Keep reading if this sounds familiar: You've been in business for a little while and things are going well. They have been going well for some time, AND it seems like, no matter what you do, your quantum leap to "great" keeps evading you. I just read a fabulous book on the subject, From Good to Great, by Jim Collins. What Collins applies to large companies is just as true in any size business and any industry. If you are just building a business, this is especially important for you:
- You are (or have) a Level 5 leader. Humility+Great Determination=Level 5
- Build your company around the hedgehog concept
- Never outsource your core competency
Hedgehog or fox?
You could be a hedgehog or a fox. While it may seem more desirable to be the quick and witty fox, the hedgehog always wins with his simple and repetitive response of rolling up into a ball. Simplicity is one part of the winning strategy.
What is core to success is not doing many things well, but doing one thing better than anyone else in the world. Often great companies have lost it because they moved away too far from their key concept. It may take time to figure out what your Ultimate Business Success strategy is, but figuring out your "hedgehog move", is the most important thing you could do. The full hedgehog concept is this:
- Determine what you can be best at in the world (and what you cannot)
- Determine what drives your economic engine (how do you make money best)
- Determine what you are deeply passionate about
Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline. --Jim Collins