The Red Thread of “A Diamond Is Forever” – EP066 - Tamsen ...

A Diamond Is Forever.” Behind this simple tagline is a powerful Red Thread complete with a Goal, a Problem, an Idea, a Change, and an Action. Skiptomaincontent CreatingaProblemofPerspective Whydowestillbuydiamondsforengagementandweddingrings?Becausewewanttogiveorreceiveasymbolofthecommitmentthatwe’remakingand,ofcourse,“ADiamondIsForever.”BehindthissimpletaglineisapowerfulRedThreadcompletewithaGoal,aProblem,anIdea,aChange,andanAction. Intheearly1930s,DeBeershadaworldwidemonopolyondiamonds,whichmeantthattheycouldlimitthesupplyandartificiallydriveuptheprice.Ifyoustudyeconomicsthough,youknowthatsupplyisonlyhalfoftheequation— DeBeersneededtoalsoincreasedemand.TomakethatChange,theyneededapowerfulRedThread. TheGoalofsomeonegivinganengagementringistofindasymboloftheircommitment.TheProblemofperspectiveDeBeersneededtocreatewasthatthekindofringmattered,andtodothattheyneededtointroduceanewIdea:that“adiamondisforever.”LikeanygoodIdeastatement,it’shardtodisagreewiththat,andthatmakestheProblemofwhattypeofringtogiveyourpartnerimpossibletoignore.ThatRedThread,workingatboththeindividuallevelandthemarketlevel,iswhydiamondsbecamethenumberoneengagementringtogivesincethecampaignlaunchedin1947. Resources Why‘ADiamondIsForever’haslastedsolong TheRedThreadWeekend TheRedThreadWorksheet Transcription –Howmanyofyououttherearemarried,havebeenmarried,orengaged?Andofyou,forhowmanyofyouwasadiamondpartofthedeal?Haveyoueveraskedyourself,whyadiamond?Andwhotoldyoutobuyone?Well,theanswercomestooneofthemostperfectRedThreadsthat’soutthere.I’mTamsenWebsteroftamsenwebster.comandthat’swhatwe’retalkingaboutthisweekonFindtheRedThread. Sowhydidyoubuyadiamond,orwanttoreceiveone?Becauseyou,I’mgoingtoguess,wantedtogiveorreceiveasymbolofthecommitmentyou, we’reabouttomake.Andbecausetherewasthisideaouttherethat“adiamondisforever.”Suddenly,itmeantthatnotjustanyringwoulddo.Ithadtobeaspecifickindofring.Andsinceyouwantedthecommitmenttobeforever,youwantedadiamondring. Sotherewego.IhaveaGoal,aProblem,anIdea,andallofasudden,withoutanyforcefromanoutsidecompany,exceptforalittletinytagline,“adiamondisforever,”I’vethought,you’vethought,theworldhasthoughtdifferentlyaboutdiamonds,anddiamondengagementringseversince.Andifyoulistenedcarefullythere,youwouldhaveheardtheRedThreadbehindit. Solet’sbackupalittlebit.Sointheearly1930s,DeBeers,thediamondcompany,hadaworldwidemonopolyondiamonds,theystilldo.Andthatworldwidemonopolyondiamondsmeantthattheycouldcreateatensionaroundthesupplyofdiamonds.Andthatmeantthatthatlimitedsupplyisoneofthewayswheretheycouldcreatevaluearounddiamonds.‘CauseIhatetobreakittoyoubutdiamonds,inandofthemselves,don’thavealotofintrinsicvalue. Ifyou’veevertriedtoreselladiamond,you’llknowwhatImean.Theydon’twantyoutoreselladiamond,becausewhenyoureselladiamond,thenyouarekindofkeepingadiamondincirculation.Theydon’twantthat.So,iftheycouldonlylimitthevalueofdiamondssomuchbysupply,wellthen,beinggoodeconomists,theyrealizedthattheycouldaffectthevalueofdiamondsbyaffectingdemand.Sohowdotheydothat?Howdotheycreateapermanentshiftinthinkingorbehavioraroundbuyingdiamondrings,whenitwouldn’tbeveryhardforpeopletodiscoverthatdiamondsreallyaren’tthatvaluableinandofthemselves? Okay,wellthisisimportantforustoknowbecausealotoftimeswhenwe’retryingtoputanideaoutthere,we’renotsurethatthere’salottobuilditoneitherright?Butwe’restilltryingtocreatethatpermanentchangeinthinkingorbehavior.SoifwereconstructaRedThreadbehindthatchange,wecanstarttoseeanotherexampleoutinthewildofhowaRedThreadcanbeusedtocreatethatchangeinthinkingandbehaviorthatwe’relookingfor.Solet’sthinkaboutthat. Now,whatwastheGoalofpeoplewantingtogetanengagementring?Well,Ithinkit’sprettysimple.Theywantedtogiveasymboloftheircommitment.Now,theringitselfisapowerfulsymbol.There’sreferencesintheBibleeventowhytheringisabeautifulandperfectsymboloftheunendingqualityofsomebody’sloveforsomebodyelse.But,DeBeerswantedtomakesurethattheyweren’tjustdealingwithanykindofring.Theywantedpeopletoreallythinkaboutaspecifickindofring. So,aftertheGoalisthisProblemofPerspective,thisperspectivetheyneededtoshift,thatitwasn’tjusttheringthatmattered,itwasthekindofringthatmattered.Sohowcouldtheycreatethetensiononthatperspective?Well,byintroducinganIdeathatmadeitimpossibletoignorethekindofring.Andthatideacameintheformofthatbrillianttaglinefrom1947,“adiamondisforever.” Now,thereasonwhythatasataglineissobrilliantisbecausethey’renottellinganybodytobuydiamondrings,they’reintroducinganideathatmakesitimpossibletoignoreyourpreviousperspective.Becauseifyouagreethat“adiamondisforever,”andlikeanygoodIdeaStatement,it’sprettyhardtodisagreewiththatonitssurface,thenit’sgoingtobereallyhardforyoutoignorethatifyou’retryingtogiveasymbolthatencapsulatesyourcommitmenttosomebodyelse,butsay,“noIdon’twanttheforeverone,”right?That’swhyit’ssobrilliant. Becausethatgoal,plusthatperspective,plusthatidea,madeitsothatpeoplehadtothinkdifferentlyaboutthekindofringstheygavetoeachother.Andthatmeantthatstartinginabout1947,diamondstookoverastheengagementringtogive. Nowwhat’sthelessonhereforyou?Well,thelessonhereforyouismulti-pronged.First,howpowerfulitcanbetogetamarkettocometoitsownconclusion.Thesecondpartisunderstandthatgettingamarkettocometoitsownconclusion,comesfromgettingindividualpeopletocometothatconclusion.Wehavetochangeindividualminds.AndthethirdtakeawayfromthisisthatthosepiecesoftheRedThreadcanwork,atboththeindividuallevel,andthemarketlevel.AndDeBeers,and“adiamondisforever,”isaperfectexampleofallofthat. That’sthisweek’sepisodeofFindtheRedThread.I’mTamsenWebsteroftamsenwebster.com.Ifstorieslikethis,andinformationlikethiswouldbehelpfultoyou,yourteam,oryourcompany,Idoalotofspeaking,Ialsoconductworkshopsonthese.Soifyou’reinterestedinthat,pleasegivemearing,orashoutout,oracontactinmycontactform.Youcanfindoutallaboutthatattamsenwebster.com/speaking.Andcontactmeattamsenwebster.com/contact. Whenyouhaveagreatidea,onethatyouthinkwillbeirresistibletootherpeople,youknowyouneedtospendsometimewithit,right?Youneedtofocusonit,getsomeone-on-oneattention.Butyoualsowanttomakesurethatyougettheopinionofotherpeople,andyouwanttomakesureyouactuallydothework.Well,thatisexactlywhattheRedThreadWeekendwilldoforyou.WhatwetrytodointheRedThreadWeekendisfocusonyouandyouridea.Inasmallgroupsetting,nevermorethaneightpeople,weworkwithyouonyouridea,one-on-one,infrontofthegroup.Soyougetnotonlythatfocusedattentionyouwant,buttheopinionofotherpeoplethatyouneed.You’llwalkoutnotonlywithacrystalclearunderstandingofyouridea,andjusthowbigitis,butalso,allthetoolsyouneedtosellittootherpeople,totalkaboutittootherpeople,andeventostartoutliningthetalkitself.IhopeIwillseeyouatanupcomingRedThreadWeekend.Justgotoredthreadweekend.com. ReaderInteractions LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*Comment*Name* Email* Website Δ