Welcome to Day 8 - Hedgehog or FoxAre you a hedgehog or a fox? I have been digging through my success library and found my copy of Good to Great by Jim Collins. At the beginning of Chapter 5 “The Hedgehog Concept there is this passage:
The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog’s den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty – the fox looks like the sure winner. The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch and taking care of his home.
The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox.
“Aha, I’ve got you now!” thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up and thinks, “Here we go again. Will he ever learn?” Rolling up into perfect little ball, the hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox, bounding towards his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins.So which one are you? I struggle between both of these styles. In some instances I can laser focus. But in others I strategize, figure and plan so much that nothing gets done. This tendency killed my effectiveness in what I still consider one of the best business opportunities in the world. I was always trying to come up with a better way, a faster way, a smarter way. I wasn’t content to follow the formula. To learn the one big thing, get good at that and then grow into something else. I wasn’t coachable.
So how about you? Are you a hedgehog or a fox?