On the first day his son joined the family firm, the founder took him on to the roof of the factory building and said, “I am going to give you your very first lesson in business. Stand on the edge of the roof.”

Reluctantly, the boy went to stand on the edge of the roof.

“Now,” said his father, “when I say jump, I want you to jump off the roof.”

“But, Dad,” said the boy, “that’s 10 feet down!”

“Do you want to succeed in business?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“And you trust me, don’t you?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“So do as I say and jump.”

The boy jumped. He crashed to the ground and lay there, winded and bruised.

His father ran up to him and said, “That was your first lesson in business, son. Never trust anyone.”

We would live in a sad world if we couldn’t trust anyone. But trust does take years to build, mere seconds to destroy and forever to repair. Trust is fragile. It’s easy to break, easy to lose and one of the most difficult things to ever get back.

David Horsager, who I consider THE trust expert, has written a follow-up book to his national best-seller “The Trust Edge.” The new book is called “Trusted Leader: 8 Pillars That Drive Results.” It’s every bit as good as the first.

The book follows CEO Ethan Parker as he discovers the root problem in his company and a way to solve it, even amid the complexities of leading in a quickly changing business and cultural environment.

The plot unfolds as a true-to-life story of a senior leader who thought success was certain. While his fast-growing organization had huge potential, Ethan faces a series of unexpected challenges that awaken him to a deeper gap in his business.

The book elaborates on the eight pillars of trust that are key attributes of successful leaders: clarity, compassion, character, competency, commitment, connection, contribution and consistency.

Building on theses eight pillars, Horsager explains that “trust will always increase effectiveness and create results in your organization.” I can surely attest to that from my own experience.

When you ask for a sale from a customer, they will judge whether your proposal is fair and meets their needs, and if you can be trusted to deliver what you promised. Mess up on one of those points, and you can assume that customer will have a hard time trusting you again. And perhaps even more damaging, that customer could share their experience with others who had considered doing business with you.

Think about how you choose vendors. Have you given repeat business to someone who has broken your trust? Not likely -- those transactions tend to be very expensive.

Management guru Peter Drucker said of trust: “In the ethics of interdependence there are only obligations, and all obligations are mutual obligations. Harmony and trust -- that is, interdependence -- require that each side be obligated to provide what the other side needs to achieve its goals and to fulfill itself.”

“Obligated” is a pretty serious word -- and it’s one that needs to be taken quite seriously. When you couch it in those terms, trust assumes the huge responsibility that it is. Your word is everything, not just in business, but life in general.

Stephen Covey, author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People,” said: “Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication."

“Everything of value is built on trust,” Horsager writes.

Take it from all these experts: Trust is more than just a word. In fact, in my opinion, trust is the most important word in business.

Never make your customers or colleagues feel like the little fellow who jumped off the roof. His father was wrong -- you CAN trust people in business. Establish your reputation as someone who can be trusted.

Mackay’s Moral: Trust is a must, or else you’ll go bust.

A guy walked into a sandwich shop and the server asked what he would like to order.

He said, “What do you have that's good?”

The clerk responded that everything was good.

The customer then asked, “Do you sell things other than sandwiches?”

The clerk said, “Yes, we have salads, too.”

The customer added, “Great, I am so tired of sandwiches! That is all I ever eat!”

The clerk said, “What would you like?”

And the customer said, “I guess I’ll take a roast beef sandwich.”

Old habits die hard.

My friend John Maxwell got me thinking when he said:

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

Most of your everyday routines are probably comfortable, and you’re probably doing OK with them. But imagine the dreams you could realize by mixing things up to achieve what you really want.

Another friend, Dean Graziosi, wrote a book called “Millionaire Success Habits,” in which the premise is that you can make “barely noticeable, small shifts in your daily routines by nudging out those things that don’t serve you and replacing them with habits that create a path to wealth and abundance.”

First, you must decide what you want out of life. Too often, we can define what we don’t want, but can’t really figure out where we want to go. Once you do that, your path becomes clear as to what you need to work on.

When I think back on my career, I often changed my daily routine in order to realize what was important to me. When I was building my envelope-manufacturing business, I focused on selling the major accounts in Minnesota. When I wrote my first book, “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” I wanted to sell books and build my writing and speaking career. And with each new dream, I had to adapt.

