THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT

The Story of the Hedgehog and the Fox

“The Fox knows many things, but the Hedgehog knows only one.”

— Archilochus

Have you heard the tale of the Hedgehog vs the Fox? Well, today is your lucky day!

Dear reader, I have something unique for you this week, but before then, I want to say, thank you for coming back to this blog, again and again. You make me keep writing. More than just reading, it is my utmost delight that this newsletter and blog is of value to you, and help you on your growth journey. Let's dive into the story.

The tale is told of a hedgehog and a fox, how one is supposedly a predator, and the other is a prey. How that every single day, the fox devised all the cunningness in his head (you know, as cunning as the fox), to try to defeat the hedgehog and get the better of him. The fox knew a whole lot of tricks, a world of tricks, in fact, but the hedgehog knew only one trick, and it is this trick that saves him, and makes him triumph every day.

Whenever the fox devices a strategy to defeat the hedgehog and acts upon it, trying to get a hold of the hedgehog, before he can pounce, the little creature folds up into a ball with a lot of thorns all around it, such that renders the strategy of the fox useless. The fox is wise. He knows that if he tries to touch the thorny ball that the hedgehog has become, he will get hurt, and again, he retreats, defeated, only to try again and be defeated again the next day, by the same one thing the hedgehog knows.

All that matters to our life, to a successful, fulfilled life, to defeating the fox in guise of family, economy, and all those areas of our life we aim to excel in is knowing just one single thing, like this hedgehog. Jim Collins, in his book, "Good to Great" called this The Hedgehog Concept. Although, he relates it to good to great companies, but it is just as applicable to our personal life as it is to those companies.

The Hedgehog knew one thing that worked for him, the same way, in the bid to excel and defeat the fox, all that matters is knowing one thing, and acting upon it. This one thing is a property of three circles. According to Jim, they revolve around three facts, three questions you should ask yourself and answer:

1. What can you be the best in the world at? What's that one thing that you think you can do better than everybody you know? What is one thing that you notice people consistently compliment you about? What is that, which you believe you are better than everyone at, and can even become a lot better at than you are right now?

2. Does it make economic sense? Is it something you can be paid to do, something that you can be profitable in and make a good living in? Become independent in and take good care of your family with from the proceeds that come out of it?

3. Are you passionate about it? Is this something that you can do, all day, if nobody stops you? Is it someone you can do consistently even if nobody notices you or even pays you for it? Is it something that makes you happy? Is it something that you can make a life out of? That you can be fulfilled in and bless the lives of other people with?

If you truly sit down to think about it, you will find that one thing, that one idea, one cause, that can help you defeat the fox and become a great and fulfilled individual. What can you be the best in the world at? What are you better than a lot of people in? What drives your economic engine? That means what makes economic sense? What are you passionate about?

Whatever you find needs to be a property of these three circles. This is because, in the exact words of Jim Collins, "If you make a lot of money doing things at which you could never be the best, you’ll only build a successful company, not a great one. If you become the best at something, you’ll never remain on top if you don’t have intrinsic passion for what you are doing. Finally, you can be passionate all you want, but if you can’t be the best at it or it doesn’t make economic sense, then you might have a lot of fun, but you won’t produce great results. "

What am I saying in essence? You need to become a hedgehog. Even though you are multi talented, or overtime, you have gathered many different skills, you need to bring them under one unifying cause. Being a hedgehog will help you do one thing and focus on one thing consistently, without burning out. You will have the skill to keep at it, the economic results to keep the motivations up, and the necessary fulfilment and happiness to never want to stop, but instead, discover ways to better ground your position.

This is what makes a truly great person.

PS: There is a reason why passion comes last!! We will discuss this extensively in a subsequent post.

Action for the week: Ask the three questions of yourself and find their answers, if you haven't. What are you good at? What can you get paid for? What are you passionate about? The idea is, you have to find that one strategy, that one thing you know, that you are good at, people can pay you for, and you can spend all your life doing even if you don't get paid. Discover this strategy, and you are well on your way to a fulfiled life.

To your growth and fulfilment,

Abiola Okunsanya,

Handzinspired.