Do You Have a Hedgehog?
Business expert Jim Collins, author of the bestselling book Good to Great, espouses an interesting theory about people who build great companies. They're hedgehogs, Collins asserts.
The premise of Collins' theory is that the world is divided into foxes and hedgehogs. According to Collins, foxes pursue many ideas at once and never integrate their thinking into "one overall concept or unifying vision." Hedgehogs "simplify the world into a single organizing idea" regardless of how complex or challenging the issue.
Simple Ideas Rule
Simplicity translates to corporate success in several examples cited by Collins: Walgreens' convenience mantra. Kroger's superstore concept. Kimberly-Clark's focus on paper-based consumer products. At the core, these ideas share several distinctions that overlap in three circles described by Collins:
- What you can be the best in the world at
- What drives your economic engine
- What you are deeply passionate about
Where these three dimensions overlap, a hedgehog concept grows. The concept is then translated into a "simple, crystalline concept" that guides all efforts.
Rediscover Your Hedgehog Concept
Typically, businesses start with a hedgehog concept. The key is to keep the business centered on that winning idea.
Clearly understanding where your business fits in the three hedgehog areas is what will take you from good to great. Collins suggests the idea of a council - a group of people who can ask the right questions, debate and make decisions - to help discern a company's position and move it in the right direction.
At Clayton & McKervey, we have found the hedgehog concept to be a valuable one. In our own experience, perhaps even more important than driving our hedgehog, was the journey, or the many conversations conducted amongst the Clayton & McKervey management group during our own strategic planning meetings.
