In order to see what people are really made of,

we have to look beyond the surface.

The most important investment leaders can make is in their people. Sadly, that investment is largely misdirected and singularly focused on what is shiny and new . . . and here's where the rubber meets the road-those with the most shine often look like the most lackluster pebble in the rockpile.

With great zeal and unapologetic conviction, author Paul Godin avows that leaders are neglecting the very diamonds buried underneath the diamond-rich ground they tread every day they step foot in the workplace. Uncut Gems reveals the elemental roadmap to mining for your diamonds:

• A thorough survey of the diamond mining landscape,
• A sacrificial willingness to excavate the diamonds,
• A consensual agreement to the often-hazardous terms of diamond-shaping,
• A release of the diamond to its rightful setting, and
• A long-game mindset of giving back through replication.

What looks like a rock may be your most valuable gem, waiting for a miner willing to callous their hands, cut and bruise their knees, and rub a little dirt on it.