I’ve always strived to be as productive as possible. I became a time-management freak. I was among the first to install a car phone. I took a speedreading course. I found that if I begin each day with a plan and prioritize what I need to accomplish, I procrastinate less.

I realized that by doing two things that I don’t want to do every morning, I can move on to more profitable things.

I continue to work at being organized because that’s always been a challenge. Wasting a minute here and there adds up to a lot of lost time trying to find things. Fortunately, I have a good staff that keeps me organized.

Another factor I’ve worked on is sleep. I always thought I wanted this message displayed on my tombstone: “He couldn’t sleep fast enough!” I was afraid of missing something. But over the years, I’ve relented and slept more. It has helped my energy and focus.

Leading up to the recent Super Bowl, I saw an article about quarterback Tom Brady and how he credits his high performance, even at age 43, to getting quality sleep and lots of it.

Getting up and stretching for 15-20 minutes also helps me. I exercise for 60-75 minutes every single day, which also gives me energy and keeps me in shape. Eating healthy, starting with a good breakfast, is also helpful.

I eliminate disruptions as much as possible and return calls at the end of the day. I also reward myself when I accomplish a task.

These are all good habits that replace bad habits. That’s not always easy. Some studies suggest that it takes about 21 days to create a new habit or break a bad habit. However, according to a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it can take 18-254 days to form a new habit. The study also concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. Breaking a habit also tends to involve a more consistent, conscious effort.

So start today: Ditch your bad habits and focus on building better ones.

Mackay’s Moral: We build our lives each day with the bricks of habits we have.

President Dwight Eisenhower was raised on a Kansas farm, and he never forgot the lessons he learned there. He's said to have told the following story, in response to a tough question from the press.

“An old farmer had a cow that we wanted to buy,” Eisenhower recalled, “so we went to visit him and asked about the cow’s pedigree.

“The old farmer didn’t know what the word 'pedigree' meant, so we asked him about the cow’s butterfat production. His answer was that he didn’t have the foggiest idea. Finally we asked him if he knew how many pounds of milk the cow produced each year.

“The farmer shook his head and said, ‘I don’t know. But she’s an honest cow, and she’ll give you all the milk she has!’

“Well,” Ike concluded, “I’m like that cow. I’ll give you everything I have.”

President Eisenhower didn’t just want to get by. He was committed to do his best. You can see when people are committed to a project or cause; they refuse to settle for anything less than their best. They are willing to learn and work hard.

Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie said people fall into three basic categories: Those who did not do all their duty, those who only professed to do their duty and those who did their duty plus a little more.

If you make a commitment, you need to see it through. No slacking off, no excuses. Commitment must start from the inside out. Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you.

“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision and gives us the right stuff to turn our dreams into reality,” said James Womack, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute.

Some might be tempted to back off those dreams when the going gets tough -- which it often does. But being truly committed provides the motivation to persevere, another word that is important in seeing projects and dreams through to the finish.

Commitment is a prerequisite of success. Commitment is the state of being bound -- emotionally, intellectually, or both -- to a course of action. Commitment starts with a choice and is sustained by dedication and perseverance. Actions speak louder than words.

Lou Holtz, the Hall-of-Fame college football coach, believes there are four things any person or organization needs to be successful.

“First,” he says, “you have to make a commitment to excellence. Second is complete attention to detail. The third thing is to have sound fundamentals, and the fourth requirement is discipline.”

I will add another essential element of commitment: confidence in your ability to succeed. Ask any successful entrepreneur how often they questioned their judgment, their sanity. I’d wager that any who were truly committed had some moments of uncertainty. But they believed in their potential. As I’ve preached so many times, it’s important to believe in yourself, even when no one else does.

I’m not sure how people can be totally satisfied with themselves if they are not committed to doing their very best. Sure, there are going to be failures, but that’s no excuse for not trying your hardest. You can’t hold back because of fear of failure.

I firmly believe that all human success is the result of persistent commitment. Not luck, not just being in the right place at the right time. Commitment is a decision that is easier to make than to see through. Commitment is what keeps you forging ahead once the initial glow has faded.

We’ll go back to the barnyard for some perspective. A chicken and a pig were talking about commitment.

The chicken said, “I’m committed to giving eggs every morning.”

The pig said, “Giving eggs isn’t commitment, it’s participation. Giving ham is total commitment.”

Mackay’s Moral: Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going.