THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT

(Simplicity within three circles)

BYMAJOR (RETD.) PRAVIN SINGH

CONFLUENCE

THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT

DISCIPLINED PEOPLE DISCIPLINED THOUGHT DISCIPLINED ACTION

CULTURE OF

DISCIPLINEHEDGEHOG CONCEPT

LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

1 ST WHO..

THEN WHAT

CONFRONT THE BRUTAL

FACTSTECH

ACCELATOR

FLYWHEEL

KNOWTHYSELF

“THE HEDGEHOG AND FOXES”Isaiah BerlinEssay based on ancient

Greek parable-“The foxes know many things,

but the Hedgehog knows one big thing”.

In our mythology “Arjun & the Fish’s eye”.

COMPLEXITY VS SIMPLICITY Foxes pursue many ends at the same time

and see the world in all its complexity. They are “scattered or diffused”, moving

on many levels. Hedgehog simplify a complex world into a

single organising data, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything.

For Hedgehog, anything that does not relate to the Hedgehog idea holds no relevance.

TAKE THE COMPLEX WORLD AND….SIMPLIFY IT. Darwin- Natural selection. Einstein- Relativity. Adam Smith- Division of labour. MARX-Class struggle. Hedgehog aren’t simpletons. Piercing insight to see through complexity

and discern underlying patterns. Hedgehog see the essential and ignore the

rest.

WALGREENS Vs ECKERD Simple concept of convenient drug store. Implemented with fanatical consistency. Replaced all inconvenient store with corner

store, so as to have multiple entry/exit. Clustered store so that customer need not

walk more than few blocks. PROFIT PER CUSTOMER VISIT. One hour photo developing etc. Etc. Simple idea.

COPY CAT: FOXES Eckerd did copy the concept. 56 store here, 36 there, 25 elsewhere and

so on…. It did not work. Concept of “Convenient drug store not

achieved”. They diversified in home video market. Ten years later Eckerd ceased to exist.

THE THREE CIRCLES JUST BECAUSE IT IS SIMPLE DOESN’T

MEAN IT IS RIGHT. MORE PRECISELY, IT IS A SIMPLE

CRYSTALLINE CONCEPT THAT FLOWS FROM DEEP UNDERSTANDING ABOUT INTERSECTION OF THE FOLLOWING THREE CIRCLES.

THE THREE CIRCLES

1. What in the world you are best at (and equally imp, what you cannot be the best in world at).

2. What drives your economic engine.

3. What are you deeply passionate about ?

WHAT YOU ARE DEEPLY PASSIONATE ABOUT.

WHAT YOU CAN BE THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT

WHAT DRIVES YOUR ECONOMIC ENGINE