Hedgehog Concepts

You Must be a ‘Hedgehog’ to Accomplish Great Things!

Yuggh! A hedgehog…

Probably not your idea of a glamorous animal or one to compare yourself with, for sure. So how did the little hedgehog become the mammalian mentor for us all?

The Hedgehog (and no offense to all you hedgehogs out there) appears to be nature’s accidental cross-breed between an armadillo and a porcupine — prickly, slow moving, methodical, and not all that intelligent.

The fox, on the other hand, is…well…he or maybe she is FOXY! A quick-witted, sleek, fast and agile predator, the famous fox seems to have the attributes that we can easily imagine we share? (And even if we don’t, we would like to.)

Why compare a hedgehog to a fox anyway? It all started with ancient lines of poetry by Greek poet Archilochus which read:

“The fox knows MANY things, but the hedgehog knows ONE big thing.”

One thing only! And that’s a good thing?

What about Renaissance men like Leonardo Da Vinci? He’s one of the exceptions to a very perplexing rule according to Jim Collins, author of the classic business best-seller “Good to Great”. Jim picks up on the ancient hedgehog vs. fox comparison in his book. All the best level 5 CEOs he says are very hedgehog-ish.

He tells the story like this:

“Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog’s den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce… (The emerging hedgehog) waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch and taking care of his home.”

While minding his own business, focusing on vittles, the hedgehog wanders right into the path of the fox. Sensing danger, he rolls up into a perfect little ball, becoming “…a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack…Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins.”

The hedgehog ALWAYS wins!

So think about this: Are you a hedgehog, or a fox?

Your answer holds the key to whether you will or won't be successful in business or life!

Nobody wants to be a hedgehog. Admit it. How plain is that?

He doesn’t get to thsee much of the world. He’s too focused for that. He doesn’t learn all the latest hunting tools and tricks because his world view is boiled down to just e few things he needs.

In “Good to Great,” a terrific book by the way (I recommend you read it), Collins says the hedgehog “reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple — indeed almost simplistic — hedgehog ideas.”

“For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance.”

Ever known anyone so focused that they seemed to only pursue one single goal? Ever known anyone so focused on that goal that nothing else truly mattered?

Think about Olympians. Even when the Winter Olympics were a distant event to us,  a 10-year old girl somewhere who gets up at 3:30 each morning to practice figure skating drills for four hours before she goes to school. The Winter Olympics is all she thinks about.

And NOTHING else matters!

Foxes on the other hand, “pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are ’scattered or diffused, moving on many levels.’”

Multi-tasking with too many balls in the air all at once, we’re being asked to do more and be more. Our bosses want us to be busy, working hard, doing as much as possible and then some more .

Yet the fox “who pursues many ends at the same time” NEVER wins!

And the result is that the guy who gets the promotion or has the very successful business is the one who focused on fewer tasks but did them well.

That was one of Collins’ points — instead of demanding too much from employees and executives; we should demand one BIG thing from them.

Think this doesn’t apply to you? Wanna bet? You’re an employee or an executive — or both — if you’re self-employed. And just because you may wear multiple hats doesn’t get you off the hook either. Maintaining  focus on the hedgehog ideas even when you’re doing the other grunt work is the key to your success.

Okay, so it’s good to be a hedgehog.

How do we become one if we’re a fox by nature?

It’s simple. You act as if…

What would the hedgehog be doing ? He’d focus on a hedgehog idea. Don’t know what your hedgehog ideas are? Sure you do. You’re just not focusing on them. This will help you to find and focus on them:

1) What SIX things are the MOST vital to the success of your business this year?

2) Narrow it down to THREE — hey TWO is better

3) Now make ‘em BIG

4) Focus on those TWO only

5) Nothing else matters, work them for all they are worth.

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