George Schultz at 100: Trust Must Be Coin of the Realm

On his 100th birthday, former Secretary of State George Schultz outlines the 10 ways in which "trust is the coin of the realm" in an opinion piece Sunday for The Washington Post.

"Dec. 13 marks my turning 100 years young," said Schultz, who served under former President Ronald Reagan. "I've learned much over that time, but looking back, I'm struck that there is one lesson I learned early and then relearned over and over: Trust is the coin of the realm.

"When trust was in the room, whatever room that was — the family room, the schoolroom, the locker room, the office room, the government room or the military room — good things happened. When trust was not in the room, good things did not happen. Everything else is details."

His life-lesson missive outlined the 10 ways he learned about the value of trust.

1. Family
   • "My early boyhood memories underlined the joy of family closeness and how it creates powerful bonds of trust."
2. Country
   • "During World War II, I served in the Pacific theater in a Marine outfit that included a sergeant named Palat. I have forgotten his first name, but I have never forgotten the respect and admiration — the deep-seated trust — that he inspired. When Palat was killed in action, it brought home to me more than ever how pitiless war can be."
3. Work
   • "I saw how Joe [Scanlon] rebuilt bonds of trust between the workers and management that had been frayed or broken. Ultimately, both sides benefited, as did the country."
4. Race
   • "Black workers from a closed plant in Kansas City had seniority claims on the new jobs. In that era of great racial friction, trouble might have been expected. Yet the town's civic leaders made it clear to us: Black families would be welcomed."
5. Law
   • Former Attorney General John Mitchell brought trust to legal battles over segregation: "Mitchell growled, 'I am attorney general, and I will enforce the law.' Then he left. No nonsense. Opponents of school segregation could trust the administration."
6. Politics
   • On President Richard Nixon bridging differences: "I knew the president and trusted that he would rise to the occasion — and he did."
7. Diplomacy
   • At a World War II memorial in Leningrad: "Facing the cemetery, I raised my best Marine salute, and [Soviet foreign trade minister] Patolichev thanked me for the show of respect. Later on, to my surprise, I found that I had earned the trust of Soviet leaders as a result of this visit."
8. Personal connections
   • On advice from President Reagan: "Telling a story, he made me understand, helps make your case in a way that no abstraction can: A story builds an emotional bond, and emotional bonds build trust.'
9. Foreign Policy
   • "Reagan's famous formulation: Trust, but verify. The agreement was self-bolstering, because successful verification enhanced the sense of trust, and greater trust promoted verification."
10. Faith
    • "'In God we trust.' Yes, and when we are at our best, we also trust in each other. Trust is fundamental, reciprocal and, ideally, pervasive. If it is present, anything is possible. If it is absent, nothing is possible. The best leaders trust their followers with the truth, and you know what happens as a result? Their followers trust them back. With that bond, they can do big, hard things together, changing the world for the better."

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