Last month, I attended the Silicon Valley ISM meeting where Economic Club of San Francisco President Ingo Bischoff made a spirited case for the US to return to the gold standard. At it’s core, I understood Ingo’s argument - a mix of history, politics, economics and philosophy - to be a matter of trust. With trust in the USD restored by a greenback that is once again a redeemable asset, the nation’s “explosive money situation” can be dealt with as we stave off erosion of capital caused by falling interest rates (for more of an explanation, Ingo recommends a video series the Economic Club produced).

The presentation and the New Year had me thinking a great deal about trust. And I wonder if “trust”, or more importantly restoring trust, might be the operative word for 2009. It seems a great deal of our present economic situation can be chalked up to a collapse of the trust that greases the wheels of commerce.

For example, if there’s one message most people took away from the sub-prime debacle, it’s that we shouldn’t have trusted the “experts” to understand the securitized mortgages they were bundling, selling and even betting on in the massive credit-default swap market. And that doesn’t even begin to account for the unscrupulous lenders, regulators who were asleep at the wheel or consumers, whose “no doc” loans were highly unlikely to list their true incomes. Trustworthiness was a commodity in short supply for all sides and it will be some time before faith and trust is restored in the mortgage industry.

Spend management professionals are faced with the same issues. Buyers with increasingly complex supply chains wonder if they can trust their suppliers to live up to their promises of safe products, as we saw illustrated with pharma’s heparin scare last year. Suppliers question whether or not they can trust their customers to pay the bills on time, thus giving them with the cash they need to ride out the tight credit markets. And given the volatility in commodity prices, both buyers and suppliers wonder if their contracts truly are something they can trust or will the other side break the agreement mid-stream, as steel suppliers did in ‘08?

And to add a layer of complexity, we now live in a world where customers’ and vendors’ reputations precede them online, through word of mouth, LinkedIn and supplier networks. Violate the trust of your business connections, and others will likely find out. Certainly not the situation you want to be in if you’re a company working to keep revenues up in a down economy or a buying organization seeking to be the “buyer of choice” among your suppliers.

I think we’ll see that building and maintaining trust in your business relationships this year will go a long way. So if you want a resolution or motto for 2009, how about “trust”. Be honest, collaborative, and punctual. Keep your promises. Over-deliver. You may not be able to single-handedly repair the global economy, but your coworkers, customers and suppliers sure will appreciate it.

But while trust is a critical ingredient for commerce, I’d still recommend sticking to the old adage… trust, but verify.

Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com.