A Hedgehog Concept for Personal Success

The idea of a Hedgehog Concept comes from Jim Collins' 2001 book, Good to Great.

This book is a business management classic. And in it, Collins and his research team identified 11 companies that had gone from being good businesses to great businesses beating the general market and similar companies for at least a 15 year period.

These 11 good-to-great companies were compared to 11 other companies that started in a similar situation as the good-to-great businesses but stayed flat or just good if you will.

The aim of the book was to identify what causes or contributes to a good-to-great company's market-beating success. And one of those contributing factors is the Hedgehog Concept.

It is the idea that Hedgehogs, as compared to foxes, take very complex ideas or situations and think about them in a simple way.

The fox contrives an endless series of complex attack plans in an effort to kill and eat the hedgehog, and each time the hedgehog curls up into a spiny ball and wins.

In the case of good-to-great business, no matter how complex the business situation, the company finds a way it can win. And that way to win is simply to understand the answer to three questions.

The Three Circles

Collins uses a Venn diagram to explain how answering three questions can help a company identify its Hedgehog Concept, its simple idea for success.

- What can you be the best in the world at?
- What drives your economic engine?
- What are you deeply passionate about?

A Personal Hedgehog Concept

"To quickly grasp the three circles, consider the following personal analogy. Suppose you were able to construct a work life that meets the following three tests. First, you are doing work for which you have a genetic or God-given talent, and perhaps you could become one of the best in the world in applying that talent….Second, you are well paid for what you do….Third, you are doing work you are passionate about and absolutely love to do, enjoying the actual process for its own sake….If you could drive toward the intersection of these three circles and translate that intersection into a simple, crystalline concept that guided your life choices, then you'd have a Hedgehog Concept for yourself."

Now, this might seem like a pretty heady idea. I am supposed to only work at what I can be the best in the world at?

Well, the answer is yes, but you need to define a couple of terms best and world.

"Best" might mean best in some context, be it a time frame or a niche. And "world" can also describe a context.

Maybe, you have the potential to be the best SAT or ACT tutor or coach in your hometown. You can help aspiring college students improve their scores by 50 percent, and parents are willing to pay you well, since those scores can make a significant difference for college acceptance and even scholarships. What's more, you love the work, you love watching your students improve their scores. So that could be your hedgehog concept.

Or maybe you have the potential to be the best Morrocan restaurant owner in your state. You get the idea.

And if Collins is to be believed, identifying your personal Hedgehog Concept could help you along your path to success.

Developing a Hedgehog Concept

You are not going to be able to develop your personal hedgehog concept in a weekend, however.

Rather it is a process. In Collins' book, the process includes a group of business leaders discussing each of the three circles, asking questions, making decisions, and then analyzing the results of those decisions until they develop a clear and simple Hedgehog Concept.

In your personal life, this might be asking yourself questions, talking to your spouse, and asking close friends for input.

And you need to remember, the goal is not necessarily to identify what you are the best at now, but rather what you have the potential to be the best at.

In his book, Jim Collins relates the story of his wife, Joanne. In the early 1980s, she started competing in triathlons, and after a couple, she felt like she had the potential to be one of the best female triathletes in the world. So she trained full-time for three years, and in 1985 she won the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii. She didn't start already being the best, she simply recognized her own potential.

Finally, remember that your Hedgehog Concept needs to answer all three questions. So you need not only be the best, but you need to have passion and a way to earn money.