CAT - A Trust Measurement Tool

I would like to introduce you to CAT – A Trust Measurement Tool now available for FREE in your Windows Store.  CAT, an acronym for Comprehensive Advisory and Trust Index, is a self-improvement tool to measure the level of trust that your customer sponsor has in you as a consultant.  As consultants, we are always trying to get to that “Trusted Advisor” status with our customer for at least three levels of objectives: (1) Individual – Renewability, Billability, etc. (2) Account – pull through of services, devices and software and (3) your employer – long term relationship with the customer, technology partner of choice, etc.

 

The concept behind CAT is explained in the screenshot (taken from the app) below.  Trust is a very complex concept that psychologists have struggled to measure even in a personal sphere (spousal, family, friend relationships).  There is negligible research in the measurement of trust in a business relationship.  After researching this topic for well over a year, I have attempted to quantify this using six different facets: Predictability, Dependability, Faith, Competence, Intention and Communication.  The tool asks you a series of questions that address symptoms of “trustful” behavior and gleans the level of trust based on your responses.

 

The app can be found here:

http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/app/cat-a-trust-measurement-tool/a1b68f8b-310f-445a-9b51-1eb3199d395e

 

Usage Guidelines:

·         I would encourage you to download this app and use it to measure the efficacy of your relationship with your customer.

·         GO through the concept screen (click on the concept link at the bottom of the main screen)

·         GO through the tutorial as you familiarize yourself with the app (again, click on the tutorial link at the bottom of the main screen)

·          Ideally, I would suggest you calibrate yourself using this tool every few weeks and watch as you trend towards a positive and fruitful partnership over time.

·         Use it as a self-improvement tool to improve the “stickiness” of your engagements.

 

While I have significant experience as a consultant/advisor, I certainly do not claim to be an expert.  In that light, I look to you to provide feedback and improve the tool.  I would appreciate if you can provide project specific data (anonymous data, of course) as I beef up the “validity” and “reliability’ of this instrument.

 

Thanks for downloading and using CAT.  Enjoy.

 

Valufication

Before we begin to discuss this subject, it is important to agree on a working definition of value.  Obviously, various definitions of value exist.  In fact, value is such a subjective aspect that more often than not, it is in the eye of the beholder. So what then, is the definition of value?

Merriam-Webster dictionary (Definition of Value, 2014) gives the following definition of value.

¹val·ue

noun \ˈval-(ˌ)yü\

: the amount of money that something is worth : the price or cost of something

: something that can be bought for a low or fair price

: usefulness or importance

 

For the purposes of our discussion, let us agree that value is the worth of “something”. When quantified, it can be measured in dollars.  When it is not able to be quantified, value can be measured in terms of the goodwill it generates.  Obviously, we cannot measure goodwill in absolute terms.  But we can certainly measure it in relative terms based on a benchmark of sorts.

Then the next ambguity that we need to resolve is the “something.”  In the context of this discussion, it is an activity or service that is provided to the receiver.

I define "Valufication" as the measurement of value for any activity or service.  The value can be either:

·        Quantifiable: The amount of dollars that can be exchanged in return for an activity or service.

·       Intangible:  The amount of goodwill that is generated as a result of an activity.  From a consumerization perspective, it is expected that all goodwill will result in something tangible for the value creator.  For instance, better customer relationship will result in increased business in the future.

Stay tuned for more on this subject....