American Crossroad of Trust

America is in peril and the atrocities, which we have endured, have been an intentional attack on the fundamental trust that holds our civilization together. It has been an assault on people and on the solvency of an economic structure, and it is a disruption of the stability, freedom and protection a global community of trading nations provides. But in the wake of the destruction, it was our leaders, who had been entrusted to protect and serve, and American Business, sensing the benefit of a seemingly greater enemy, who took the opportunity to reveal the dubious business practices of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and others, with confessions that they had been duplicitous in their duties.And our biggest casualty in all these events was trust, the trust of our people, their trust in their personal safety and the country's security, along with their trust in our leaders and the economy. Some would like us to believe that our real struggle is between rich and poor, or East and West or even between the primacy of a religion's teachings. But it isn't about rich and poor. It isn't about East and West and it isn't one religion versus another. It's about stability, freedom and protection for everyone - it's about trust.
About the Author: Thomas H. (Tom) Fairbanks has been involved in real estate, business, and economic development for the last 40+ years; specializing in incubation facilitation, which is an economic lifeline of business support, resources, and services that accelerate the growth and success of startup and entrepreneurial enterprises. A man with extensive experience in the integration of business, real estate investments and personal development. His extensive entrepreneurial career began with his first sole entrepreneurial effort at the age of 22. He is a continual student in human behavior and participated in the development of a personal and professional development-training program used to educate clients and incubated companies. He is a firm believer in the power of association, and his extensive hands-on education has helped him to develop and author the concepts of SupplyLine Economics(c), and Collaborative Business Systems(c). Having witnessed firsthand the abuses of ethical violations in business, Tom became an active proponent of fair play and community advocacy and his efforts led to the formulating of the "Principles of Good Business(c)" which he believes is the core foundation of healthy business and community development. His wife, Shauna, presented Tom with a certificate of achievement for Christmas many years ago acknowledging that he was successfully completing an Advanced Ongoing Course in the Field of Life. This was the impetus to the creation of the School of Hard Knocks.