Fox & Hedgehog

In Jim Collin's book "Good To Great", he discusses what should be the focus of would be "great" businesses by using the parable of "The Fox and The Hedgehog".

In the parable, the fox, beautiful and sleek, cunning - tries many strategies to catch the Hedgehog, to no avail. It sneaks, it pounces, plays dead, and races. But each time, the fox is defeated by the hedgehog. Why? Because the hedgehog know one thing...how to defend it'self. 

This is based on the Greek axiom that states: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."

For much of my life, I have been a fox. I have run from project to project, idea to idea, opportunity to opportunity. And yet, despite vast amounts of effort, I never quite found what I was looking for in terms of either artistic or professional fulfillment. In other words, I got very good at a lot of things. But, I'm my own opinion, I don't believe that I'm truly great at any of them. 

Contrast this with my brother, Dave. When he left high school he had one goal, to become a professional musician...a guitarist, in fact. He began by playing open mics and giving away CD's to anyone who wanted one. Eventually, he began sitting in with other people and recording with them. He recorded albums in his bedroom, getting better and better all of the time. He began writing for a local music publication. But he had still yet to have a "big break".

Then two things happened. Dave had recorded an album of ambient guitar music that managed to chart in the Top 30 New Age/Ambient charts. He suddenly began getting some traction with radio airplay. At the same time, he was offered an audition with an up and coming singer/songwriter with a major label deal. Long story short, Dave got the gig and ended up playing with this artist on Late Night With David Letterman, The George Lopez Show, The Ellen Show, and so on. He got to play with Justin Timberlake during the "Hope For Haiti" telethon. Ever since, he has worked continuously, touring for weeks at a time all around the world. 

Now, what's the big difference? Was it just talent? Well, not really. Dave is a very talented guy, but talent runs abundantly in our family. The fact is that he hedgehogged it. He picked one thing, got good at it...and just kept going...and going. He didn't jump from one thing to another. He stuck in one lane. I give him all of the props for this. 

I seem to be a bit behind the curve. I have become aware of, in recent years, what truly amounts to a real life super power. It's called "Consistent effort over time." No one can promise that anyone will become a multimillionaire off of such effort, but it always pays it's dividends in relationships, opportunities, or at the very least, the comfort of a life lived with that which resonates deeply with them. 

That, in the end, is part of the ingenious part of the "hedgehog formula" - it forces you to only focus on what you care deeply about. It takes too much effort, otherwise.