The critical question…hedgehog or fox? Consciously or unconsciously, virtually all owners, leaders, directors and managers struggle with this query. Drawing on an ancient Greek parable, Isaiah Berlin in his renowned 1953 essay, “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” split the world into two groups, hedgehogs and foxes. Jim Collins brought this question to the forefront again in Good to Great, his 2001 leadership classic.
Most owners, leaders, directors and managers, like foxes, are smart and willing to work hard. They have multiple strategies, they move quickly, often darting from one strategy or initiative to another. They tend to be immersed in the details and emotionally involved in the organization. They take pride in keeping many “balls in the air.” Foxes are clever. They enjoy pockets of success, but they struggle to find sustained success, especially when they encounter a hedgehog…
Equally smart and hardworking, but fewer in numbers, the hedgehog leaders are different. Hedgehog leaders develop and employ a simple, singular business model that gives them clear focus in their planning and decision-making. Jim Collins calls this “The Hedgehog Concept” – an idea that makes money, something that the hedgehog can be very good at and a mission for which the hedgehog has a passion.
So what happens when the fox and the hedgehog go head to head? The hedgehog thwarts the fox’s attacks with its simple, but effective sharp spikes. So goes the business competition between the hedgehog and the fox over time.
Hedgehog or Fox?
“We love that TouchPlan Direct works with urgency and is tenacious about staying focused on our goals and the bottom line, as they love to say, ‘The Plan is To Sell Something’.
Through their TouchPlanning process they uncovered the ‘exact customer words’ that describe how our customers see us as different from our competition. But they didn’t stop there…they made sure that the direct marketing tactics in the TouchPlan were tightly focused on helping us deliver that message and turning it into sales. They even gave us a new tagline that perfectly communicates that focus.”
Chief Information and Marketing Officer, Midwest Insurance Company
The critical question…hedgehog or fox? Consciously or unconsciously, virtually all owners, leaders, directors and managers struggle with this query. Drawing on an ancient Greek parable, Isaiah Berlin in his renowned 1953 essay, “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” split the world into two groups, hedgehogs and foxes. Jim Collins brought this question to the forefront again in Good to Great, his 2001 leadership classic.
