — are always built on trust.

From an ETP Network perspective, the definitive word on the topic of trust is provided by Stephen M. R. Covey in his book The Speed of Trust (Free Press, © 2006), in which he presents trust as a kind of Rubik‘s Cube that correlates the dimensions of character, competence, credibility, capabilities, integrity, and respect. For those who are serious about incorporating the ETP Network‘s core values and principles into their daily lives, there is perhaps no more important book to read while spending some quality time with your favorite highlighter.

This article deals with what might be considered a spinoff concept called the Trust Matrix. The Trust Matrix is a way of thinking about the role each of us plays within the ETP Network and how our daily actions either help to build trust (creating trust equity) or wear it away (creating trust deficits).

Some Basic Assumptions
To understand how the Trust Matrix works, let‘s begin by laying out some fundamental assumptions about ourselves as a collection of individuals:

• We all have different wants, needs, and desires (W/N/D).
• We are all at different stages in our personal career management or career transition journeys.
• We all have different personalities and therefore probably gravitate to different styles of networking.
• We all have different expectations for what the ETP Network can or will do for us.

Why We Become Members
With those assumptions in place, let‘s now examine what draws us to the ETP Network in the first place. There are probably just as many reasons as there are members, but for most of us, these three top the list:

• For those of us in transition, we‘re tired of the ―black hole‖ network‘s failure to produce any remotely meaningful results.

• We like the prospect of building relationships and recognize both the short and long-term value of developing connections built on reciprocity as opposed to the outmoded methods built on flimsy, disposable, dead-end acquaintances.

• We like the idea of having a social safety net as we venture out into our individual career management adventures.

Fundamentally, we are drawn to the ETP Network because it offers a new way to approach networking, a way based on the gradual but persistent building of trust. We learn early on that the bond of trust between any two individuals is the glue that forms the basis of a relationship, and that the relationship, if it‘s meant to last, requires constant nourishment so that the day-to-day exchange of trust transactions between members is always honored, preserved, and revered as one of the highest ideals of membership.

An Individual Experience and a Shared Experience
As we start to embrace the notion of being a valued cog in a giant wheel of friends and associates, we begin to realize that it‘s no longer accurate to view our niche in the network as just a solitary, individual experience. Although we never lose our individual identities, we are now, by definition, interconnected — and, for better or worse, interdependent too.

• As a shared experience with obligations to both ourselves and to others, we conduct our networking activities with an implicit agreement that we will make the best possible attempt to adopt the new networking and career transition methods as outlined on Rod Colon‘s numerous conference calls and in the organization‘s core documents so that we can make them work and produce meaningful results not only for ourselves but for those to whom we build connections.

• Since the ETP Network’s core values are built on the establishment of trust, we now have an obligation to build, with every available opportunity, good solid “trust equity” in our everyday dealings with each other. There is no room for overt selfish behavior since most of us find that to be one of the highest, most brazen forms of disrespect and a full 180 degrees out of phase with the ETP Network Mission statement. Our attention needs to be balanced between a healthy, normal regard for our own needs and a new emphasis on how our specific talents, abilities, skills, and assets can contribute to meeting the needs of others and the well-being of the group.