Are You a Diamond Cutter?
Do you cut diamonds in your role? No, I recognise that we're not really jewellers - we're dealing with far more valuable and precious things than they ever do.When someone comes into your business, they can be seen as either an uncut diamond or an unset gem. How you manage their induction and culturisation within your business will determine the sparkle and presentation that they eventually offer to you and the customers they deal with.Many firms have the archaic concept that they can just give someone a computer and a phone and "let them at it". With respect, they will then wonder why they have staff turnover issues and the morale and culture in the firm is not great or even toxic.Selecting the uncut diamonds to bring into your firm is both an art and a science. It requires a deep knowledge and understanding of not only where you are but also where you want to be - as a firm and as the whole team within the firm.Recruiting someone merely because they have a pulse and a degree/experience ain't a guarantee of success. Getting to know what motivates them, what matters to them and letting them see the same about you (both at firm level and as individuals who make up the firm) is going to enable a far more successful/less stressful introduction.I know in my firm, we take at least 3 meetings with other team members before I even get a look at the candidate! If anyone has reservations, they are tabled and addressed. We need to remember that everyone needs to work together and the new hires will either add to or detract from the culture that you have worked hard to establish (or are working hard to improve!) - getting it wrong can be a disaster.The process of taking an uncut diamond (or even a rough diamond) to a sparkling gem as per Wikipedia - take the following and apply it to how you deal with your people - from initial assessment through the process of refining and cutting to produce a valuable gem that people want:
Mined rough diamonds are converted into gems through a multi-step process called "cutting". Diamonds are extremely hard, but also brittle and can be split up by a single blow. Therefore, diamond cutting is traditionally considered as a delicate procedure requiring skills, scientific knowledge, tools and experience. Its final goal is to produce a faceted jewel where the specific angles between the facets would optimize the diamond luster, that is dispersion of white light, whereas the number and area of facets would determine the weight of the final product. The weight reduction upon cutting is significant and can be of the order of 50%. Several possible shapes are considered, but the final decision is often determined not only by scientific, but also practical considerations. For example the diamond might be intended for display or for wear, in a ring or a necklace, singled or surrounded by other gems of certain color and shape.The most time-consuming part of the cutting is the preliminary analysis of the rough stone. It needs to address a large number of issues, bears much responsibility, and therefore can last years in case of unique diamonds. The following issues are considered:The hardness of diamond and its ability to cleave strongly depend on the crystal orientation. Therefore, the crystallographic structure of the diamond to be cut is analyzed using X-ray diffraction to choose the optimal cutting directions.Most diamonds contain visible non-diamond inclusions and crystal flaws. The cutter has to decide which flaws are to be removed by the cutting and which could be kept.The diamond can be split by a single, well calculated blow of a hammer to a pointed tool, which is quick, but risky. Alternatively, it can be cut with a diamond saw, which is a more reliable but tedious procedure.After initial cutting, the diamond is shaped in numerous stages of polishing. Unlike cutting, which is a responsible but quick operation, polishing removes material by gradual erosion and is extremely time consuming. The associated technique is well developed; it is considered as a routine and can be performed by technicians. After polishing, the diamond is reexamined for possible flaws, either remaining or induced by the process. Those flaws are concealed through various diamond enhancement techniques, such as repolishing, crack filling, or clever arrangement of the stone in the jewelry.
When having a read through the process outlined above, it occurred to me that the way we treat our uncut diamonds is vitally important to the outcome of the final gem. We also need to recognise that the setting into which the gem is going to be placed needs to be carefully considered - this has a big bearing on the design of the cutting process.But, do we really adopt this process in the firms we run? Do we really value our people as potential gems worthy of admiration and even as objects of (for us vainglorious types), envy?Or do we treat them as rocks - a commodity which is generally processed roughly (if at all) and not valued?I know how I view this process. The jewellery bench is a wonderfully creative and deeply satisfying place to work. Far better than a quarry.
