Hedgehog or Fox?

When I was a junior in college I worked as a waiter for extra money. During the Christmas season I did a catering event for the owner of CiCi’s Pizza. After the event was finished my brother and I asked if he would talk to us about how he became successful. What he said during the next 30 minutes changed the way I approached my profession.

He sat my brother and I down and said the first rule is to keep it simple. Find out what you are good at and become the best at it. He told us his goal was to make the best pizza for the best value. Everything he did centered on the pizza, even the desserts looked like a pizza. He told us that so many companies lose focus on what they are good at. Pizza joints start making hamburgers or Chinese restaurants do BBQ…they lose focus.

In the book Good to Great­, Jim Collins calls this the “Hedgehog Concept”. Check out this link to read the story about the fox and hedgehog it is very insightful http://www.jimcollins.com/lab/hedgehog/#

The Hedgehog Concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles

1. What can you be the best at in the World
2. What drives your economic engine
3. What are you deeply passionate about

If you can answer these three questions and stick to your answers you will be successful coach. And more than that you will possess a program that breeds success.