The Currency of Trust

As business people we are all aware of our bottom line— how much we make, how much we spend, how much we owe, how much is coming in, etc. In international business, however, that bottom line is sometimes not as active as we would like it to be. Sometimes the bottom line is less a factor in our dealings globally because it can take much longer to develop the business to the point of closing a deal. Simply building the relationship can take months, or even years, before the business flows. So how do you jus­tify the time and effort of international business develop­ment while keeping your eye on the bottom line?

Choose Consciously

For me, it’s conscious choice. In part, I find the interna­tional arena so personally and professionally fulfilling, that I’m prepared to spend more time, and perhaps a little more money with no guarantee of a timely return. Also, as many international specialists have learned, once the business does start to flow, it can flow pretty well. There’s an extremely high loyalty factor in international business. Make one client happy and soon their friends and family will be contacting you.

These are nice concepts, but I do appreciate that in today’s market few of us have the luxury of not watching the bottom line. If the money is not flowing into our accounts, then our bottom line is suffering and business decisions must be made accordingly. It is within this mar­ket reality that one can understand the temptation of looking for easy ways to grow the bottom line.

Think Globally

Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme is a painful example of how focus on the bottom line ultimately resulted in not only huge financial loss and ruin, but also in an equally significant loss of trust. Madoff’s scheme illustrates how global we really are. The lead in a December 21, 2008 International Herald Tribune article by Diana Henriques reads, “By the end, the world itself was too small to support the vast Ponzi scheme con­structed by Bernard Madoff.” She continues,“Just as the scheme surpassed national borders, it left local regula­tors far behind. Its lies were translated into a half-dozen languages. Its larceny was denominated in a half-dozen currencies and its victims are scattered from Abu Dhabi to Zurich.”

While I’m sorry for those who lost money—particularly the charities and not-for-profits who may never recover from their losses—I’m equally saddened by the loss of trust associated with this scheme. In these tumultuous economic times global business may seem more risky and many foreign investors are sitting on the sidelines to see how the dust settles. With that in mind, I share with you a mindset that I hope you’ll embrace in your internation­al business dealings.

The International Currency

In CIPS courses we talk about currency fluctuations and their impact on cross-border deals. Another currency that I think we need to talk more about is an internation­al currency, which is intangible. It is the currency of trust.

The currency of trust must be spent carefully, and in the right places. We may need to spend this currency more slowly, and over some period of time, to learn what makes our potential business partners tick, but it does need to be spent. We must learn to listen to each other, to the cadence of our speech, to the ideas we express, and about what we hope will bring us closer to understanding each other.

We must strive to build our relationships on a founda­tion of understanding, to strengthen the walls with our business philosophy and, finally, to secure the roof of the structure out of our mutual trust in each other. In doing so, we will have built an invaluable and lasting partnership with each participant dealing in the curren­cy of trust, from which—through mutual respect, honor and complete trust—the real currency will make our bottom lines flourish.

In 2009, though I may choose to watch my bottom line by being more cautious in the spending of dollars, I will be looking for more and improved ways to spend my international currency of trust to build the future and look towards better economic times worldwide.


By Barbara Schmerzler, CIPS, ABR®, CRB, GRI,TRC
Global Perspectives in Real Estate
Published by the CIPS Network of the National Association of REALTORS®