Trust and Respect

by Jim Highsmith

"Trust is the bandwidth of communications," is Ken Orr's favorite quote from knowledge management guru Karl Eric Sveiby. I remembered this quote as I read an article in the 30 September issue of BusinessWeek magazine about CEO Sanjay Kumar and the difficulties at Computer Associates (CA). "Now, Kumar's a CEO on the spot. He runs a widely distrusted company in an era where trust is suddenly worth more than growth. What's more, in a depressed tech market where companies count heavily on loyal customers, Kumar has to deal with disgruntled buyers who are all too happy to postpone software updates," writes Steve Hamm, author of the article. CA, says Hamm, is known for its heavy-handed treatment of both employees (as it made 50 or so acquisitions) and customers.