More on Choosing What to Do: The Hedgehog Concept

Jim Collins, in his highly acclaimed book Good to Great, describes how truly great companies chose what they strategically focus on.

As Collins points out, the fox wants to eat the hedgehog; that's a metaphor for a business in the sea of competition. The fox knows and performs a great number of different things, and the hedgehog just knows one thing, but it does it very well: it can roll into a ball, sticking needles every which way. The fox, in this metaphor, can never eat the hedgehog. Jim Collins, an extraordinarily successful business consultant, thinks that, to be great, you need to be like a hedgehog.

The moral of the hedgehog story is this: a business must very carefully select its focus and then pursue it relentlessly. This approach works on every level, even for your own personal development. To choose your strategic objectives, you need to ask three questions:

1. What can you be the best in the world at?

You have to identify what you do better than anyone else? Be honest when considering the weakness. Remember that not being the best in certain areas is alright. Discover your true talent by conducting a SWOT analysis and core competency analysis. These tools will show you what you do well already, and help you determine where you can excel.

2. What are you truly passionate about?

You have to figure out what your passions and values are. Think about what makes you passionate at work? What are you most excited about? What is your purpose in life? What motivates you and what are your driving corse values? What are your mission and vision statements?

3. What can be profitable?

You have to determine how you generate sustained revenue base or yourself and/or the organization you work for. You also need to show you can maintain long-term success, hence progressively increasing your remuneration.

It is at the intersection of these three that your focus should lie. Figure 2.3 illustrates this point.

 

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References

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.