The forth lesson from Good to Great by Jim Collins  is be a hedgehog!  What!??  Well let me explain the difference between a hedgehog and the alternative which is to be a fox.

Foxes pursue many ends at the same time, they are cunning and know many things.  The result however is that they are scattered or diffused.

Hedgehogs on the other hand simplify a complex world into a basic principle which guides everything .  They know one big thing and understand that the essence of profound insight is simplicity.  Look at Einstein’s equation E = mc²   It’s a simple equation but it is incredibly powerful and useful and has changed our world forever (think nuclear power and nuclear weapons).  Hedgehogs see what is essential and ignore the rest.

Collins found that good to great companies were all hedgehogs.  They had one big thing to focus on while the competition were scattered.  This reminds me of a quote I once heard:

You‘ll never make it as a ‘wandering generality.’ You must become a ‘meaningful specific.’

Zig Ziglar

Digging deeper

To dig a little deeper, being a hedgehog comes from a deep understanding of the intersection of these three things:

1.  What you can be the best in the world at – something you were born to do
2. What drives your economic engine – something you will be well paid for
3. What you are deeply passionate about – something you really believe in doing

You need all three and where they intersect is your hedgehog.  Reflect on the above three things for your life or your business.

Summary

So in summary whether we are talking about a business or ourselves as individuals we need simplicity as regards our focus.  We need to be focused on something we are great at (you can be the best at), makes money and which we are also passionate about.  What is your hedgehog that fits this description?

Time also for me to go away and reflect on this for my own life!

Best Wishes,

Tom

PS More lessons from the book next week.  In the meantime have a look at Jim Collins’s website for further information and resources.

Grab your copy of Good to Great from Amazon:

The second lesson from Good to Great by Jim Collins  is that it’s all about the people!  Get the right people on board in your company or organisation first.   He uses the analogy of a bus.  Get the right people on board the bus first and then decide where to go with the bus.  You would imagine that this would be done the other way round.  Decide where to go in the bus (your vision/mission) and then recruit the right people, but that was not the case as was discovered through the research.  The right people don’t need to be closely managed as they are already highly motivated to produce the best results and be part of something great.  The corollary to getting the right people on the bus is to get the wrong people off the bus.

When it came to the issue of compensation of staff, compensation is important to keep the right people on the bus but should not be used to get the right behaviours from the wrong people.  This applies at all levels of an organisation.

People are not your most important asset.  The right people are.

It just goes to show the importance of getting the right people, no matter what,  and getting rid of the wrong ones (disruptive people).  The question of course is what are the characteristics of the right people and how do you or I make sure we are one of the right people?  This is an issue which I will explore further in the coming weeks.

Best Wishes,

Tom

PS More lessons from the book next week.  In the meantime have a look at Jim Collins’s website for further information and resources.

Grab your copy of Good to Great from Amazon: