Member of the Week for March 6, 2023

Yoram Solomon, PhD

About Yoram Solomon, PhD:

Dr. Yoram Solomon is a trust researcher, the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute, the author of the most comprehensive trust book, The Book of Trust, the book series Can I Trust You?, and the host of The Trust Show podcast. He published 16 books and more than 300 articles on Trust, Innovation Culture, and Entrepreneurship. His approach to trust is unique in several respects. First, he sees trust as relative, and not absolute or universal. Furthermore, he never stops at telling you why trust is important and what makes a person trust you, but rather adds the how element through his 7-step Trust Habits™ Process. His work resides in the intersection of the science of trust and the science of habit-forming. He holds a Ph.D. in organization and management, an MBA, a law degree, and an engineering degree. A 2-time TED^x Speaker (just got selected to deliver 3^rd), adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at SMU, former executive, elected official, pilot, and member of the Israeli 35th airborne brigade. He spoke to companies such as AT&T, Northrop Grumman, Dannon, Amway, VCE, DRS Technologies, Medical City, HCA, Qorvo, and many more.

Speaking career: speaking since 6 months old. Professionally since 2 years old. Paid for speaking since 2012. Speaking about TRUST officially since 2017. Speaking about trust and not knowing I was speaking about trust since 2010…

What audiences you speak for?

About 60% corporate (multiple industries) and 40% associations. Associations typically find me. My focus is on the human resources function in the company. I found that the people who would benefit the most from workshops on building trust are general managers, project managers, and human resources managers. General managers don’t have anything in common across boundary lines. No trade associations. Spoke to project managers, but found that they are very technical, under high budget and schedule pressure, and have less time, appreciation, and budget for “soft skills.” Thus, the focus is on HR associations (SHRM and local chapters). Much of the business comes from HR managers who attend my SHRM conference events. I focus on HR publications, podcasts, groups, etc.

What led you to this career?

When I turned 50, I started to think about retirement. What would I want to do? I knew I wasn’t going to lie in bed and watch TV all day long. So, I asked myself, what do I enjoy doing more than anything? Well, I’m too old to land F/A-18s on aircraft carriers or be a CIA operative. But beyond that, I love researching, writing, and speaking. Then I realized that there are people who make money doing those things. That was the time I joined NSA. Initially, I wasn’t focused as much as I am today. I transitioned over time from a focus on innovation to a focus on innovation culture (the topic of my PhD dissertation research), to trust. I stumbled across trust when I met with a prospective client to help them build a culture of innovation, realizing that it will be impossible because they don’t have a foundation of trust. Then, I looked at my PhD research to find trust there as a key block that I didn’t really emphasize. The rest is history.

What’s one professional skill you’re currently working on?

Streamlining customer relationships and event checklists, as well as tracking my event for the CMP designation. I’m currently doing it over three platforms, the eSpeakers calendar, CLOZE CRM, and a Google spreadsheet. With more and more events, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks this way, so I’m trying to get to a point in which the process is streamlined.

What’s your go-to productivity trick?

The weekly checklist. My week revolves around a weekly content schedule. Every week I address a different topic (trust-related, obviously). I post a LinkedIn poll on the Monday of the previous week. I finalize the podcast episode outline Saturday, and record the episode Sunday. It drops Tuesday morning. Wednesday morning I publish a LinkedIn newsletter article based on it (1,000 words), and it goes in my blog Thursday, and my email newsletter later Thursday. There are a lot of things that must happen on specific times for all of that to stay on schedule. So, I created a (word-based) checklist, which I print every Saturday and follow through the week, checking the different boxes. I also have checklists for specific activities (recording a podcast, publishing an article, etc.).

Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

In 2013, two years before I went on my own, a speaker who came to the Rotary club I was a member of inspired me. She was fun. She was engaging. She knew a lot, and she was inspiring. Oh, and she also knew how to fly Blackhawk helicopters because apparently, that’s what she did during her Army service.

Another person who influenced how I approach my work is Joel Weldon, when he was our monthly meeting speaker. Because of him, my introduction now has slides…

I’m also inspired by David Horsager (the other trust speaker…). No doubt he came before me, but we became friends after his speaking at Influence in Dallas (2018). We still talk and communicate a lot, share ideas, use each other as a sounding board (mainly, I use him…), and even promote each other. There is enough room for more than two in the field.

But I also learn something from every person at NSA that I meet, and many outside of NSA. What I make sure is that I look at what they do, how they do it, and ask myself whether there is something I can use in my own practice.

What’s a mistake you made early on in your career, and what did you learn from it?

To be an engaging speaker, you must have a dominant personality. Dominant people tend to tell you what you must do, and it must be their way. My biggest mistake was that I did exactly what I was told I must do. Some things worked, and others didn’t. Since then, I learned that what works for them may not work for me, and what works for me may not work for them. There is a chemistry that involves the speaker, the audience, the topic, and the context that is unique for each one of us. So, I started looking at other speakers differently. I listen to what they do, and how they do it, and decide what I should adopt, what I should try, and what I should avoid. And whenever a speaker asks me for advice, I only give them one piece of advice: don’t listen to advice. Not even mine. I will share my experiences with you, I will tell you what worked for me and what didn’t, but I will never assume that it will work for you. It is up to you to decide.

What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?

There are a few, but they are all related to one thing: my willingness to stick to something until it’s successful, and not drop things because I didn’t get immediate gratification. Specifically: applying to many TEDx events (about to deliver my third), published 16 books (including the most comprehensive book ever written about trust), had my podcast rank in the top 5% of all podcasts globally, got 3 trademarks that I applied for myself, and more. But I think that the one I’m the proudest of is what my customers tell me, and how many times I was invited to give another keynote, year after year, for the same organization, reminding them that I gave them a keynote in the last year’s conference, and hearing, “well, that’s why we want you back…”

What being a member of NSA-NT means to you (testimonial)

I believe that to be successful, you must be a member of two organizations. One related to your domain, and one to your skill. The one related to my domain is SHRM, and I’m a member there. That’s where I find my clients. The one related to my skill is NSA. At 4 AM, the day of my first NSA meeting (as a guest), the kitchen tiles in my home buckled. Needless to say, I walked to the kitchen with a loaded .45, thinking there was someone there. By the time I needed to go to the NSA meeting, I was too tired, but my wife insisted I go. That was in 2015. I haven’t missed a single monthly meeting since then. I learned from every person who either presented to our chapter or was simply a member of our chapter, and I enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the chapter and its members.

Something personal you want us to know- can be about family, a vacation, a favorite food- anything you care to share.

I only have one item on my bucket list. Sure, I want to visit Australia (3 trips there got canceled), Ireland, and Scotland, but the only thing on my bucket list is to be launched off an aircraft carrier in a F/A-18 (probably an F or G model, because they will not let me fly a single-seat E model…), and then land back on the carrier. That’s it.

Contact info and Social Media info (full URLs please):

Website: www.trusthabits.com

Email: yoram@yoramsolomon.com

Phone: (972) 332-1490

Podcast: www.TheTrustShow.com

LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/yoramsolomon/

LinkedIn Newsletter: www.linkedin.com/newsletters/trust-habits-6873638091983347712/

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/TheTrustShow

eSpeakers Profile: www.espeakers.com/marketplace/profile/29339

Online Courses: www.TrustedAtWork.com

Books on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Yoram-Solomon/e/B002D61T90

Twitter: twitter.com/yoramsolomon