Are you a hedgehog or a fox? And which provides a better model for leadership and success?
According to business guru Jim Collins, and contrary to what you might imagine, it’s the prickly one we should be emulating!
The reason is all about focus; developing a single idea and doing it superbly well, rather than creating endless new strategies, divisions and projects in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition.
Embedding the “Hedgehog Concept” into your enterprise requires you to understand your answers to the following three fundamental questions -
1: What can you truly be the best in the world at? This won’t necessarily point you to your current endeavours, qualifications or experience. In fact, if you’re engaged in something which you’re not particularly good at, you need to look further to discover your true calling. Do you go to work feeling that you were born to do this, and that you have found your niche? If not, why not?
2: What drives your financial success? All the great achievers and organisations understand where their cashflow and profit comes from. Both are essential to business survival, so you shouldn’t waste time on anything which rewards you with only one or neither. Furthermore, eliminating those parts of your activity which are holding you back financially gives you more time to concentrate on the worthwhile stuff.
3: What are you passionate about? Here’s a test. Today, you win the lottery. Do you enjoy your work so much that you would carry on doing it tomorrow? If you would, you’ve already found your true calling. Furthermore, in your business, is there a universal culture where everyone feels motivated, excited and valued in everything they do?
“Hedgehog” thinking operates in the space where the answers to all three of those questions overlap.
In case you’re wondering about the analogy with forest wildlife, remember that whether the fox creeps towards him slowly, lunges at him from behind a log, or leaps from the bow of a tree in an attempt to surprise him, Spiny Norman only ever has to execute his one single, perfect move.
He curls into a ball and leaves his “cunning” attacker reeling in defeat, usually with a bloody nose!
Jon Cooper is the founder of JupiterDawn.com business consulting.
Email jon@jupiterdawn.com with feedback and business strategy queries.
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