Find Your Red Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible Paperback – May 14, 2021

As they say, timing is everything. And I couldn't have found Tamsen Webster's book at a better time. I am in year #1 of a medical nonprofit -- learning to be a charity founder on top of my work in the for-profit consulting space -- and I can use all the help I can get. Along comes a recommendation from a colleague to read "Find Your Red Thread" and BAM! It all started clicking. This remarkable, accessible book is a true gift to leaders and founders like me.I love how the book starts off confident, bold, cheeky, and unexpected, and then pulls us into a conversation that is organized and compelling. I was locked in immediately. And I grabbed a notebook and pen to start sketching out ideas for our big-idea, tiny nonprofit, EDS Guardians. My huge thanks to Tamsen Webster for writing this book -- for helping me understand how I can "inspire action and real, lasting change" by first understanding the "red thread" of our new organization. This book has powerful implications for companies, charities, careers, and lives. And the book itself is an example of the Red Thread method at work, which I really, really loved. (I have huge respect for an author who can walk the talk.)I will be asking my Board of Directors to read this book so it can guide us until a bold future. "The biggest obstacle of inspiring your audience to act is the gap between what you want to say about your idea and what people need to hear about it." And therein lies my light-bulb moment. Thank you, Tamsen Webster for shining a light on an idea that I think is going to change the world, one hypermobile patient at a time.

In her book, Tamsen Webster guides you beyond the hype of storytelling, to the deepest truth of connection and the invisible realm of unconscious decision-making.Her powerful 5-step Red Thread method helps you to craft the story that will guide your audience on a mental journey, so that they will fully embrace new perspectives, and find your idea and what it offers for them totally irresistible.That idea can be anything; a product, service, presentation, pitch, executive buy-in, keynote, sales message, etc. Anything that helps your audience solve a problem or achieve a goal thanks to a new way of thinking, seeing, and doing.To explain the 5 critical elements of the Red Thread, Tamsen uses many metaphors and gives real-life case studies, so that you feel you’re guided and able to grasp the depth of her teachings.Each chapter begins with a Red Thread example about the chapter itself, which brings the Red Thread method even more to life. The chapters include theory, case studies, and practical exercises. At the end of each chapter, you’ll find a summary list and criteria where relevant.Writing a compelling message isn’t just following a formula, it’s about understanding the human process of unconscious decision-making, When you combine the two, you’ll find gold. Tamsen’s book is both the guide and the path, integrating both logic and belief, to find the golden treasure.This book will not only help you achieve your goal of writing irresistible messages. It will also deepen your ability to make true connections and enhance your capability to apply Tamsen’s method in many areas of your life, aligning your ideas with who you are and what you are. Once seen and understood, inaction is impossible.

My heart was racing. My stomach was churning. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was as if someone was wringing every last drop of water out of me.I had just finished the biggest speech of my life. My very first juried stage. Among hundreds of applicants, I had earned the coveted opening spot of only 6 speakers chosen to speak.How was it? Did anyone like what I had to say? And more importantly, would anyone remember it later and actually DO something with it?Four days later, I got a reply from the Chief of a 400 person technical organization. He not only remembered key teachings from my speech, he also felt more confident in his ideas and that sharing his ideas more freely was important.Imagine that. A prominent leader who felt a boost in his confidence. He even went on to tell me that he implemented a change in his meetings to create an environment where his people felt more valued to share their opinions and creativity. I’d say that's pretty key in an innovative organization!And I’ve received more feedback since then about real changes people have made from shifting their mindset, to feeling more confident in their leadership, to pivoting their business to fulfil bigger goals than they thought possible. Now that’s power – the good sort.So why am I telling you all this in a book review?Good question. Because I credit Tamsen’s “Find Your Red Thread” with getting my message to stick in a way that changed behavior well after I left the organizations I've worked with.One key idea from Ms. Webster herself is this.“You have to show people how to get through the maze, just like Theseus used his red thread to get through the labyrinth. It’s the only way they’ll act and the only way your idea - and all you hope and dream for it - will survive.”If you have an idea to share and want it to move people to action, rush to get this book and absorb every practice it gives you. Every idea I share goes through this simple 5 step process that Tamsen details in her book “Find Your Red Thread.” It will transform your writing, speaking, and presentations into clear, head-nodding, and actionable results.

I've always struggled with how to say things, how to be concise, and how to argue for my ideas. This book addresses all of these issues. There is a framework that breaks down how people make stories in their heads and how to logically bring them along on a journey toward your conclusion. It's described simply with lots of examples that make it easy to apply. If you liked Don Miller's Storybrand, you will love this even more original storytelling structure.