How do you become the best hedgehog in the world?
At the heart of Jim Collins’ Good to Great philosophy is the humble hedgehog. Jim references the parable of the fox and the hedgehog in which the fox uses many strategies to try to catch the hedgehog but loses every time. The hedgehog, on the other hand, wins by doing one big thing well – defending itself.
Good to Great
In business we can move from good to great by keeping it simple and zeroing in on that one big thing, the thing you have the potential to be the best at. It starts with having a clear understanding of current reality and using data and analytics to identify the opportunity. Then ask yourself, can we be the best at this? Do we have a competitive advantage? Will it generate the best revenue or return?
The sweet spot
Once you have identified the big thing, you can devote all of your time, energy and resources to going after it. Build a plan, with clear measurable steps and mobilise the organisation behind it. Challenge your team to make incremental improvement day over day.
Execution is everything
And is also really hard.
The best laid plans fail on execution. You can have an amazing idea, but it will go nowhere if you can’t deliver it. Put the product and the customer at the heart of everything you do. Surround yourself with the best people with the right skills to deliver. Be clear on the actions needed, make sure they are measurable and hold people accountable for them.
If the going gets tough
Keep going.
Take action and course correct, quickly. Create a culture of curiosity and continuous learning to become the best. Share what doesn’t work and more importantly what does. Create repeatable business models to scale and grow. Take your people with you on the journey – build momentum and confidence in the plan and celebrate even the smallest success.
@Avon
And what’s our sweet spot at Avon? To be the digital, social selling beauty company. To find out how we will get there, check out our Open Up Avon Strategy here: https://www.avonworldwide.com/about-us/strategy-open-up-avon
e-commerce and digital expert, explorer, ultrarunner
5 年Great insight for both startups and corpos. Keep going ??
Network Professional at Avon
5 年I love this book - simple concepts that we can all apply!? You've inspired me to go and give it a 3rd read, thanks!
Helping people & companies to realize their Supply Chain ambitions
5 年Good article and as always, set people in a certain movement. Could be enforced with your concept > Zoom in , Zoom out.
Avon Sales Leader at Avon
5 年I loved reading this Jan. Just what I needed to see to remind me of how special this business is that I’m growing. Hope you’re well.