Joel­ Peterson is the Chairman of JetBlue Airways and the Founding Partner of Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City investment management firm. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and teaches courses in real estate investment, entrepreneurship and leadership at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. In “The 10 Laws of Trust: Building the Bonds That Make a Business Great” he writes about trust and how it can either make or break a business.

Trust is necessary in healthy relationship from business dealings to personal relationships. It is the glue binds but when it is broken it is difficult and sometimes impossible to repair. In “The 10 Laws of Trust,” Joel Peterson starts off in the Introduction by stating the goals of this book: “to examine what trust is, present methods for harnessing it, and consider how to restore trust or recover from its breach.” In the chapter titled The Power of Trust he defines the three types of trust, these being reciprocal, representative and pseudo-trust. From there each subsequent chapter represents each of these ten laws: Start with Personal Integrity, Invest in Respect, Empower Others, Measure What You Want to Achieve, Create a Common Dream, Keep Everyone Informed, Embrace Respectful Conflict, Show Humility, Strive for Win-Win Negotiations, Proceed with Care. In the final chapter, Restoring Trust, he goes into the fact that betrayal is a natural part of life, that sometimes it is not personal but that it is usually damaging, along with the steps people can take to recover from betrayal.

“The 10 Laws of Trust” by Joel Peterson with David A Kaplan is an excellent reference on the topic of trust. It is easy to read and understand and shows readers how to establish and maintain a culture of trust. Standout chapters include Start With Personal Integrity and Embrace Respectful Conflict because the first deals with how team members trust leaders who show that they are not perfect and still learning and the second gives tips on conflict resolution. His tone is down to earth and he comes across are relatable because he shares his personal losses and the lessons he learned. It may be a small book but it is a playbook for business filled with practical advice suitable for everyday situations.

“….trust should be granted to people with the character and competence to make responsible use of the authority with which you have entrusted them. But everyone should have the opportunity to earn your trust.”

*A copy of this book was given for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are solely the author’s.